Marking a new era of connectivity, the Mumbai Trans Harbour Sealink is India's longest sea bridge. With a staggering cost exceeding 17,840 crore rupees, the Atal Setu bridge spans approximately 21.8 km.
The Versova Bandra Sea Link will be known as Swatantryaveer Savarkar Sagari Setu and the MTHL as Atal Bihari Vajpayee Smruti Shivdi-Nhava Sheva Atal Setu, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said.
The MTHL is an under-construction 21.8 km access-controlled road bridge that will connect Mumbai with Navi Mumbai.
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The eight-lane sea bridge is being constructed at the cost of Rs 11,332 crore. It is a 9.6-km long bridge with a 7.57 km connecting road. The bridge will be completed by December 2026, a statement from the chief minister's office (CMO) said.
The MTHL, which will be known as Atal Bihari Vajpayee Smruti Shivdi Nhava Sheva Atal Setu, is 95 per cent complete and will become operational by December 2023.
The (renaming) decision has been taken to pay tribute to Vajpayee's efforts to make India a visionary, developed and strong country, reads the statement.
Connecting South Mumbai to Navi Mumbai, specifically between Sewri and Nhava Sheva, the sea link significantly slashed the current two-hour journey to a mere 15-20 minutes.
Notably, the bridge is poised to transform connectivity to Mumbai International Airport and Navi Mumbai International Airport, revolutionizing travel time to Pune, Goa, and South India.
With construction that began in 2016, Atal Setu now stands as the 12th longest sea bridge globally. The project brought together over 14,000 skilled workers, from below given key companies to collaborate and incorporate cutting-edge technological features into this monumental achievement.