MTHL: The bridge that will last a century

Jules Verne, a French author best known for the science fiction adventure book Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas, mentions divers looking for enormous squid in one of the passages. In the nearly 150 years since it was written, at least six divers—this time for real—jumped into various mudflat-lined sections of Thane Creek in preparation for the building of Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL), India's longest sea bridge, between 2016 and 2018. The divers were not looking for multi-tented marine creatures while they dove 10 to 15 metres beneath the creek's surface; rather, they were looking for pipelines carrying gas and oil to Mumbai. The results of this two-year project allowed for the identification of underwater obstructions and the assurance that the piers supporting the sea bridge are strong enough to last for more than a century. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and their contractors from L&T and Tata Projects are in the final stages of building the Rs 180 billion sea bridge by September of this year, with approximately 1100 pillars already in place. Mumbai residents will finally be able to drive on this six-lane bridge connecting south Mumbai via Sewri with Nhava Sheva and the projected Navi Mumbai Airport by December, five years after construction began. It was evidently time to explore inwards in order to make transit in a crowded Mumbai easier. The state government anticipates that the sea bridge would be used daily by at least 70,000 cars. It anticipates that the bridge will contribute to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region's (MMR) economy growing by $0.25 trillion. On its far end, the MTHL is anticipated to attract commercial hubs and speed up economic activity. Also read: BMC's review petition rejects, orders refund of property tax Cargo between NE and Chittagong port to start soon