Thaindian News

Mumbai, March 23 (IANS) The much-awaited second carriageway of the Rajiv Gandhi (Bandra-Worli) Sea Link here will be inaugurated Wednesday, an official said.
“With the opening of the second carriageway, there will be a drastic reduction in accidents on the 5.6 kilometre sea link. The ride will be faster and more comfortable,” Maharashtra State Roads Development Corporation (MSRDC) Chief Engineer S.M. Sabnis told IANS.

Head-on traffic on both sides will be eliminated, he said.

A single carriageway (north-south lane) of the sea link was thrown open to traffic last June. It became an instant hit with Mumbaikars.

Since the opening of the sea link, built at a cost of Rs.1,600 crore, the travel time between Bandra to Worli - a distance of eight kilometre - has been cut down from 45-60 minutes to 7 minutes.

Billed as an engineering marvel, the sea link is India’s first cable-stayed seabridge with two 128-metre towers on which the cables are supported.

Public Works (Undertakings) Minister Jaidutta Kshirsagar said the work on extending the sea link to Haji Ali (in south) will start in November this year by a Reliance-Hyundai consortium.

Work on the Rs.4,300 crore, 3.8 kilometre 8-lane bridge is likely to be completed by April 2014, he said.

Besides this, the government is reviewing the 9 kilometre sea link extension from Haji Ali to Nariman Point and Cuffe Parade in south Mumbai which is expected to cost around Rs.5,500 crore.

Similarly, the government is studying a proposal to extend it 10 km in the north between Bandra and Andheri at a cost of around Rs.2,700 crore, Kshirsagar said.

With a view to decongest the road and rail networks, the state government has called for bids to start water transport on the western coast of Mumbai, connecting Nariman Point (south) with Borivli (north), a distance of around 45 km, with jetties at Bandra, Juhu, Versova and Malad.

MSRDC Managing Director Sonia Sethi said that so far, 19 companies have purchased bid documents ahead of the April 15 deadline.