Uddhav Thackeray launches MTHL's first girder, assures MMRDA is on time

Metropolitan Commissioner RA Rajeev, said the project is running before time and could get completed before time.

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, on Wednesday, launched the first girder for the Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link (MTHL) from Sewri to Nhava Sheva, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority's (MMRDA) magnum opus project which is slated to be ready by September 2022.

Government of Maharashtra Minister for Urban Development and Public Works Department, Eknath Shinde, Member of Parliament Arvind Sawant, Metropolitan Commissioner RA Rajeev, Additional Metropolitan Commissioner Sanjay Khandare and Joint Metropolitan Commissioner B G Pawar among others were present at the venue.

The CM said the project is going at a brisk speed. "If we go by this pace, there is a possibility that it will be completed before the deadline. It is a huge project, we don't need to explain the importance of this project to anyone," Thackeray added.

Metropolitan Commissioner RA Rajeev, said the project is running before time and could get completed before time. "We thank Honourable Chief Minister Shri Uddhav Thackeray for launching India's longest sea bridge. All the clearances have been taken care of and there is no problem or obstruction in the project. The project, as of now, faster than the stipulated deadline," said RA Rajeev.

The Metropolitan Commissioner also assured the development has not harmed environment and migratory birds. "The biggest concern raised by environmentalists was to safeguard flamingo settlements. We are happy to share that they have hatched eggs and they continue to flock in great numbers," he said.

The 22-km MTHL project, out of which 15.5 km will run oversea, will be connecting Sewri with Nhava Sheva, will be a six-lane bridge across the Mumbai Harbour. The ambitious project will help solve the traffic congestion in the island city by improving connectivity between Mumbai and Navi Mumbai. Once made, as many as 70,000 vehicles are estimated to be pass through the bridge on a daily basis and will cut travel time from more than two hours to just over half an hour. The sea bridge will have two interchanges, one at Shivaji Nagar on Sewri end and another at Chirle village near NH-4B.

The sea corridor will also have noise and vision barriers installed on a 6-km stretch, first to block the view of the sensitive BARC nuclear complex and the other to protect the movement of flamingos and other migratory birds at the Sewri mudflats.

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