Atal Setu opens : 22 kms to connect Mumbai with Navi Mumbai over sea , watch video

 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday 12 January 2024  dedicated Atal Setu to the public in Mumbai.  This bridge built in the financial capital of the country is the longest bridge in the country.  Officials have said that about 70 thousand passengers will travel through the bridge every day, whose time and fuel expenses will be significantly reduced.

 Its full name is Atal Bihari Vajpayee Sewari-Nhava Sheva Atal Setu.  Earlier it was also known as Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL).  It is a 22 km long twin-carriageway six-lane bridge over Thane Creek in the Arabian Sea.  Atal Setu connects Sewri in the island city of Mumbai to Chirle in Raigad district on the mainland.

 The idea was first mooted in 1962 under the name 'Planning of Road System for Mumbai Metropolitan Region'.  Feasibility reports of the project began 34 years later in 1994.  Tenders were called in 2006, while 10 years later in 2016, PM Modi laid the foundation stone of this bridge.  Work on the project finally began in April 2018.

 Atal Setu has been constructed at a cost of more than Rs 17,840 crore.  According to the information received the expenditure has been more than the estimated cost.

 Its original cost was Rs 14,712.70 crore but due to the lockdown due to Covid, it got delayed and the expenditure increased.

 Atal Setu is about 21.8 km long and 6-lane, of which 16.5 km is built over the sea and about 5.5 km is built on land.  It is the longest bridge in India, which is also the longest sea bridge in the country.  It will provide faster connectivity to Mumbai International Airport and Navi Mumbai International Airport and also reduce travel time from Mumbai to Pune, Goa and South India.  Atal Setu will reduce the travel time between Mumbai and Navi Mumbai from the current two hours to 15-20 minutes.  Officials said that people passing through this bridge will save at least Rs 500 in fuel in every journey.  Along with this, it will also improve the connectivity between Mumbai Port and Jawaharlal Nehru Port.

 Atal Setu, built at a cost of thousands of crores, will connect Mumbai to Navi Mumbai.  This bridge will become a new lifeline for the country's financial capital Mumbai, while it is a new example of India's development in the field of infrastructure.  According to an estimate, about 70 thousand people will travel through the bridge every day.  There are 400 cameras installed here, apart from this, AI based sensors are installed to gather information about traffic pressure.

 Meanwhile, Mumbai Police has informed that the speed limit for four-wheelers such as cars, taxis, light motor vehicles, minibuses and two-axle buses on the sea bridge will be 100 kmph and the speed on the ascent and descent of the bridge will be 40 kmph.  However, motor bikes, auto rickshaws and tractors will not be allowed on this bridge.

 Officials also said that multi-axle heavy vehicles, trucks and buses heading towards Mumbai will not be allowed to enter the Eastern Freeway.

Watch the below video for this bridge