INDIA GROWTH STORY: Travelling from Bandra to Worli via the sea link is a breeze.

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Travelling from Bandra to Worli via the sea link is a breeze.

We travelled, so we're speaking literally. It opens on May 31

It took nine years to provide Mumbai with a six-minute drive. But now the long-pending Bandra Worli Sea Link, MSRDC's pet project, will finally be ready for commuters on May 31. The idea is that in June, you leave Bandra at 9.54 am, for your 10 am meeting at Worli. And you still call yourself a Mumbaikar.
    To get the figures out of the way, this is a 4.7 km bridge with eight lanes, four going up and four down. There are two dedicated lanes for buses. Sorry two-wheelers, trucks, autorickshaws and pedestrians - none are allowed here. The speed limit for those allowed is 80 km per hour, the minimum speed you have to maintain is 50 kmph. The toll is Rs 45 for a one-way journey. (The toll collection, for those with cards, will be automated, with the cards stuck on the back of the rearview mirrors of cars. So you can drive through without stopping. Occasional users can pay cash.)
    In the Rs 45-bargain, you cut down on more than 40 minutes of snail's speed travel through the city, and avoid 23 traffic signals that you would face in those 40-plus minutes. As for how much petrol you save, you can calculate that yourself once you begin your daily commute. And let's not yet count the number of hours you could add to your life by less-stress travel. We'll do that two years down the line, if all is smooth.
    More figures. The bridge is earthquake-resistant up to 7.5 on the Richter scale. It has a promised life of 100 years.
    Yesterday, we took a slower cruise along the sea link, that's nearly ready. We left Bandra and almost immediately sighted Worli village, that so inspires Sudhir Patwardhan. By the time we caught the breeze and checked out the Bandra skyline, we were there.
    Then we got a treat. We were allowed to ride the construction workers' elevator up the twin towers, no pun or scare intended, up to the height of 42 storeys. We got a great view and a great perspective of life from there. But, for obvious reasons, that's not open to all.
    In fact, as Jimmy Mogal, VP, Corporate Communications, Hindustan Construction Co. Ltd, explained, the twin tower is probably the symbol of delay of the project. Initially, the bridge was designed with one tower, but with the fishing community protesting against the bridge, a large gap between pillars in the central section of the bridge became a must, for fishing boats to go through. So the cable stay length was increased and two separate towers included. The cable stay section (part of bridge held up by cables) is 600 m, which makes it the second longest cable stay length in the world.
    PILs lodged by environmentalists, constant design changes and shortage of funds delayed the project for another four years, from 2000, when it was awarded, to 2004, when the construction actually started in right earnest.
    The next lap of the bridge will take it to Haji Ali. The tenders for this has been opened by the government. That will be another 4 km-stretch, and should be constructed in 42 months.
    The final lap is up to Nariman Point, though there is a PIL lodged against it which says the bridge will spoil the view of Nariman Point. "Now, feasibility studies are being done on having the bridge route tunneling under Malabar Hill instead. The cost for this will be five times more," said Mogal.
    If all goes well, travelling to town will be a breeze, literally speaking. For now, enjoy the need for speed up to Worli.
WHY WAS IT DELAYED?
The sea link was awarded in 2000. It will be ready for use on May 31, 2009. Here's why it took nine years instead of four.

• 85 per cent change in design from the original, to the one we see now. Some changes were to accommodate the fishing community, some for traffic control reasons.

• Legal action by activists protesting against the construction of the sea link, which went all the way up to the Supreme Court, which factored in stay orders.

• Shortage of funds midway through the project, cause by design changes increasing the budget.