Mumbai: Maharashtra Cabinet Approves Renaming Of Versova-Bandra Link After Savarkar, MTHL After Vajpayee

The Maharashtra Cabinet approved renaming two major infrastructure projects in Mumbai after freedom fighter Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, on Wednesday (28 June).

The Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link (MTHL) will be officially known as the 'Atal Bihari Vajpayee Smruti Sewree Nhava Sheva Atal Setu'.

The Versova-Bandra Sea Link Project (VBSL) will now be named 'Swatantryaveer Savarkar Setu'.

On Veer Savarkar Jayanti, which falls on 28 May, Shinde assured that the government will name the VBSL after Savarkar.

The state government named the Mumbai Coastal Road project after Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, the eldest son of legendary Maratha warrior Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, last month. They will also erect a statue of Sambhaji Maharaj on the road.

MTHL — India’s Longest Sea Bridge

Financed by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), MTHL Bridge is an under-construction 22-km-long six-lane marine road bridge implemented by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA).

The project consists of a sea crossing section of around 16.5 km and a land section of the remaining 5.5 km.

The link has interchanges at Sewri in Central Mumbai, Shivaji Nagar at Mumbai Bay and NH-4 B at Chirle, Navi Mumbai.

Popularly known as the Sewri Nhava Sheva Harbour Link, the sea link connects Sewri in Mumbai to Chirle in Navi Mumbai, thereby, reducing the travel time between South Mumbai and Navi Mumbai to just 20 minutes, from the present two hours.

The mega project is expected to mitigate traffic congestion in the island city and promote economic development in Navi Mumbai and greater economic integration of Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, and their extended regions such as Pune, Goa, Panvel and Alibaug.

The authorities are targeting a December 2023 opening. The bridge, when completed, would be the longest sea bridge in India and would cater to 70,000 vehicles daily.

Versova-Bandra Sea Link Project (VBSL)

The Versova-Bandra Sea Link Project (VBSL) comprises construction of a sea link bridge along the West coast of Mumbai from Bandra (on South side) at Bandra-Worli Sea Link (BWSL) to Versova at Nana Nani Park (on North side).

The length of the sea link is 9.6 km with four dispersal points at Bandra Connector, Carter Road Connector, Juhu Koliwada Connector and Nana Nani Park Connector.

The sea link will have 4+4 lanes on both the sides with tolling facilities. The connectors will have a length of 1.17 km at Bandra, 1.8 km at Carter Road, 2.8 km at Juhu Koliwada and 1.8 km at Nana Nani Park.

VBSL is a marquee project with a length of 17.17 km, which is three times the length of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link of 5.6 km. The state government has appointed the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) as the nodal agency for the implementation of the VBSL project.

The Rs 7,000-crore project was expected to be ready by 2023, which has now been revised to December 2026.