Sonia Gandhi inaugurates Bandra-Worli sea link

MUMBAI: The Bandra-Worli sea-link was inaugurated on Tuesday by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, reducing the travel time between the southern part
Sonia Gandhi inaugurates Bandra-Worli sea link
Congress President Sonia Gandhi, with CM Ashok Chavan, Dept CM Chhagan Bhujbal, Union Ministers Vilasrao Deshmukh and Sushilkumar Shinde, CMD, HCC, Ajit Gulabchand and others, inaugurates the Bandra-Worli-Sea link in Bandra, Mumbai. (TOI Photo)
of the metropolis and its western suburbs from the present 60-90 minutes to 6-8 minutes.

The 4.8-kilometre long, eight-lane bridge will save around Rs 200-crore a year in vehicle operating cost alone.

The sea-link conceived in the 1990s, would thus provide much-needed relief in the congested Mahim Causeway area which records around 1.25-lakh vehicles daily.

Work on the sea-link, which has been constructed by the Ajit Gulabchand-led Hindustan Construction Company (HCC), commenced in October 2004.

The cost of illumination of the bridge would be Rs 9 crore and the height of the cable-stayed tower is equal to a 43-storey building.

Mumbai sea bridge to be named after Rajiv Gandhi
India's first sea bridge, which was thrown open to traffic in this financial capital Tuesday, will be named after former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan announced here.

Chavan's announcement was in response to a surprise demand to this effect by Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

"Rajiv Gandhi was born in Mumbai, he was a son of the soil and it will be appropriate that the bridge be named after him," Pawar said in his speech at an inaugural function.

Amidst thunderous applause, Chavan accepted Pawar's suggestion and made the announcement on the dais at the Rang Sharda Auditorium, Worli, where the official inauguration function was held after the bridge was thrown open by United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson and Rajiv Gandhi's widow Sonia Gandhi.

Called the Bandra-Worli Sea Link (BWSL), the 5.6-km bridge on the Arabian Sea cost Rs.1,634-crore ($16.34 billion) and the authorities hope some 150,000 vehicles will use it each day for a toll that ranges between Rs.50 and Rs.100 per trip depending on the size of the automobile.