The Mammoth is here- But just!
January 6, 2010
By Bhargav Sura
Source: Times of India
The king of all road engineering is here. Behold, enters the king. Presenting, the Bandra Worli Sea Link, Congressly and conventionally known as Rajiv Gandhi Sea Link.
A dream of an engineering marvel, a dream of India's strength in infrastructure, and a dream of India's growing economy has yet been achieved in the dream city of Mumbai. Apart from the city that lives a life of controversies, glamors, turmoil, and just a bit of "celebrial" talks with Bollywood stars, giant businessmen, sports personalities, and politicians all mingling in on a quite Saturday night at the highest point in the city; however, the dream has been achieved.
30 years of talks, 10 years of making, Rs 1600 crores of taxpayers money, all form the recipe of the mammoth structure: the Bandra Worli Sea Link. The Sea Link opened to public on June 30, 2009 to the public and is aimed at reducing the traffic between north and south Mumbai which is caused due to a bottleneck at Mahim Causeway. The sea link is designed like an arch of a circle where the outer road is longer than the inner artery. The sea link connects the Swami Vivekananda road (famously known as the SV Road) in Bandra to the Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan road on the Worli End. It will reduce the traffic caused by the causeway from 40 minutes to a smooth drive of 7 minutes.
The day the link opened, it has become an attraction for the city people. At toll rate of Rs 65, people are willing to part their income to enjoy a smooth ride on the link. Due to negligent and irresponsible driving, the sea link has recorded 3 accidents till date it has opened.
However, only inner part of the sea link has been opened to the public. The outer road is aimed to be connected from Worli to Haji Ali, forming yet another connection of the Western Express project. The construction of the Worli to Haji Ali is yet to be started. Even though there are hopes of the construction to start soon, without the connection, the other carriageway is merely useless.
List of Articles for Bandra Worli Sea Link