The Bandra-Worli Sealink - An Exclusive Preview

It was a dream Sunday! Sid from Evavo Massage Chairs had talked about getting permission to get a personalized tour of the Bandra-Worli Sealink about a year ago. somehow, either I was traveling or the guy who was supposed to be our guide was on leave and so on and so forth. I was pleasantly surprised by Sid a couple of days ago when he said Sunday was possible. I jumped at this opportunity & Adrian-Vandana also showed a keen interest in joining me at dawn on Sunday. We decided at 6:15 am as the meeting time so as to photograph the dawn over Mumbai from the top of the main supporting pillar! Let me give you a brief introduction about this unique infrastructure project which is so special to Mumbai.
The Bandra Worli Sea Link will be an 8-lane, cable-stayed bridge with pre-stressed concrete viaduct approaches, which will link Bandra and the western suburbs of Mumbai with Worli and central Mumbai, and is the first phase of the proposed West Island Freeway system. The Rs. 1600 crore project of Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) is being executed by Hindustan Construction Company (The same company developing Lavasa - Free India's first man-made hillstation!). Although expected to have been completed by December 2008, after a long delay of 5 years, construction is still underway due to political issues raised by the fisherfolk who wanted a different site for the exit ramp at Worli & the construction was stalled for over a year due to a court injunction. As per the Times of India, the bridge is now slated to open on May 1, 2009 on Maharastra day. The Sea Link will enable speedy travel between Bandra and Worli, cutting travel times up to one hour.

Presently, the Mahim Causeway is the only link connecting the western suburbs to island city of Mumbai. The existing north–southwestern corridor is highly congested and during the peak hours results in a bottleneck at Mahim Causeway. The sea link will act as an alternate route between the western suburbs of Mumbai and central Mumbai, in addition to the existing Mahim Causeway. This link will also form a part of the west island freeway.Access will be controlled on the Worli end by toll plazas on the Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan Road, and on the Bandra end by toll plazas at Love Grove Junction.

Vehicular traffic measuring about 120,000 PCU travels on the Mahim Causeway everyday and during peak hours and it takes about forty minutes to travel from Mahim to Worli, a distance of about 8 km. MSRDC has awarded the contract of constructing the Bandra Worli Sea-Link – Package - IV to the HCC (Hindustan Construction Company) and its foreign partner, the China Harbour Engineering Corporation, which has successfully completed similar projects. HCC has the responsibility of maintaining the bridge during the damage liability period of five years.

The original project design was modified to include two separate towers for the main cable stay bridge. In addition to this, the bridge was realigned around 150 meters into the sea and an additional cable stay bridge was introduced at the Worli side to increase the height of the bridge to accommodate the demands of local fishermen of Worli Koliwada to ease the vessel movement under the bridge closer to their habitat. Due to the change in the scope of work, the project was delayed in the initial stages, which resulted in increased project cost. Presently the work is in full swing and the Bandra Worli Sea-Link is expected to be complete by May 2009. The new projected date is almost a year later than earlier estimates.According to what we saw, it might really open towards early next year... I won't be surprised if it opens on May 01, 2010!

The Bandra Cable Stay Bridge, part of the Bandra Worli Sea Link (BWSL) was connected to the approach spans on May 27, 2008. This is a significant milestone towards completion of the Sea Link being built by HCC prior to the onset of Mumbai’s monsoon last season.We could actually drive to within a couple of kilometres from the exit ramp at Worli. The Bandra Cable Stay section of the BWSL spans 600 m in length and towers to a height of 126 m (equivalent to a 44 storied building). We could actually go up in the Italian construction elevator upto 100 metres(see pictures)!!!! The Cable Stay system comprises 2,250 km of high strength galvanized steel wires which support the Cable Stay Bridge weighing 20,000 ton. An engineering marvel and the first-ever open Sea Bridge of its kind, the Bandra Worli Sea Link is one of the most complex and advanced construction projects in India.And we actually got a chance for an exclusive preview today!!!!! Thank you, Sid!

The project was initiated more than 10 years ago but it was delayed due to public interest litigations and inability on the part of the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation Ltd (MSRDC Ltd.), which is the main developer of the project, to adhere to the project milestones. Mr Anil Deshmukh, State Public Works Minister (Public Undertakings), addressing the media, said that the original cost of the bridge was Rs 400 crore but due to opposition from the Worli fisherfolk the project was delayed and costs escalated. The project was then Added up more 3.6 km adding up total cost of aroung 1200, escalating it from Rs 400 crore to Rs 1600 crore. Which extended Bandra-Worli Sea Link to 2.0 Km to 5.6 Km, adding up more 3.6 Km which extended it up till Haji Ali. Mr Anil Deshmukh added that the toll on the sea link would be collected for 30 years. For passenger car, the toll would be Rs 30 and for light commercial vehicle, it would be Rs 45.

Our head was spinning with all the information on display at the HCC site-office, pre-sun-rise. We were all geared up for some fresh salty sea-air on the bridge. Finally at 6:45am, our personal deputed guide, Mr Rampati Yadav got into our car & guided us onto the ramp. What a massive structure- It did not lool that awesome from the reclamation roads. This was something else. We had a couple of photo-stops on the ramp, met a couple of engineers & then onto the 44th floor (well maybe 38th floor!)in the construction lift for a view of a lifetime. We all thanked Mr Tendulkar & Sid for having given us this "Top Of The City View" which we will cherish for a lifetime. now, yeh dil maange more.... I hope we can get a view from the top during peak monsoons:)