Watch: Devendra Fadnavis drives Lexus LX SUV on India’s longest sea bridge in Mumbai

On May 24, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis, was seen driving a Lexus LX SUV on the near-to-completion Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) sea bridge in Maharashtra. The Deputy CM drove the SUV with Chief Minister, Eknath Shinde in the front passenger seat, to mark the day when MTHL officially got connected to the mainland. Once completed, the MTHL project will be India’s longest sea bridge, spanning over 22 km. As the project nears completion, it is expected to be finished by November 2023.

Once the MTHL project is completed, it will dramatically cut down travel time between South Mumbai to Navi Mumbai from approximately 60 minutes to 16 minutes. Neighbouring districts such as Raigad will also benefit from better accessibility and MTHL will also improve connectivity to the upcoming Navi Mumbai international airport. Furthermore, travel time to inter-state cities such as Pune and Goa will be shortened as well.

Out of the total 22 km span of MTHL, 16.5 km of stretch is above the sea and on-land stretches makes up for 5.5 km. The sea bridge starts from Sewri in South Mumbai and ends at Charlie in Nhava Sheva. It is a six-lane access-controlled freeway.

In a tweet, Maharashtra CM, Eknath Shinde stated that the MTHL project will lead to saving of time, fuel and pollution emissions while promoting development in adjoining areas. Moreover, the project has also been designed to protect the existing habitat of flamingo birds that migrate to Mumbai every year and habitat in the marshlands.