Mumbai: India's first sea bridge opens to traffic on Tuesday and aims to ease chronic congestion on Mumbai's roads.
The Bandra-Worli sea link will cut travel time by at least half an hour on a crucial route that connects north to south Mumbai. But the question that critics are raising is that if traffic piles up at both ends of the link, then it won't end up cutting travel time after all.
It takes less than 10 minutes to drive across the five km-long bridge.
"The sea link opens up a new avenue of transportation within the city, using the sea and not just the road," said Ajit Gulabchand, chairman, Hindustan Construction Company.
But there are worries about new gridlocks where the link connects to the otherwise quiet Worli sea face.
And at the other end, worries of pile-ups are at the Bandra Reclamation. And also about the toll fee, which is Rs 50 for a one-way trip. But some say that's still a small price to pay for a smooth drive on a world-class bridge.