Citizens take joyrides as wonder bridge opens to public

Hundreds of people flocked to the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link to experience the longest sea bridge in the country, with over 8,000 vehicles using it on Saturday. Commuters praised the quality of the drive but raised concerns about joyriders stopping in the middle of the road for selfies and celebrations. The 21.8 km bridge has been called an engineering marvel and is expected to attract more motorists in the coming days.

Navi Mumbai

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Hundreds thronged the 22-km Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) curious to see the engineering marvel and took joyrides with families to see how fast they could cross the longest sea bridge in he country. MMRDA officials said , 8,169 vehicles used the MTHL from 8 am to 6 pm on Saturday

Social media was abuzz with commuters sharing their experience with the majority shooting extensive video of commuting on the road. Ulwe based Bharanwals had waited for the day the project gets commissioned as they had switched their residence from SOBO solely due to the time wasted in traffic. “I was fed up with commuting to work through the Gokhale Bridge in Andheri. Just for crossing from west to east around an hour’s time was lost. Just 7 months back I shifted my residence to Ulwe and was eagerly awaiting for the bridge to be opened,” said Harshit.

On Saturday Harshit joy knew no bounds to see that he covered the distance from Ulwe to Sewri in just 12 minutes. “ On a regular day I would have spent nearly ₹700 on fuel and another ₹90 on toll and over an hour to reach lower parel but on MTHL I managed to drive through in a matter of 12 mintues and used approximately 3 litres of fuel. So in all it was an amazing drive,” he said.

Most of the motorists praised the quality of drive and the multiple interchanges available on the road. Many raised concerns about joyriders stopping in the middle of the road for taking selfies and even holding celebrations on the road. “ Right at the toll gates, the attendants are asking motorists to not stop midway as this could cause accidents and there are even boards put up, but many are choosing to ignore. Just day one and there were food items and even coconuts thrown on the sideways. Such errant drivers should be punished,” said Mohit Singh, a resident of Nerul.

The 21.8 km bridge has been termed to be an engineering marvel.” At least for the initial few days, the road is likely to see many more motorists making a beeline to experience the construction . Especially with the lighting in the evening, the experience is going to be surreal,” said a resident from Vashi, Nikita Jha.