Maharashtra Cabinet fixes MTHL toll at Rs 250 for single trip

According to sources, the amount was further reduced to Rs 250 with a condition to review it after a year. The return toll will be one-and-a-half times of the toll amount while daily pass will be two-and-a-half times of the toll. The monthly pass will be 50 times of the toll amount.

The Rs 17,843-crore, 21.8-km-long MTHL will be India’s longest sea bridge, connecting Sewri in Mumbai to Chirle in Navi Mumbai. The bridge, of which 16.11 km has been built on water, will have six lanes, each 3.5 metres wide.
The MTHL will reduce the travel distance from South Mumbai to Chirle by around 30 km and as it will take around 16 minutes to cross the bridge, it will save at least an hour of commute time.

The idea of a connector linking the Island City of Mumbai to the mainland was first proposed in 1962 in a study titled ‘Planning of Road System for Mumbai Metropolitan Region’. The idea was to set up infrastructure that would help in the greater economic integration of Mumbai island with Navi Mumbai and extended regions of Pune, Goa, Panvel and Alibaug.

It took the Maharashtra government close to 34 years to initiate a feasibility report of the project in 1994. The project was stuck behind red tape for another decade before the study was updated in 2004 and tenders called in 2006.

In 2017, the project was revived with the MMRDA — the nodal agency for constructing the project — signing an agreement with Japan International Cooperation Agency, which is providing development loan assistance of Rs 15,100 crore for the project. Work on the project began in April 2018, and was expected to be completed by mid-2023.