Over 8.13 lakh vehicles use MTHL in one month

Meanwhile, Mukherjee also emphasised that the launch of the under-construction Sewri Worli Connector will also increase the daily vehicle count. Currently, the average daily ridership is 27,100. Whereas, close to 40,000 vehicles are expected to use the link in the opening year 2024.

The Sewri Worli Connector work is 65% complete but due to opposition from project-affected people over the increase in the size of apartments, the construction work is not picking up speed as expected, the MMRDA said. The said connector is expected to contribute nearly 15% of MTHL ridership once opened to traffic. There are almost 19 buildings located in Elphinstone which are coming in the Sewri Worli Connector alignment and Rs 3,500 crore is the estimated expenditure required for rehabilitation and resettlement along with land acquisition, which MMRDA and BMC will share, the official said.

On the MTHL, Rs 250 is the toll for the entire stretch from Sewri to Chirle, Navi Mumbai. Whereas, the toll for Sewri to Shivaji Nagar (Ulwe), Navi Mumbai, is Rs 200. The return trip for passenger cars is Rs 300, daily pass Rs 500 and monthly pass Rs 10,000. The toll on the Shivaji Nagar-Gavhan stretch is Rs 50 and Rs 75 for the return trip. The Mumbai Police are managing the traffic on the 10.4-km stretch from Sewri, while rest of the sea link is on the Navi Mumbai side, under the jurisdiction of Nhava Sheva police.

A speed limit of 100 kmph has been set for MTHL, while the speed limit on the ramps leading to the sea bridge is 40 kmph.

At the MTHL, for the first time in the country, an open road tolling system is adopted. Meaning, if a vehicle having FASTag is not having sufficient balance in the digital wallet, then the system will detect that particular vehicle from a distance of 25 metres and accordingly the boom barrier will drop down. The user will be challaned by an additional Rs 50, which will be deducted as and when the FASTag wallet is recharged. The excess Rs 50 will be paid to MMRDA by the transport commissioner’s office, said the MMRDA official. On the MTHL, the MMRDA has so far collected over Rs 13.7 crore. Of which Rs 62.16 lakh is the declined FASTag converted to challan, Rs 13.08 lakh is FASTag Final settlement amount, Rs 1.5 crore is challan due to no-tag and Rs 8.7 lakh is cash collected.