'Now Mumbai has infrastructure like Singapore'

Dr Vimal Mundada, PWD Minister in-charge for Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), explains the advantages of the Sea Link and the vision for connecting Mumbai city with its suburbs to DNA

What are the factors that make the Bandra Worli Sea Link unique? 
The Bandra Worli Sea Link is a landmark project Mumbai, in terms of the size and scale, technology used and the challenging conditions. It will save a lot of time and fuel for the citizens of Mumbai travelling via Mahim to the city and back. Mumbai is India's commercial capital. South Mumbai is the Central Business District, so a project like the Sea Link, which facilitates access to the CBD area will obviously  play a major role in shaping perception abroad about Mumbai.

The Sea Link is one of the most complex and advanced construction projects in India. What were the different types of challenges faced during the conceptualisation and implementation stages?
The Bandra Worli Sea Link project actually technically commenced from 2004 onwards. It had been launched in 1999 but there were numerous reasons due to which it got stalled. During this interim phase, the project was expanded from four lanes to eight lanes, from one cable stayed portion to two cable stayed portions… accordingly the cost of the project also increased from Rs. 434 crore to Rs. 1600 crore. Four lanes are being inaugurated at present and the other four lanes will be inaugurated by December 2009.

This was a unique project so there were different problems involved in working in the sea; it required lots of additional planning and efforts. Protests by the fisher folk community necessitated many changes, going out further into the sea… but thankfully all that was ultimately resolved.

The Bandra Worli Sea Link is an intelligent bridge with state-of-the-art systems for traffic monitoring, surveillance, information and guidance, instrumentation, emergency support, etc. How advanced is the technology used and in what ways will this facilitate the Sea Link's usage?
We will now have the infrastructure that is of the level seen in places like Singapore. The project has been implemented using the latest technology from abroad keeping in mind the weather conditions of Mumbai. The planning stage itself took two to three years; we studied projects abroad and considered what would be appropriate for this city.

The Sea Link will enable speedy travel between Bandra and Worli, cutting travel times substantially. What is the volume of traffic envisaged and what are the safeguards in case of accidents?
At present there is tremendous traffic congestion along this stretch but now, with the Bandra Worli Sea Link people will get some relief. While planning this project, we had taken the traffic projections for the next 30 years into account. The toll has been planned at three levels, Rs. 50, Rs. 75 and Rs. 100 based on the size of vehicles - light, medium and heavy.

While we had planned to have dedicated lanes for BEST buses, a final decision on that is yet to be taken. As of now, with only four lanes it will not be possible, so we will wait until all eight lanes are functional before taking a call on this.

Studies are being conducted to ensure that traffic congestion does not take place at the Worli end.

The Bandra Worli Sea Link has a speed capacity of 100 km/ hour but initially a limit of 50 km/ hour has been set. As a few weeks pass, we will evaluate the situation and things will evolve gradually. All things will be set up step by step depending on the requirements.

The normal safeguards have been provided. Additional provisions will be done after studying usage patterns and the initial teething troubles faced. Safeguards and other provisions will evolve as the project is used and we will solve new problems that come up as they are encountered. 

Estimated savings in Vehicle Operating Costs (VOC) are pegged quite high. There will be a substantial improvement in the environment especially in terms of reduction in carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen and reduction in noise pollution in areas of Mahim, Dadar, Prabhadevi and Worli. Do you see the Sea Link being a tool for preserving the environment? 
Yes, to a certain extent. At present the drive from Bandra to Worli has 23 signals, which makes it a very difficult and time consuming commute. However, with the Bandra Worli Sea Link road travel will be down to just four signals. This will result in saving considerable mount of time for those commuting down that stretch by road.
Mumbai has changed tremendously over the past 10 to 15 years since this project was first conceived. Whatever infrastructure has been planned by us has been done keeping Mumbai's long-term needs in mind.

The impressive iconic structure has already become an integral part of Mumbai's skyline. Do you see it becoming a major tourist attraction like the Gateway of India? Are there any plans to formally make it a part of the city tour itinerary?
Such a major achievement will add beauty to Mumbai's skyline so we are already in talks with MTDC to ensure this project becomes a tourist attraction. The technology used in the Bandra Worli Sea Link project can also be made part of the curriculum for engineering students of different courses; celebrities will be roped in to promote the Bandra Worli Sea Link project too.

The cable-stayed bridge with pre-stressed concrete viaduct approaches is the first phase of the proposed West Island Freeway system. Please elaborate on your plans for subsequent phases?  
Now that we have been through this difficult first phase and dealt with all the challenges, hopefully in the subsequent phases, work will go faster. Studies are being conducted for the Nariman Point to Haji Ali section to see if there is a need to go underwater to some extent.

This is only the beginning of the entire project that we have envisaged. There are three phases in all. The Worli-Haji Ali stretch will be taken up soon now. I have already seen the file and now it will be taken up in the Infrastructure meeting. For this phase we envisage a timeframe of three years from the date of commencement. Two bids have been received and forwarded.

We have to follow the International tendering process. HCCs viability gap is almost double that of the other bidder, Reliance.

After this, we will take up the Haji Ali to Nariman Point stretch. Finally, we also envisage a Bandra-Versova Link. So the link will eventually run parallel to the coastline from Versova to Nariman Point, connecting the suburbs of Mumbai with the city.