Sonia Gandhi inaugurates Bandra-Worli sea link

MUMBAI: The Bandra-Worli sea-link wasinaugurated on Tuesday by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, reducing the travel timebetween the southern part of the metropolis and its western suburbs from thepresent 60-90 minutes to 6-8 minutes. The 4.8-kilometre long,eight-lane bridge will save around Rs 200-crore a year in vehicle operating costalone. The sea-link conceived in the 1990s, would thus providemuch-needed relief in the congested Mahim Causeway area which records around1.25-lakh vehicles daily. Work on the sea-link, which has beenconstructed by the Ajit Gulabchand-led Hindustan Construction Company (HCC),commenced in October 2004. The cost of illumination of the bridgewould be Rs 9 crore and the height of the cable-stayed tower is equal to a43-storey building. India's first sea bridge,which was thrown open to traffic in this financial capital Tuesday, will benamed after former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, Maharashtra chief minister AshokChavan announced here. Chavan's announcement was in response to asurprise demand to this effect by Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar of theNationalist Congress Party (NCP). "Rajiv Gandhi was born in Mumbai,he was a son of the soil and it will be appropriate that the bridge be namedafter him," Pawar said in his speech at an inaugural function.Amidst thunderous applause, Chavan accepted Pawar's suggestion andmade the announcement on the dais at the Rang Sharda Auditorium, Worli, wherethe official inauguration function was held after the bridge was thrown open byUnited Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson and Rajiv Gandhi's widow SoniaGandhi. Called the Bandra-Worli Sea Link (BWSL), the 5.6-km bridgeon the Arabian Sea cost Rs.1,634-crore ($16.34 billion) and the authorities hopesome 150,000 vehicles will use it each day for a toll that ranges between Rs.50and Rs.100 per trip depending on the size of the automobile.