India's longest sea bridge: Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link set to open for commuters

It is quite possible that the Mumbai Trans Harbour Sealink (MTHL), which connects south Mumbai with Navi Mumbai, will adopt the Open Road Tolling (ORT) system, which is now in use in international cities like Singapore.

S V R Srinivas, Commissioner of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), stated on January 11, that they are researching the technique. The absence of a boom barrier system in the Open Road Toll technology will prevent lines from forming on the sea bridge. It will offer a smooth commute without any delays, he stated. 

By using the ORT, tolls are collected without the need for conventional toll booths. Instead, the ORT serves as a toll booth that can electronically recognise moving vehicles and collect the tax.

The advantages of ORT include improved gas mileage, safer and cheaper travel, less congestion, and reduced vehicle exhaust eminent. With the MTHL, commuters could travel in 20 minutes, signal-free, from south Mumbai to Navi Mumbai and vice versa.

The total bridge is about 22 km in length which comprises 16.5 km of Sea Bridge and 5.5 km of viaducts on land on both ends of the bridge. The link has interchanges at Sewri in Mumbai and at Shivaji Nagar with NH-4B and at Chirle, Navi Mumbai.

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