Mumbai: The Bandra-Worli sea link was inaugurated on Tuesday by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi.
The country's first ever sea link will reduce the travel time between the southern part of Mumbai and its western suburbs from the present 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 cost alone.
The sea link conceived in the 1990s, would thus provide much-needed relief in the congested Mahim Causeway area which records around 1.25-lakh vehicles daily.
Work on the sea link, which has been constructed by the Ajit Gulabchand-led Hindustan Construction Company (HCC), commenced in October 2004.
The cost of illumination of the bridge would be Rs 9 crore and the height of the cable-stayed tower is equal to a 43-storey building.