Orthotropic steel decks' to provide better land & sea connectivity
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Dubbed to be the country's longest sea link, the 22-km-long Sewri-Nhava Sheva trans-harbour link in Mumbai will be contoured with the help of global fits and upgrades, such as the 'orthotropic steel decks'. Highly popular in Europe as well as Asia, South America and the United States, these decks are curated specially to carry heavy loads and cause minimum disturbance to navigation channels in water. This promises ease of connectivity on land as well as in water.
These special decks will also reduce the on-site work at the MTHL, reducing the overall cost of the project. Pointedly, the workload on MMRDA also reduces significantly with this move. The Authority now only have to oversee the import of steel ledges from international bases, assemble them and trigger the launch. On-site work will also limit to the welding of bridge modules, added reports.
As per reports, each of the orthotropic steel decks has longer spans - distinct between two piers. The ledge length stretches for about 150 metres, up to 180 metres, the MMRDA official said. Each deck weighs more than 1000 tonnes, ensuring the built of a solid stricture.
Key commute route between Mumbai & Navi Mumbai
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The Sewri-Nhava Sheva trans-harbour link project will bolster Mumbai's connectivity to the rest of Maharashtra, upholding its commercial stature. The designated route will also give a boost to commercial travel, driving development and progress in Navi Mumbai. Once operational, the MTHL will become the key-commute route to the promised Navi Mumbai Int'l Airport, added reports.
The MMRDA had initially planned to open the route by 2022, however, the project timeline staggered with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The present plan of action has slated the inauguration by September or October 2023, stated reports, where the Development Authority has launched an aggressive multimodal construction plan, with more barges, additional machinery and increased manpower, concluded officials.
Budgeted at ₹17,843 crores, the MTHL project finds its name among India's most expensive infrastructure projects. The sealink has been divided into 3-packages for simultaneous development and has been sanctioned ₹ 14,262 crores as yet. The project is being implemented with a loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency read an official note.
- With inputs from The Print
