Longest steel span for MTHL

Mumbai: The Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link (MTHL) will have the country’s longest steel span – distance between two intermediate pillars – to avoid pillar constructions along a few stretches of the sea. This will eliminate the need for a supporting bridge with pillars. The longest steel span to be used is 180m.

Of the 22km-long-MTHL, at least 4km will be constructed using steel spans while the rest will be made of concrete. The sea-bridge will connect Mumbai with Navi Mumbai. The decision to use steel spans was taken after authorities such as the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) asked the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) to construct in such a manner so that movement of ships was not hampered by the pillars.

A senior MMRDA official said, “Concrete stretches cannot be longer because they require support. Authorities like the JNPT, the Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) and Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) approached us saying that the piers would obstruct movement of ships. The longest steel span will be 180m and is a first in the country. The span of the steel will vary, with the minimum being 110m-long.”

The bridge – beginning from Sewri in south Mumbai and terminating at Chirle village in Nhava Sheva via Thane creek – will take four years to complete. It will provide direct access to Navi Mumbai and the new international airport, and will afford a convenient gateway to the Mumbai-Pune e-way and further to south India.