No bikes, autos allowed on India's longest sea bridge, speed limit is...

Mumbai: The maximum speed limit for four-wheelers on the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) will be 100 kmph, while motorbikes, autorickshaws and tractors won’t be allowed on the sea bridge, the police said on Wednesday.

The MTHL, also known as Atal Setu named after former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee, will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 12, the Chief Minister’s Office has said.

According to an official, vehicles like cars, taxis, light motor vehicles, minibuses and two-axle buses will have a speed limit of 100 kilometres per hour, he said. The speed will be restricted to 40 kmph on the ascent and descent of the bridge, he said.

The Mumbai police have imposed the speed limit on India’s longest sea bridge to curb “danger, obstructions and inconvenience to the public”, the official said.

The Rs 18,000-crore MTHL originates from Sewri in Mumbai and terminates at Nhava Sheva in Uran taluka in Raigad district.

Multi-axle heavy vehicles, trucks and buses heading towards Mumbai won’t have an entry on the Eastern Freeway, he said.

These vehicles will have to use the Mumbai Port-Sewri Exit (Exit 1C) and take the MBPT Road near ‘Gadi Adda’ for further movement, he said.

There will be no entry for vehicles like motorcycles, mopeds, three-wheelers, autos, tractors, animal-drawn vehicles and slow-moving vehicles, he said.

The MTHL is a 6-lane sea link, with 16.50 kilometres of the stretch on the sea and 5.5 km on land. Motorists will be able to cover the distance between Mumbai and Navi Mumbai in just 20 minutes which otherwise takes 2 hours.