The cable-stayed bridge over the sea Bandra Worli

Mumbai's Bandra Worli Oversea Cable-Stayed Bridge, officially known as the 5.6-kilometer Rajiv Gandhi Sea Cable-Stayed Bridge, is an 8-lane Indian architectural, engineering and infrastructural wonder. Degree. This is the first cable-stayed bridge built over the high seas in India. The bridge is designed to handle more than 37,000 vehicles per day.

Before that, the central suburbs of Mumbai, the main business district and the western suburbs were only connected by the Mahim highway. It's the only road connecting Mumbai's two commercial districts, adding to the hassle of rush hour commuters as traveling from one end to the other takes a minimum of 70-90 minutes. To ease the inconvenience caused by traffic congestion at Mahim Causeway, the construction of a sea route was proposed. The proposed bridge would connect Bandra and Worli, reducing travel time from 60-90 minutes to 10 minutes. The Bandra Worli Mumbai cable-stayed bridge has been planned for construction on Mahim Bay, which will serve as an alternative route to the Mahim Causeway.

The foundation stone for the sea route in 1999 at an estimated cost of INR 6.6 billion and will be completed in 5 years. But the project was delayed for 5 years and the cost skyrocketed to a whopping INR 16 billion. The Bandra Worli Mumbai cable-stayed bridge is the first project to use seismic devices to make the structure strong enough to withstand earthquakes up to 7.0 on the Richter scale.

The sea route was finally opened to traffic in June 2009, with only 4 lanes operating out of a total of 8. The fully functional sea route was opened in March 2010. The bridge was inaugurated by UPA President, Smt. Sonia Gandhi.

The structure of the bridge is determined to include 3 parts: the northern viaduct, the central cable-stayed bridge and the southern viaduct. The construction of this bridge was a joint effort of talents, in which engineers from all over the world came together to create the wonder it is today..

The span of the concrete bridge over the Bandra Canal, which is also the main span, is the longest of the spans, while the pylons have intricate shapes. A total of 0.1 million tons of cement was used for the project. The Bandra end concrete floor span alone weighs 20,000 tons and is supported by high-strength stay cables. The tallest columns are 128 meters in size with their height decreasing in cross-section.

The viaducts on either side are the heaviest prefabricated steel-concrete superstructure built in India. The length of the cable-stayed section towards Bandra head is 600 meters with a total of 264 stay cables and the length of the Worli end section is 250 meters with a total of 160 stay cables.

The view and beauty of the bridge at night is a sight to behold as the cable-stays are fully lit and the vehicles running across the bridge make for a great photo op for all photography enthusiasts. So it is not only beautiful in terms of architecture but also a marvel to be admired in Mumbai

Opening hours: 24/24

Admission: free