Bridges over the sea: the Bandra–Worli Sea Link and Atal Setu, the back story

About Bridges over the sea: the Bandra–Worli Sea Link and Atal Setu, the back story

By the ULTIMATE Mumbai Editorial Team

Regional Editor, South Asia: Tara de la Motte

Mumbai has always been shaped by the sea. In 2009 the Bandra–Worli Sea Link carried the city’s traffic out over the bay on cables; in January 2024 Atal Setu, the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link, crossed the whole harbour to the mainland.

A city on the water

Mumbai is a city of shoreline, creeks and bays, and for most of its history the way north from the old city to the suburbs was the long road round Mahim Bay. The answer, when it came, was to build out over the sea itself.

The Bandra–Worli Sea Link

The Bandra–Worli Sea Link, built for the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), runs for about 5.6 km across the bay from Worli to Bandra. It is an eight-lane cable-stayed bridge: tall concrete towers carry the deck on fans of steel cables over the Bandra channel, and the drive round the bay now takes minutes.

From Worli Sea Face at sunset, the cables of the Sea Link catch the last light like the strings of a harp.

Its first lanes opened to the public in June 2009 and all eight were open by March 2010. It quickly became a symbol of modern Mumbai, its line of lights sweeping across the bay at night. Today it joins the new Coastal Road at its southern end, and MSRDC’s Versova–Bandra Sea Link is its next step north.

Atal Setu

Atal Setu, the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link, opened in January 2024. It runs from Sewri on the eastern shore of the island city to Chirle near Nhava Sheva on the mainland, about 21.8 km in all, with about 16.5 km over the sea, which makes it India’s longest bridge and its longest sea bridge.

The new road has changed the map of the region. It is the fast way from South Mumbai towards Navi Mumbai and its new airport, Alibag on the far shore, and the road to Pune. It is a toll road, run by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA). In winter, look out over the Sewri mudflats near its Mumbai end, where flocks of flamingos often gather.

Seeing the bridges

The Sea Link is at its best from the shore: from Worli Sea Face or from Bandstand in Bandra, as the sun goes down over the Arabian Sea. Atal Setu is best enjoyed from the car, on a clear morning, when the harbour opens out on both sides and the hills of the mainland rise ahead.

Our advice: cross the Sea Link by taxi at dusk, then walk Bandstand as the bridge lights up; keep Atal Setu for a day trip to Alibag, and travel early to beat the traffic and the haze.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Bridges over the sea: the Bandra–Worli Sea Link and Atal Setu, the back story before you go.