Mumbai, May 23 (IANS): Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde will flag off a 'bus' to traverse a short distance on the just completed and much-awaited Mumbai Trans Harbour Link, on Wednesday (May 24), officials said here on Monday.

With the 180-metre long deck slab getting installed, the 22-km sea-link will be ready end-to-end though it will be opened from traffic operations only by November 2023.

To mark the deck slab installation, Shinde will show the green flag to a bus carrying MMRDA officers and engineers to go on a symbolic short drive, said an official.

The total bridge length is 22 km, including 5.5 km of the approach roads on both ends - Sewri on the Mumbai side and Nhava on the Navi Mumbai side.

After the token ceremony on May 24, work will proceed to the remaining stages like installing crash barriers, asphalting the deck, erecting view-cutters, setting up the open toll collection centres, security and surveillance systems, markers and signages, water-proofing the engineering structure, lights and reflectors, etc. over the next four-five months.

The 30.1 metre wide, six-lane bridge is being built at a cost of over Rs 17,800-crore with 85 per cent funding from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

The MTHL - envisaged 30 years ago - will slash the travel time from Mumbai island to Navi Mumbai on the mainland from the existing two-three hours to barely 20 minutes.

This will save time, fuel, the environment and provide a link to the upcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport, special economic and residential zones coming up in the region and also significantly cut the road journey time to other places like Pune and Goa.