New Delhi, Aug. 12 -- Rahul Desai, 31, didn't mind the distance-until he really started feeling it. The finance executive had moved to Ulwe, a fast-growing residential pocket in Navi Mumbai, two years ago, making what felt like a rational trade: space for time. After years of living in a one-bedroom matchbox in south Mumbai, the idea of a larger, sunlit home with a balcony was too tempting to pass up. But going to work and back would mean travelling 90 km every day.

On paper, it was a 60- to 90-minute commute, door to door, thanks to the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link, also known as Atal Setu. The bridge, which is 21.8 km long (much of it is over the Arabian Sea), links Sewri in south Mumbai to Chirle near Nhava Sheva, a short ride from Ulwe....