Relief Short Lived: Makarba Bridge Increases Misery to Commuters, Authorities Block Crossroads to Force Diversions

The newly inaugurated railway overbridge at Makarba, meant to seamlessly connect Sarkhej-Juhapura with the SG Highway, turned into a commuter nightmare on its very first day of operation.

Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel opened the bridge over the Ahmedabad-Botad railway line on September 24. Heavy traffic gridlocks surfaced by Thursday evening, prompting authorities to deploy emergency measures that have drawn widespread backlash from local residents and commuters.

Hasty Diversions Force Long Detours at Corporate Road

Rather than implementing a long-term traffic management framework, civic and police officials blocked the key crossroads near the Makarba overbridge using temporary barricades.

Under the newly enforced traffic routing scheme:

• Commuters travelling from Corporate Road to Prahlad Nagar must turn left and take a distant U-turn ahead.
• Vehicles moving from Prahlad Nagar toward Corporate Road face a similar circular detour beneath the bridge structure before reaching their destination.

The abrupt barricading caused widespread confusion and anger among motorists struggling through lengthened commute times.

MLA Intervenes as Public Anger Escalates

Following severe gridlocks on Thursday evening, furious citizens contacted the local MLA for Vejalpur to register strong protests over poor infrastructure planning.

Responding to public criticism, the legislator dispatched an urgent letter to the Ahmedabad Commissioner of Police, demanding immediate installation of automatic traffic signals and the permanent deployment of traffic police personnel at the bridge intersection. Heavy police contingents were posted at the blocked junction on Friday to prevent law and order issues amid rising commuter friction.

Structural Design Flaws and Delays Plagued Construction

The Makarba railway overbridge encountered engineering hurdles from its inception. Construction ground to a halt during the early phases after underground drainage lines burst beneath the site.

Contractors were forced to modify column pillar designs after discovering unmapped utility pipelines beneath the terrain that differed significantly from official government layout blueprints.

Urban planning experts had previously warned that landing the bridge ramp directly onto the narrow stretch of Corporate Road would create a bottleneck. The immediate failure of traffic flow on day one highlights lingering design miscalculations, leaving civic administrators struggling to contain the fallout.