The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation has proposed constructing a reinforced cement concrete road on a stretch near the Makarba railway overbridge that was widened and asphalted only recently, prompting questions over the sequencing of civic road works. The proposal is scheduled to go before AMC’s road and building committee on October 21, six days after the road work was reported to have been completed in substantial parts.
The stretch connects Prahladnagar with SG Highway and leads from the Makarba railway overbridge towards an intersection. The overbridge was inaugurated in September, but its connection with the intersection has contributed to frequent traffic congestion, according to the report. AMC widened the connecting road and developed it with asphalt to ease traffic movement after the bridge became operational.
As of October 15, the widening and asphalt work had been completed on the road, although work on some sections was still under way. The proposal now listed before the civic committee includes redeveloping the stretch from the Prahladnagar fire station to SG Highway as an RCC road.
The proposal forms part of a larger annual rate contract worth Rs 136.6 crore for constructing asphalt and RCC roads across various parts of Ahmedabad. Approval of the contract, including the Makarba stretch, has been placed before the road and building committee.
AMC in-charge city engineer Rishi Pandya said the immediate widening and asphalt work was undertaken because the Makarba railway overbridge had created an urgent traffic requirement. “Following the work on the Makarba railway overbridge, a decision was taken to immediately widen the road,” Pandya said. He added that the road was developed through an annual rate contract vendor because constructing a concrete or RCC road would take time and could have led to traffic snarls.
Pandya said necessary modifications would be made to the proposal. His explanation indicates that the asphalt work was treated as an immediate traffic-management measure, while the RCC road proposal represents a subsequent construction decision for the same corridor. The report does not specify how the recently completed asphalt work would be handled if the RCC proposal is approved, or whether the full stretch would be taken up at once.
The sequence has placed the municipal engineering department’s planning and contracting process under scrutiny. It also leaves the road and building committee to consider a proposal involving a corridor that has already undergone widening and surface development in response to congestion following the overbridge’s opening.
The committee meeting on October 21 is expected to determine the next step for the annual rate contract and the proposed RCC redevelopment of the Prahladnagar-to-SG Highway stretch. AMC’s stated position is that modifications will be made to the proposal before consideration.
