The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) standing committee has sanctioned ₹21.55 crore for vital maintenance and safety upgrades on three of the city’s key bridges — Gandhi Bridge, Sardar Bridge, and Parikshitlal Majmudar Bridge.
The project will involve lifting 89 bridge spans — 38 on Gandhi Bridge, 48 on Sardar Bridge, and 3 on Parikshitlal Majmudar Bridge — to replace worn-out elastomeric bearings, enhancing the structures’ stability and lifespan.
This decision follows the Gambhira Bridge collapse on July 9, which prompted the state government to order inspections and urgent repairs of all bridges across Gujarat.
Since no existing tender covered this category of work, the AMC expanded the scope of the current Ellis Bridge contractor to include the three bridges.
In the same meeting, the committee also approved a cost escalation for the Ellis Bridge restoration, increasing the project budget from ₹26.88 crore to ₹42.90 crore — an additional ₹16 crore.
Officials said major strengthening work on Gandhi Bridge, including the installation of new steel plates and seismic arresters, has already been completed with minimal traffic disruption.Over the past five years, Gujarat has seen several bridge-related accidents — from the 2022 Morbi suspension bridge collapse that claimed 141 lives, to multiple failures in Tapi, Surendranagar, and Palanpur.
The recent Gambhira Bridge collapse once again underscored the urgent need for comprehensive bridge safety measures across the state.