New 868-Metre Bridge Set To Open In Vadodara A Year After 22 Killed In Collapse

A new bridge alongside the remains of the Gambhira-Mujpur bridge, which collapsed more than a year ago and killed 22 people in Vadodara district, is set to open. The new 868.75-metre bridge, which features epoxy-coated steel for increased durability, is scheduled to be inaugurated on Sunday by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, according to officials.

The steel-girder span of the old, 1985-built bridge still stands alongside the new one on the Mahi River, also called Mahisagar locally. During heavy morning traffic on July 9 last year, a concrete bridge's slab between two piers collapsed, sending vehicles falling into the river. Every day, an average of one lakh vehicles, mostly heavy-duty ones, passed over the bridge.

According to the project specifications provided by the R&B department, the new bridge was built at an estimated overall expenditure of Rs 278 crore. The project received an "administrative sanction" of Rs 212 crore and a "technical sanction" of Rs 244.16 crore.

CMO Monitoring Helped Speed Up Bridge Construction

In a Saturday statement, the state government gave credit for part of the project's progress to "close monitoring by the CMO". The note said the CM met every two weeks for the past year with the R&B Department secretary to check on the bridge's progress, ask for updates, and step in to prevent delays after "administrative approval" was granted for the new bridge within two weeks of the July 2025 collapse.

The collapse affected students and staff commuting between Padra and Anklav. For now, the government gave the go-ahead for a Rs 9 crore steel structure on the old bridge to allow two-wheelers to cross safely. After the temporary setup, the old bridge reopened in April this year.

New Bridge Faced Construction Challenges

R&B officials noted that the new bridge had its own set of construction hurdles, especially due to Mahisagar's shifting water levels and flow. Even with those challenges, all 23 piers were constructed, and the structure was completed on time. They said around 300 workers worked on the project around the clock. The bridge uses epoxy-coated steel to reduce the risk of corrosion and improve durability. Officials noted that precast components sped up construction, and inspection platforms were installed at every pier to make structural checks easier.

Because the old bridge collapsed under those conditions, safety testing became a major focus during the final phase of the project. Each of the 23 spans underwent a 280-tonne load test to check its strength. Vibration monitoring and pull-out tests were also done, while officials and consultants physically inspected the bridge's components, an R&B official said.

Once opened, the new bridge will restore a direct link between Vadodara, Padra and Anand, ending the 45-km detour that commuters have had to take since last year's collapse.