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Journalism of Courage
TWO WORN-OUT signboards — one indicating the Morbi side and another pointing towards the Gondal area — are telltale signs of the Ring Road 2 project that rolled out in Rajkot over a decade ago. The project was envisaged to encircle the largest city in the Saurashtra region to streamline traffic not just within city limits but heavy traffic between all districts in Western Gujarat as well, much like the Sardar Patel Ring Road in Ahmedabad, but the 61-km road project is yet to be completed.
Finally, a ray of hope came on September 23 when the Rajkot Urban Development Authority (RUDA) board approved a four-lane road on a 10-km stretch of the RR-2, between Ahmedabad National Highway Highway (NH-27) and Morbi State Highway (SH-24), at a cost of Rs 186.96 crore. The grant for the road has been approved by the state government.
This part of the RR-2, which is Phase-5 of the project, is the first of the six-phase project which will be constructed as a four-lane road unlike the earlier phases that were first built as two-lane roads and will now get an upgrade.
Kalavad Road Highway Trijunction
What could be the centrepiece of the project is the Katariya Chowkdi on Kalavad Road, one of Rajkot’s busiest roads. It is not only the gateway to south-west Saurashtra but also connects to the Metoda industrial area, a major commute route for city residents.
The Rajkot civic body has begun the transformation of Katariya Chowkdi, which is the intersection of the RR-2 and SH-23, into a three-layered junction. An extradosed split 459-metre-long underpass has been planned with amenities such as badminton and basketball courts, food courts, open-air gymnasium, amphitheatre and so on, over which will run an “iconic” cable-stayed bridge to be constructed at a cost of Rs167.24 crore. This bridge is expected to benefit two lakh people using these routes every day, said Rajkot City Engineer Kuntesh Mehta. The RR-2 will be on the ground level.
The 744 metre long six-lane bridge will come up perpendicular to the RR-2, along the Kalavad road (SH-23) out of which the 160-metre centre portion will be a cable-stayed bridge.
Rajkot Municipal Commissioner Tushar Sumera, who is also the Chairman of RUDA, said: “Ring Road 2 serves as an important artery joining all highway stretches that connect Saurashtra to the rest of Gujarat. The RR-2, when completed, will enable vehicles to bypass the city entirely and connect any of the highways, thus reducing traffic problems inside the city.”
The first phase of the project began in 2014 and completed in 2016, and the construction of the entire RR-2 is scheduled to be completed by 2029, officials told The Indian Express.
Envisioned as a two-lane road encircling Rajkot city and connecting the major state and national highways since many of the areas were outside the Town Planning Scheme at that time, rising traffic demands is now leading to the RR-2 being upgraded from two-lane to four-lane in the semi-urban and six-lane in urban stretches. The upgradation of the RR-2 is being carried out by the Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC) in city areas and by the RUDA in the areas outside municipal jurisdiction.
Speaking on the traffic on the RR-2 and why the expansion into four-lane and six-lane is inevitable, police officials said that on normal days, heavy vehicles are diverted there as and when required. However, city commuters don’t prefer the RR-2 now as it is narrow and certain sections of it are riddled with potholes.
“There are fewer accidents on the RR-2 than on internal roads and traffic jams are very few because it is not a preferred choice for internal city traffic,” said a police officer, who had worked in the western parts of the ring road until recently.
“However, small and medium vehicular traffic increases during Navratri and weekends because many cafes and party plots are located in the outer parts of the city. Once it becomes a four-lane road, traffic congestion will be reduced. Manpower being deployed there can also be reduced. So we will be able to concentrate on internal city roads to handle traffic,” the officer said.
The expansion of RR2 is being carried out after obtaining “advance possession” of land following the signing of agreements with owners, most of them farmers.
A senior official earlier posted in Rajkot, told The Indian Express, “There was a plan to set up 25-30 town planning (TP) schemes in the rural areas through which the RR-2 was built, but lack of staff at RUDA had affected those plans. It was then decided that a consulting firm would be hired for the job but that plan too did not go through in spite of a tender being issued because the government did not get acceptable bids.”
Later, the RUDA decided to get “advance possession” of land based on agreements and kept the TP schemes pending.
Under “advance possession” — a provision enshrined in the General Development Regulations (GDR) about a decade ago — the government can ask landowners to contribute up to 40% of land for development projects, in non-TP areas. This provision was upheld by the Gujarat High Court in July 2014.
“If a landowner loses less than 40% land in the development, then it is of no consequence but if they lose more than that, then they can be given another plot when the TP scheme is enacted in that area. However, most owners agree to advance possession of land as the road not only facilitates transport but also increases the value of the rest of the land,” said the officer.
Breaking down the phases
The first phase of RR-2 was a two-lane 8.96 km road between Jamnagar road (SH-6) and Kalavad road (SH-23) with three major bridges, and was opened to the public in 2016.
The second phase, also a two-lane 11.2 km stretch between Kalavad road (SH-23) and Gondal road (NH-27), with three major bridges, was completed and opened in 2020.
The third phase, a two-lane 10.6 km stretch between Gondal road (NH-27) and Bhavnagar road (SH-25), with five major bridges, was opened in 2021.
The fourth phase of RR-2, a two-lane 10.3 km stretch between Bhavnagar road (SH-25) and Ahmedabad road (NH-27), with two major bridges, was opened in 2023.
The westernmost fifth phase, between Ahmedabad road (NH-27) and Morbi road (SH-24), whose construction will begin now, has been planned as a four-lane road over 9.4 km, and as a two-lane over 1.7 km stretch.
The sixth phase of the RR-2, between Morbi road (SH-24) and Jamnagar road (SH-6), which is the last stretch of this project, will be 8 km long and will be a part of the future Ring Road 3 project. This stretch is 8 km long and passes downstream of Aji-2 Dam. The sixth phase of the road project will only begin after a river bridge is approved and built.
Officials said that the proposal for three Railway Overbridges (ROBs) are also under consideration along the RR-2.
Expanding the stretch
“The entire stretch of the Ring Road 2 from the beginning of Phase-1 at the Jamnagar road to the end of the fourth phase at Ahmedabad road, forming the western and southern parts bottom half crescent, will be upgraded to either four-lane or six-lane roads, while the fifth phase will be built, from the beginning, as a four-lane road,” said Vijay Savaliya, Executive Engineer at RUDA. This work has already begun and since the extra lanes are being constructed outwards, it will not impact regular traffic.
Since Phase-1 falls almost entirely within the boundaries of Rajkot city, the RMC began upgrading this entire 8.96 km stretch into a 45-metre-wide six-lane road in 2024 as part of the plan to decrease traffic congestion in the city.
In Phase 2, while the RMC is turning a 3-km stretch into a six-lane road, the remaining stretch of 8.2 km is being developed into a four-lane road by the RUDA.
Phases 3 and 4, built as two-lane roads and encompass the south-east quadrant of the ring road, are located outside Rajkot city. The planning for their upgradation has been carried out by the RUDA. When asked about this, Savaliya said, “We have asked the state government for grants to upgrade these stretches and the proposal is currently pending for approval.”
Meanwhile, Phase 5, whose construction has now been approved, will be constructed as a four-lane road. Officials said that it is likely that Phase-6 also will be built as a four-lane road as well.
On the need to expand the Ring Road 2 after building most of it, Municipal Commissioner Sumera told The Indian Express, “The Ring Road 2 serves as a bypass to Rajkot city and as such it is heavily loaded with traffic having a density of 15,000 PCU (passenger car unit/day). The road carrying capacity had reached optimum thus to give better mobility and safety, the state government has decided to expand these road sections — phase-l from Jamnagar highway to Kalawad highway under RMC, and Phase-2 from RMC boundary to NH-27 B (Gondal road) under the RUDA. Work of RR-2 Phase-2 widening is in progress and will be completed by September-October 2026.”
Further, the Rajkot Municipal Corporation is in consultation with stakeholders regarding the construction of internal city roads to connect interior parts to Ring Road 2 to divide traffic between the peripheral RR-2 and city roads.
Highway Connectivity, NH-27
Gondal and Ahmedabad
Gondal side: There have been a lot of problems surrounding the south-west bound Gondal road, specifically in the 67-km-long stretch of the NH-27 between Rajkot and Jetpur, where the four-lane road is being converted into a six-lane from 2022. The work by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has left only two small sideroads open for vehicles, leading to hours-long traffic snarls, leaving travellers stranded and ambulances stuck in the industrial area of Shapar GIDC.
These service roads are only 5.5 metres instead of the ideal 7 metres. So when there is a heavy vehicle, others cannot pass through and the heavy vehicles also have to drive slowly because of the bad condition of the road. There are 18 overbridges and 14 diversions on this route.
Ahmedabad side: The construction of Phase-5 will run concurrent to the six-laning of the Ahmedabad-Rajkot highway, which is scheduled to be completed by December 2025, the then Minister of State for Roads and Buildings Jagdish Vishwakarma said while replying to a question in the Assembly in March (Vishwakarma succeeded C R Patil as the Gujarat BJP chief earlier this month). Attributing the delay to the Covid pandemic, Vishwakarma had said that the work on 201.33 km NH-27 started in 2018 at an estimated cost of Rs 3,350 crore and it is likely to be completed by December 2025.
After the six-laning of the highway, the travel time is expected to be reduced by 45 minutes, saving 10-15% fuel, Vishwakarma had said.
Ring roads to go green
On the same day as the RUDA board approved the beginning of construction of Phase-5 of RR-2, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel approved the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the ‘Green Ring Road Development Scheme’ and set aside Rs 200 crore in the budget for the construction of green ring roads around major cities as part of “smart transportation solutions keeping in mind the increasing population and number of vehicles in cities”.
The work of constructing green ring roads has been undertaken with the aim of providing fast connectivity between different areas of the city without entering its main areas.
The goal is to construct such ring roads using climate resilient and eco-friendly green technology, said a statement from the government. The SOPs include construction of roads that create sustainable infrastructure with minimum maintenance; building carriageways, medians and shoulders, drainage and storm water management, road utilities, tree plantation and traffic management and road safety facilities; priority to use of 25 per cent recycled material in road construction and maximum use of renewable energy.
Asked about the integration of this state-wide initiative into the remaining phases of RR-2, RMC Commissioner Tushar Sumera said, “We have begun working on upgrades on the RR-2 with regards to tree plantation, street lights, drainage facilities and sustainable improvements in line with the SOPs approved by the government.” Notably, this road has been designed as per IRC-37 (Indian Roads Congress) & IRC-SP-84 code and follows the green road initiative by providing required green cover and tree plantation along the path.
What Next: Ring Road 3
Even as there are several years to go before the RR-2 itself is completed, planning has already begun for RR-3. “The RUDA has identified the path of Ring road-3 with a total length of 82 km. Out of which 61 km falls under RUDA jurisdiction,” the RMC Commissioner said.
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