Vadodara overbridge: Design flaws force VMC to revisit traffic plans

If right turn is now allowed on the bridge,commuters will have to use approach roads to cross the junction. Thus,those coming from Vishwamitri bridge and wanting to go towards Manjalpur will have to take the approach road near the bridge,take right turn from the Palace Gate and then use the bridge to go straight towards Manjalpur. The traffic going towards Palace Road from the Pratapnagr bridge will have to take service road till Shreyas School.

Raopura MLA Yogesh Patel,in whose constituency the bridge falls,said,“There is not enough space for heavy vehicles like buses to take right turn on the bridge. If the right turn is allowed,there is high risk of accidents. So we asked the municipal commissioner (Ashwini Kumar) not to allow right turn and he agreed.”

He said they had written to Kumar last month that the design of the bridge had flaws. “We are getting contradictory views. We will discuss the issue of traffic engineering with the consultant and take a decision,” said Kumar,adding the bridge will be inaugurated by the month-end.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (Traffic) M M Malek,who was also part of the team,told The Indian Express,“If right turn is allowed,it is likely to cause traffic jams. Drivers may not be able to stop and control their vehicles for long on slops of the bridge. So we have decided to put dividers to avoid right turn.”

The bridge,which has approaches from four directions,has been constructed under the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission (JNURM). Its first deadline was January 2010.