A railway overbridge in Ahmedabad hits a wall. What’s next?

The Indian Express has accessed five letters sent by the Railways to the AUDA between September 2023 and December 2024 — while the bridge was under construction — stating that the road connecting the south-end ramp of the ROB to the Shilaj main road, 2 km away, was yet to be built.

A visit by The Indian Express to the spot revealed that the ramp of the ROB was within touching distance of the boundary walls of the private properties. The ROB further leads into a six-metre-wide dirt track that is flanked by the private properties. This dirt track winds its way for about 2 km before joining the Shilaj main road.

AUDA chairperson Devang P Desai told The Indian Express, “The area beyond the south end of the ROB remains an agricultural zone. Until the government decides to convert the zone, it is not possible to make a town planning scheme (a readjustment mechanism to change the zone and facilitate the construction of the road in agricultural land) there.”

While the north-end ramp of the bridge opens to the Bopal-Ghuma road, the ramp on the south end almost hits the boundary walls of private properties in the Manipur-Shilaj area. 

A dead-end, multiple reminders

Originally planned as a Railway Under Bridge (RUB), the plan was changed to a Railway Over Bridge (ROB) and approved by the Railway Board in Delhi in January 2018.

The ROB’s dead end is located nearly 200 metres from LC-16A. The extended waiting time for vehicles at the level crossing had resulted in the proposal for the overbridge, officials said. Nearly 1 km from LC-16A lies LC-15B, another level crossing over a very narrow underbridge that witnesses constant traffic jams. The ROB was expected to not just eliminate the need for LC-16A, but also divert some traffic from LC-15B, officials say.

In 2018, the Railway Board in Delhi sanctioned a two-lane ROB at the spot of the LC-16A manned crossing, but the Ahmedabad Division of Western Railways realised that there was no space for an ROB at the spot. They then approached the AUDA, which then suggested the current location for a two-lane ROB. But in November 2019, AUDA proposed to build a four-lane ROB and offered to bear the extra cost.

In September 2020, the General Arrangement Drawing (GAD) of the ROB was agreed upon by all parties – AUDA, the Ahmedabad Division of the Railways and the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL), which runs the dedicated freight corridor that runs on this route – and the construction was completed by the end of 2024.

According to documents accessed by The Indian Express, AUDA bore 50% of the cost of the project, DFCCIL 25% and Railways 25%.

Originally planned as a Railway Under Bridge (RUB), the plan was changed to a Railway Over Bridge (ROB) and approved by the Railway Board in Delhi in January 2018. 

To link this ROB to the Shilaj main road, 2 km away, the authority also had to construct a 45-m-wide road. But as of January 13 — six years since the Railway Board first sanctioned the ROB and over four years after the AUDA suggested the location for the overbridge — the construction of the proposed road is yet to start.

Meanwhile, multiple letters from the Railways to AUDA mention the non-existence of this road connecting the south-end of the ROB to the Shilaj main road. The first letter, dated September 23, 2023, stated that though 75% of the work on the ROB had been finished, the town planning scheme for the south end was yet to be passed by AUDA. The letter added that LC-16A would be shut down as soon as the bridge was fully constructed.

Eight months later, on May 4, 2024, the Railways sent a reminder – the ROB was 85% complete at that time. The Railways then sent another letter, dated June 12, 2024, reminding AUDA of the land zoning, when the bridge was over 85% complete. When the third reminder, dated September 10, 2024, was sent, the ROB was 92% complete.

The fourth, and the last, reminder was sent on December 18, 2024, when the DFCCIL stated that the ROB had been completed. Urging AUDA to advise the Railways on the matter “urgently”, DFCCIL stated that orders had been received from the Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) of Ahmedabad Division to close LC-16A once the work on the ROB is completed.

The ROB’s dead end is located nearly 200 metres from LC-16A.

What next?

While the Ahmedabad Division of Western Railways did not respond to The Indian Express on AUDA’s response to their constant reminders to build the connecting road, the Public Relations Officer of Western Railway’s Ahmedabad Division, Ajay Solanki, confirmed that the LC-16A crossing would be closed down only after the ROB is commissioned by the AUDA.

AUDA’s Desai said that since the dirt track falls in an agricultural zone, the only way to build the road is by acquiring the private property on either side of this stretch. “We are exploring the possibility of joining the south side of the bridge to the Shilaj main road, but it is an agricultural zone. Since a town planning scheme will take too long, advance possession of land and construction of a road seems to be the only way out,” he said.

When asked why the connection road wasn’t built despite multiple reminders from the Railways, Desai said, “This (Shilaj) is a developing area, which is why it feels like this bridge running into a dead end is a problem. But the philosophy at the time (to turn the two-lane ROB to four-lane) would have been future planning.”

He said the authority is conducting an alignment survey and will soon begin demarcating land that’s likely to be acquired partially to build the road. “Based on the survey, we will decide how to proceed. We will also have to see whether any construction is going on in that stretch, which may have been legally approved earlier,” he added.

The proposed road to connect the bridge to the Shilaj main road is slightly less than 2 km but part of it falls in AUDA and part of it falls in AMC area. Desai said, “We are also in talks with the AMC to see if they can build a road in their part of the area.”