The sudden and unannounced closure of the 52-year-old Subhash Bridge in Ahmedabad on Thursday evening plunged the city's peak-hour traffic into complete disarray. The emergency shutdown, prompted by a portion of the bridge span reportedly sinking, caught thousands of commuters off guard and laid bare a significant lack of coordination between the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) and the city's traffic police.
Chaos Unfolds as Commuters Scramble
With no prior public intimation, the bridge was sealed, forcing a sudden halt to traffic flow. Vehicles were turned back, funnelling into already congested junctions at Naranpura, Ranip, and Sabarmati. The result was kilometres-long traffic snarls as motorists, caught by surprise, scrambled to find alternative routes. The traffic personnel were rushed to critical spots only after the jams had become unmanageable, highlighting a reactive rather than a planned response.
Official Admission of Poor Coordination
Additional Commissioner of Traffic, N N Chaudhary, openly admitted that his department was informed about the bridge's critical condition only at the last minute. "We learned of the issue on Thursday evening. Only after being informed about it did we begin traffic diversion," Chaudhary stated. This admission raises serious questions about why the AMC did not alert the traffic police earlier in the day when repair concerns first surfaced, which could have mitigated the widespread chaos.
Diversion Plan Announced After the Fact
In response to the crisis, the city traffic police eventually announced a detailed diversion plan. However, this announcement came hours after the chaos had peaked, offering little immediate relief to stranded commuters. The plan directed traffic as follows:
- Vehicles from Chandkheda and Sabarmati were asked to use the Chimanbhai Patel Bridge and proceed via Prabodh Raval Circle, Ranip D-Mart, Vadaj Circle, and Dadhichi Bridge to reach Shahibaug and Civil Hospital.
- Motorists heading from Sabarmati towards Civil Hospital were diverted through Bhadaj-Koteshwar Road, Indira Bridge, and Airport Road.
- Those travelling from Shahibaug towards Subhash Bridge were rerouted through the Shahibaug underpass or railway bridge, Namaste Circle, Kendriya Vidyalaya Cut, Devjipura, Meladi Mata Circle, and Dadhichi Bridge.
The incident underscores a critical need for better inter-departmental communication and proactive public alert systems in urban management to prevent such large-scale public inconvenience in the future.
