Vadodara-Bharuch stretch gets own NHAI unit, after last year’s gridlocks
(File Photo)The Centre has initiated several infrastructure and administrative measures, including setting up a dedicated NHAI Project Implementation Unit (PIU) in Vadodara, in an attempt to resolve the traffic snarls that brought the Vadodara-Bharuch stretch on NH-48 to a standstill on several occasions last monsoon. Vadodara Lok Sabha MP Hemang Joshi had written to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways seeking a resolution to the issue. Speaking to this newspaper, Joshi said he had recommended the creation of a dedicated PIU in Vadodara because, whenever severe traffic congestion occurred on the highway, there was no local NHAI team available to provide an immediate response or coordinate relief measures.“The dedicated PIU will ensure better coordination on the ground. It will help ensure that patchwork and repairs are carried out as and when required, instead of waiting for teams from elsewhere. I expect the response this monsoon to be much better,”Joshi said. According to a communication received from the Ministry after Joshi raised the issue during Zero Hour in the Lok Sabha, the NHAI has acted on his recommendation by establishing a new PIU in Vadodara to provide localised supervision and prompt management of the Vadodara-Bharuch stretch of NH-48. The ministry also informed the MP that construction of bridges on the Vishwamitri, the Jambuva, the Por and the Bamangam were in advanced stages to remove existing bottlenecks, while additional service roads were being planned along congested urban stretches to segregate local traffic from long-distance vehicles. It further stated that 24×7 highway patrolling and emergency ambulance services have been deployed for faster incident response, and that the completion of the Vadodara-Navsari section of the Vadodara-Mumbai Expressway was expected to divert heavy freight traffic from NH-48. “The Vadodara-Bharuch section is a crucial lifeline for both passenger and industrial traffic in our region. With the Ministry taking swift action on our demands and setting up a dedicated NHAI office right here in Vadodara, it will ensure faster execution and better accountability on the ground,” Joshi said. The measures come against the backdrop of the recurring monsoon gridlock on the approximately 15-km stretch between Bamangam in Karjan and Jambuva on the outskirts of Vadodara. During the 2025 monsoon, continuous traffic jams lasting several hours, and at times extending through the day, had prompted a joint inspection by the Vadodara police, NHAI, the VMC, the Roads and Buildings Department and the Regional Transport Office.
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