Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel is scheduled to open the new Gambhira bridge over the Mahi (Mahisagar) river on September 20, restoring the direct road link between Padra in Vadodara district and Anklav in Anand district. The Roads and Buildings Department built the Rs 212 crore structure after the old bridge at the same crossing gave way on July 9, 2025, sending vehicles into the river.
The opening had been pencilled in for September 8, during the Prime Minister’s Gujarat visit. DeshGujarat reported that the department pushed it back to finish load and safety checks, and that three tests (a pull-out test, vibration monitoring and a physical inspection) have now cleared. The same visit will include inaugurations and foundation stones for other projects worth Rs 1,273 crore.
How the old bridge failed
The original bridge dated from 1985. On the morning of July 9, 2025, a span collapsed while traffic was on it. Gujarat Samachar puts the final death toll at 22; other outlets reported 21 as recovery work closed. A day after the collapse, the Chief Minister suspended four Roads and Buildings engineers, from executive engineer down to assistant engineer. A state minister said at the time that a preliminary finding pointed to crushed pedestals and articulation joints, the parts that let a bridge deck sit on its piers and move with load and temperature.
The collapse set off bridge checks well beyond Vadodara. Ahmedabad’s civic body, for one, began a structural audit of its bridges older than 15 years.
What the new bridge is
The state sanctioned the replacement on July 13, 2025, four days after the collapse. According to The Tribune’s report on the approval, the plan called for a two-lane bridge parallel to the old alignment near Mujpur, a four-lane approach road, and widening of the 4.2 km stretch from the highway to the bridge. The government set an 18-month deadline. Opening in September 2026 puts the project about four months ahead of that target.
Gujarat Samachar reports that engineers used precast “sacrificial plate” protection around the foundations, meant to take the wear from river flow, stones and chemical action so the piers themselves do not. That detail matters on the Mahi, a river that swells hard in the monsoon and carries heavy sediment.
What it means for Padra, Anand and beyond
For fourteen months, farmers, traders and daily commuters between Padra taluka and Anand district have taken longer road routes to cross the Mahi. The crossing also serves goods traffic moving between central Gujarat and south Gujarat and Saurashtra, so the closure added cost for transporters as well as time for residents. Villages on both banks with family, school and market ties across the river stand to gain the most from the reopening.
The speed of the rebuild also sets a benchmark. The department delivered a new river bridge, from sanction to opening, in about 14 months. Residents of other districts waiting on repairs to ageing bridges can fairly ask why their projects take longer.
What to watch
- The inquiry. The state promised a detailed technical report on the collapse within weeks of the accident. Publishing its findings, and the outcome for the suspended engineers, would tell the public whether maintenance failures have been fixed or only the bridge has.
- Load limits. Watch whether the department announces any restrictions on heavy vehicles on the new two-lane deck, and how it plans to inspect it.
- The old structure. The government has not said publicly whether it will demolish or retain what remains of the 1985 bridge.
Sources: DeshGujarat, Gujarat Samachar, The Tribune, Deccan Herald
This report was compiled and written with AI assistance from publicly reported sources, and reviewed for accuracy.