Ahmedabad Makarba overbridge congestion: AMC study and road widening

Ahmedabad’s new Makarba railway overbridge has created congestion around the Corporate Road junction instead of delivering free-flowing movement. The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has asked the design consultant to study the problem and is widening the road from Corporate Crossroads towards the Sarkhej–Gandhinagar (SG) Highway.

Illustration: Representative urban overbridge traffic scene; it is not a photograph of Ahmedabad’s Makarba bridge.

Key takeaways

The Makarba railway overbridge opened on 24 Sep 2026 to improve movement near Level Crossing 24, but its landing close to Corporate Road has been followed by congestion.
AMC has asked design consultant DELF Consulting Engineers (India) Pvt Ltd to explain the traffic situation and submit a technical study covering immediate and long-term measures.
The civic body says the bridge landing leaves too little room for vehicles to merge, weave and disperse before reaching the junction.
Traffic arrangements have changed quickly: reports describe a capsule-style diversion, its removal after queues worsened, and road-widening work as the response develops.
There is no confirmed completion date for the widening or the consultant’s evaluation, so drivers should follow the latest on-ground traffic directions.

What happened at Makarba

The four-lane Makarba railway overbridge was inaugurated on 24 Sep 2026 under the Phatak-mukt Bharat campaign. It was intended to ease the disruption created by Level Crossing 24 on the Ahmedabad–Botad broad-gauge railway line and improve links between Makarba, Corporate Road, Juhapura and the SG Highway.

Instead, the bridge’s descent meets the Corporate Road junction very close to the point where traffic needs to merge and spread into different directions. The result has been queues and slower movement around a fast-growing commercial and residential area in south-west Ahmedabad. The Indian Express reported on 7 Oct 2026 that AMC had issued a show-cause notice to the design consultant and was seeking immediate as well as permanent remedies.

The notice is a request for an explanation and further technical work; it is not a final finding that the consultant acted improperly. The confirmed issue in the reporting is traffic movement at the bridge landing and junction, not a finding that the bridge structure is unsafe.

Why the junction is becoming a bottleneck

When a bridge landing is close to a busy junction, vehicles coming off the bridge have less space to change lanes, join cross traffic or clear the intersection. AMC’s notice, as quoted by The Indian Express, said the bridge lands near Corporate Road with inadequate length for “merging, weaving and dispersal of traffic”. That explains why a project designed to remove a level-crossing delay can still create a new queue at its exit.

The first traffic response has also been unsettled. Gujarat Samachar reported on 6 Oct 2026 that traffic police installed barricades and directed vehicles through a capsule-style U-turn, but removed the arrangement after queues shifted to the narrower diversion. A separate Gujarat Jagran report the same day said AMC was using a capsule layout while starting road-widening work and asking the consultant for a technical assessment. Because the reports describe a changing arrangement, drivers should rely on the signs and traffic personnel present on the route rather than assume that an earlier diversion is still active.

What AMC is doing now

AMC has instructed DELF Consulting Engineers to study current traffic conditions, compare them with the earlier traffic-flow assessment and explain the technical reasons for the congestion. The requested report is expected to set out immediate corrective measures as well as a longer-term solution. The consultant’s response and AMC’s subsequent technical evaluation will determine what permanent changes are made.

At the same time, the civic body has begun widening the existing road from Corporate Crossroads to the SG Highway. The stated aim is to give traffic more usable width and improve flow after the bridge landing. Gujarat Jagran also reported that the road-widening work and technical review were being pursued together, so the response is not limited to moving barricades at the junction.

These steps should be read as work in progress, not as confirmation that the congestion has ended. No official completion date for the widening or the final evaluation was available in the reports reviewed for this update.

What this means for drivers

People travelling between Makarba, Corporate Road, Juhapura and the SG Highway should allow for changing traffic conditions, especially during busy periods. The immediate delay is measured in time and stop-start running rather than a newly announced toll or road fee. A route that looks shorter on a map can still cost more fuel if vehicles spend longer idling or crawling through a junction.

For a planned commute or cross-city trip, use the road-trip planner to compare the route before leaving, and check current traffic instructions near the bridge. If the diversion adds distance or slow-running time, the fuel cost calculator can help estimate the trip using your vehicle’s mileage and the extra kilometres you actually travel.

Fuel prices vary by city and outlet, so use the live fuel prices page when making that estimate. This is a way to understand the cost of a delay, not a claim that every driver will incur the same amount.

What to check before using the corridor

Look for the current barricade, U-turn and lane arrangement at the bridge landing.
Follow traffic police instructions if the capsule layout or another temporary channelisation is in place.
Allow additional time until the road widening and technical review produce a settled arrangement.
Watch for an official update on the consultant’s response, AMC’s evaluation and any permanent junction redesign.

What to watch next

The next meaningful update should come from the technical study and AMC’s review of the consultant’s explanation. Drivers will want to know whether the road widening is enough to separate bridge traffic from Corporate Road movements, whether a permanent junction design replaces the temporary layout and when the work is expected to finish. Until those details are confirmed, the practical takeaway is simple: the Makarba overbridge is open, but the traffic system around its landing is still being adjusted.