Bhavnagar is set to get two new overbridges, announced by state government spokesperson and Bhavnagar West MLA Jitu Vaghani. The announcement was made on Saturday, 7 November.

The bigger project is a Rs 650-crore Nari Chokdi-Vartej overbridge, described as the largest in Saurashtra. An online tender for the project has already been floated.

The Nari Chokdi-Vartej overbridge

The Nari Chokdi-Vartej overbridge will be built at a cost of Rs 650 crore. It is described as the largest overbridge in Saurashtra, which covers the whole region around Bhavnagar.

The project will be implemented jointly by the National Highways Authority of India, the state Roads and Buildings Department and Bhavnagar Municipal Corporation. The three agencies will work together on the construction.

The Kumbharwada bridge

The second bridge will come up at the Kumbharwada railway crossing. It is being built under the 'Phatak Mukt Bharat' initiative, which aims to remove railway level crossings across the country.

The Kumbharwada bridge will remove a level crossing that causes delays and congestion for traffic. Once built, vehicles will no longer have to wait for trains to pass at that point.

Why the bridges matter

Both bridges aim to ease congestion and cut travel time and fuel use. Bhavnagar's traffic has grown, and the city's roads and crossings have struggled to keep up.

The Nari Chokdi-Vartej link will give the city a major new route, while the Kumbharwada bridge will remove a bottleneck at a railway crossing. Together, they should make movement across the city faster and smoother.

Tender already floated

An online tender for the Nari Chokdi-Vartej overbridge has already been floated. That means the project has moved from announcement to the stage where contractors can bid for the work.

The joint implementation by NHAI, the Roads and Buildings Department and the Municipal Corporation will decide how quickly the work starts and how it is managed.

What happens next

The tender process will decide who builds the Nari Chokdi-Vartej overbridge. The Kumbharwada bridge will follow under the Phatak Mukt Bharat programme.

For Bhavnagar, the two bridges are a major infrastructure announcement. They promise less congestion, shorter travel times and lower fuel use for the city's residents.