Elevated highway proposed between Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar

Travelling from Ahmedabad to Gandhinagar during peak hours is a harrowing experience. Traffic jams at Thaltej Chowkdi and Gota Gam can test any man’s patience. But you can rise above the traffic congestion if state government’s plan for an elevated highway materialises. The highway proposed to be built between Sarkhej and Gota can cut your hour-long journey to the Capital in half. This will be the first elevated highway to be built in Gujarat. The Road & Building Department has sent the proposal to the Centre for approval. If okayed, the highway will be built at a proposed cost of Rs 1,000 crore. “The initial estimate to build the 19-km elevated road was Rs 1,200 crore. But with fall in cement and iron prices, the cost fell,” said principal secretary Subhash Patel, who forwarded the proposal. It will take three-four years to complete the four-lane highway, said Patel. “The distance from Sarkhej to Gandhinagar is 35 kilometres. Travelling from Ahmedabad to Gandhinagar is torturous as there are traffic jams at many places. Thaltej Chowkdi sees 70,595 vehicles per day. Almost 75,000 vehicles cross Adalaj junction daily. To ease the situation, we also plan to build lane separators at Adalaj and Vaishnodevi temple. We have already begun work at Adalaj,” Patel added. The elevated highway project also includes entry and exit junctions at Varsad, Sola, Thaltej and ISKCON crossroads. “Each junction will be built at a cost of Rs 15-20 crore,” said the principal secretary. Meanwhile, work on the adding two more lanes to the national highway is almost over. “The workers are now laying service roads,” he added.