Falling concrete changed fate of Ahmedabad’s Subhash Bridge

Ahmedabad: Workers who were removing the upper spans of Subhash Bridge during the repair works a few weeks back watched a large chunk of concrete from the bridge’s deck crash down, exposing severely corroded steel reinforcement bars inside.

Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation engineers immediately put forth a proposal to demolish the bridge entirely. This fact was revealed to the standing committee on Thursday.“Our original plan was limited: jacket the existing pillars with reinforced concrete covers; add intermediate pillars; and retain the structure. But that changed after this incident,” said a senior civic official. Officials immediately commissioned a non-destructive testing report.

It is a diagnostic technique that measures the depth of concrete carbonation, locates rusted steel, and tests core compressive strength without cutting into the structure.

The findings ruled out partial repair.Under the current engineering, procurement, and construction tender, where a single contractor handles both structural design and construction, the scope of demolition will be finalised once the design is complete and approved by the committee.

Many elected representatives are said to have learned of the decision to demolish the bridge through the morning newspapers. Standing committee chairman Kamlesh Patel did not hide his displeasure. “If you work on projects worth more than Rs 30 crore, take the standing committee office-bearers into confidence first, so they also know what kind of projects are happening,” he told city engineers.