Ahmedabad: A section of a bridge on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway near Ankleshwar was damaged on Thursday (July 2), disrupting traffic and raising fresh concerns over the quality of construction on one of India’s flagship highway projects. The incident occurred between Adol and Piludra villages, where a portion of the concrete surface gave way, leaving a gap of around 7–8 feet on the bridge deck and exposing the steel reinforcement bars.

Meanwhile, a tempo passing over the bridge near Ankleshwar on the newly constructed Delhi-Vadodara-Mumbai Expressway lost control after hitting the gap in the bridge’s concrete surface and expansion joint. As a result, the tempo overturned on the highway.

No casualties were reported in the incident. Officials of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) reached the site soon after, while a technical team was deployed to determine the cause of the structural failure. Repair work is expected to begin after the inspection.

The incident has drawn criticism from local residents, who questioned the construction quality of the expressway. The damaged portion is part of the Kim–Bharuch (Package 5) stretch, which was opened for traffic earlier this year. DeshGujarat