Commuters Flag Rough Road Surface on Newly Opened Sanand-ISKCON Elevated Corridor on SG Highway

Ahmedabad: Days after opening, the newly inaugurated elevated corridor between Sanand Chowkdi and ISKCON Junction on the Sarkhej-Gandhinagar Highway is receiving mixed reactions from motorists. While commuters travelling on the corridor have praised the time saved between Sarkhej and Gandhinagar, saying it offers relief from congestion on one of the city’s busiest roads, several others have raised concerns over the uneven and rough road surface of the newly inaugurated stretch.

The six-lane corridor, stretching approximately 4.03 km from ISKCON Junction to the Sanand flyover and passing over the Karnavati Club, Prahladnagar and YMCA junctions, was inaugurated by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on November 9 and opened to traffic the same day. Constructed at a cost of ₹464 crore by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, it is intended to provide a signal-free stretch, reduce travel time and ease congestion on one of Ahmedabad’s busiest routes.

Motorists flag rough road surface

On social media, users described the road surface as patchy and far from smooth. Motorist Akshay Desai wrote: “So many rough patches and overall 90% of the stretch is not smooth at all. Car constantly vibrates. Unable to fathom a 500+ Cr almost 100 Cr per Km bridge like this. The older sections before that are butter smooth.”

@kumarmanish9 So many rough patches and overall 90% of the stretch is not smooth at all. Car constantly vibrates.

Unable to fathom a 500+ Cr almost 100 Cr per Km bridge like this.

The older sections before that are butter smooth.

@KarnavatiSpeaks
@gujarat_plus_
@NewsCapitalGJ https://t.co/OUMnQDK5wj

— Akshay Desai (@TheAkDesai) November 12, 2026

Another user, Paritosh Bhatt, said: “I agree I travelled on it two days back. Looks like scrapped road. I guess they forgot to lay the top surface.”

A third commenter put it more bluntly in Hindi: “Itna ghatiya new road surface aaj tak nahi dekha tbh”

Another user, Happy, wrote, “A newly paved road should actually look and feel new, not like this. It’s hard to believe this passed inspection and if payment done without any proper checks. How does the approval process even work?”

In a detailed post following a late-night drive, X user Pritesh Lakhani highlighted several concerns about the corridor, including its limited exit options and the condition of the road.

“Went for a late-night drive to check out the new YMCA bridge. Turned out to be a 7 km drive to the next exit at Rajpath Club. Almost 3 years to build this. Anyone who commutes on this road knows the pain of peak-hour traffic. And after all that waiting, I think the contractors have made a fool out of everyone. Apparently, this is the last missing link for a signal-free drive from Sarkhej to Gandhinagar. What they forgot to mention is that there’s no exit for 7 km. The bridge is barely 3 days old and already has more patches than half the roads in Ahmedabad. The only decent stretches seem to be at the start and end, probably built just in time for the inauguration. The rest is a mess. At the very least, AMC should put up a sign saying the next exit is 7 km away. They’ve managed to build a 7 km bridge without an exit. Now they just need to figure out how to build a proper road on it.”

Went for a late-night drive to check out the new YMCA bridge. Turned out to be a 7 km drive to the next exit at Rajpath Club.

Almost 3 years to build this. Anyone who commutes on this road knows the pain of peak-hour traffic. And after all that waiting, I think the contractors have made a fool out of everyone.

Apparently, this is the last missing link for a signal-free drive from Sarkhej to Gandhinagar. What they forgot to mention is that there’s no exit for 7 km.

The bridge is barely 3 days old and already has more patches than half the roads in Ahmedabad. The only decent stretches seem to be at the start and end, probably built just in time for the inauguration. The rest is a mess.

At the very least, AMC should put up a sign saying the next exit is 7 km away.

They’ve managed to build a 7 km bridge without an exit. Now they just need to figure out how to build a proper road on it.

— Pritesh Lakhani (@priteshlakhani) November 11, 2026

Limited exit points also draw criticism

Several other users highlighted the limited exit options for motorists heading towards certain junctions.

“agree surface is very rough and when traveling from Sarkhej you will get two very close entry point YMCA and Honest but no exit point. So, if you are traveling from Sarkhej to YMCA, Honest crossroad and even Karnavati club, you can’t use bridge.” said X user Dhadhal.

@kumarmanish9 agree surface is very rough and when traveling from Sarkhej you will get two very close entry point YMCA and Honest but no exit point. So, if you are traveling from Sarkhej to YMCA, Honest crossroad and even Karnavati club, you can’t use bridge.

— MoonLion 🌜🦁 (@dhadhal) November 13, 2026

Another user made a similar observation, saying, “- Surface is not smooth – if you enter from Sarkhej side, no exit point till rajpath and in reverse no entry point after karnavati, till Sarkhej… When you exit at prahladnagar and YMCA, immediate cross road where there are chances of collision.”

Transport planner Chris Kost, in a reply, urged the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation to keep in mind that “elevated highways are not a long-term solution to mobility challenges,” while sharing a diagram comparing passenger capacities of regular roads, elevated roads and bus rapid transit systems.

@kumarmanish9 @AmdavadAMC should keep in mind that elevated highways are not a long-term solution to mobility challenges. https://t.co/18aZA0qczS

— Chris Kost (@chriskost) November 12, 2026

Corridor intended for signal-free travel

The corridor forms part of efforts to create a signal-free drive between Sarkhej and Gandhinagar, which explains its limited exit points. Motorists travelling between Sanand and Gandhinagar can leave the elevated corridor through exits towards Pakwan Junction, Thaltej Underpass, Sola, Gota and Vaishnodevi.

With the bridge expected to carry traffic travelling between Sarkhej and Gandhinagar, motorists heading towards other parts of the city can continue using the road below the elevated corridor to reach their destinations.

While the bridge has been equipped with features such as noise barriers, streetlights and an advanced traffic management system, the social media reactions so far have largely focused on the immediate driving experience.

With the Diwali vacation period underway, some commuters have also pointed out that the real test of the corridor will begin after Labh Pancham or next week, when offices reopen and regular commuters begin using the new stretch. DeshGujarat