Ahmedabad, July 11 : The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has launched a comprehensive structural review of all city bridges and flyovers that are 15 years old or older. As part of the initiative, load-bearing capacity tests will be conducted on key Sabarmati River bridges, including the Nehru Bridge (built in 1962) and the Gandhi Bridge (dating back to 1942).

Deputy Municipal Commissioner Mirant Parikh confirmed that the inspection drive will be carried out in two phases.

'We're prioritising the three main Sabarmati bridges in the first phase. In parallel, our technical teams have been directed to inspect 30 bridges constructed before 2010,' he said. The remaining bridges across the city will be taken up in the second phase.

According to Parikh, visual checks are already in progress on several structures, with urgent repair work initiated wherever needed. Last year, AMC conducted preliminary assessments on 69 bridges, which led to a round of repairs, 80 per cent of which are now reportedly complete.

Current repair and reinforcement efforts are ongoing at several key locations, including Gandhi Bridge, Sardar Bridge, Jivraj Park Bridge, and Chimanbhai Patel Bridge.

The stepped-up audit reflects growing public pressure for improved infrastructure oversight following a series of bridge-related accidents in the state.

Meanwhile, in the aftermath of the Mujpur-Gambhira bridge collapse that severed a key link between Vadodara and Anand and claimed 16 lives, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has ordered a high-level investigation into the incident. Acting on the findings of a preliminary report, the state government suspended four engineers from the Roads and Buildings Department.

An expert technical team was deployed to examine the site and review the bridge's structural history, including past repairs, inspection records, and quality checks.

The initial assessment pointed to multiple lapses in oversight and maintenance. As a result, Executive Engineer N.M. Nayakawala, Deputy Executive Engineers U.C. Patel and R.T. Patel, and Assistant Engineer J.V. Shah have been placed under immediate suspension.

The Chief Minister has also directed urgent inspections of bridges across the state to prevent similar tragedies, emphasising that public safety remains the top priority. A more detailed technical report is expected in the coming days.

/IANS