Snarl begins to unwind, traffic starts moving

SURAT: The persistent traffic jam of the past three days on Sardar Bridge over Narmada river between Bharuch and Ankleshwar started to dissolve by Sunday afternoon which helped the vehicles to move a bit faster from Surat to Vadodara on National Highway (NH)-8. The queue of vehicles is still 3-km-long, but it is staggeringly less to what it was earlier.
A drop in the numbers of cars going toward Ahmedabad-Vadodara and Saurashtra from south Gujarat has also helped in the smooth flow of traffic on this segment. An officer of National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) said, "There are large potholes on the bridge and this affects the speed of heavy vehicles. The drivers are compelled to drive slowly and this leads to a traffic snarl. We would be taking up recarpeting work on the bridge on Monday morning and expect it to be complete by evening. Traffic would be allowed from both sides on single lane for 15 minutes."
Bharuch district superintendent of police Sandip Singh said, "We are allowing traffic from Surat to Vadodara an extra lane and it has helped reduce jam considerably. Everything will be normal from Monday evening once the repair work is completed."
Meanwhile, there was no traffic jam on Golden Bridge over Narmada river. Four-wheel vehicles were moving at normal speed from the Golden Bridge and pass through Bharuch town to NH-8 via Zadeswar Chowkdi towards Vadodara.
There could be another traffic jam from Tuesday on this section when people who went from south Gujarat to Ahmedabad and Saurashtra to enjoy a long weekend begin to return.