Surat: The district administration had announced the closure of the Bharuch-to-Surat carriageway of the Tapi River bridge on National Highway-8 on July 11 for repair work. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) had set a deadline of 28 days to complete the repairs. However, the deadline has passed, and no official announcement has been made regarding the reopening of the bridge. The delay has left thousands of daily commuters facing severe inconvenience.

Officials from NHAI have neither submitted a progress report to the District Collector nor sought an extension for the repair period from the Collector or Additional Collector. The closure, announced by Surat Additional Collector Vijay Rabari on July 10, was intended to last from July 10 to August 10 to facilitate the repairs. During this period, with the Kholvad bridge shut, heavy vehicles were diverted via the Kim-to-Ena section of the Delhi–Mumbai Express Highway.

Authorities had earlier assured that repairs would be completed within the stipulated month. However, the work remains unfinished. Meanwhile, NHAI officials have now stated that all repairs will be completed by August 20, with the gap between two bridge pillars already having been fixed. DeshGujarat