Elevated walkway to connect Bhadra plaza to riverfront

As part of an ambitious restoration and development project inside the walled city, an elevated walkway will soon be constructed to connect Bhadra plaza to Sabarmati Riverfront with Lal Darwaza bus terminus in between. The walkway will be nearly 300 metres long and seven metres high.

The walkway is one of the three components of the restoration and development project of the Bhadra fort that has been approved under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JnNURM) and implemented by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC).

The other two components are development of Bhadra plaza and upgrade of Lal Darwaza bus terminus. The walkway will be connecting these two and extending till the riverfront.

A total of Rs 74.39 crore has been earmarked for the project. The walkway is estimated to cost Rs 6 crore, while the bus terminus and Bhadra plaza will cost Rs 42 crore and Rs 26 crore respectively.

"The walkway has been designed in such a manner that it facilitates visitors coming to the riverfront, Bhadra plaza and bus terminus. For those coming on their vehicles, the idea is to make them leave their vehicles at the terminus or riverfront and then walk towards these tourist attractions," said municipal commissioner Guruprasad Mohapatra.

A five-member team, including architects, architect planners and transport planners, is the consultant for the project. Last year, National Monuments Authority (NMS) and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) teams had visited the project site.

The project has been designed keeping in mind the rules defined by ASI under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (Amendment and Validation) Act 2010.

"As per the guidelines, the elevated walkway, which is a steel structure, cannot be termed as a new construction. Similarly, the new bus terminus with a proposed 12-storey tower is beyond 300 metres of the heritage structures. Thus, these projects will not raise any objections," said project architect Dhwani Shah.

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