The central government has set up a National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) Project Implementation Unit (PIU) in Vadodara to tackle monsoon traffic snarls on the Vadodara–Bharuch stretch of NH-48. The move followed a representation by Vadodara Lok Sabha MP Hemang Joshi to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways seeking a resolution. He said the absence of a local NHAI team had hindered immediate relief and urged a permanent office for timely repairs, and the ministry acted after the matter was raised in Zero Hour.

The ministry said that NHAI had acted on the recommendation and that construction of bridges over the Vishwamitri, the Jambuva, the Por and the Bamangam rivers was in advanced stages to remove bottlenecks. It added that additional service roads were being planned along congested urban stretches to segregate local traffic from long distance vehicles and reduce pressure on the main carriageway. The communication also said preparations had been outlined to speed incident management and shorten response times.

The ministry noted that round the clock highway patrolling and emergency ambulance services have been deployed to speed incident response. It said completion of the Vadodara–Navsari section of the Vadodara–Mumbai Expressway is expected to divert heavy freight traffic from NH-48. The measures respond to recurring monsoon gridlock on an approximately 15 km stretch between Bamangam in Karjan and Jambuva on the outskirts of Vadodara, and the 2025 monsoon prompted joint inspections by police, NHAI, the municipal corporation, the roads and buildings department and the regional transport office.

The PIU is intended to provide localised supervision and faster on site decision making to prevent prolonged standstills and to enable repairs without waiting for teams from elsewhere. Authorities will monitor traffic patterns during the coming monsoon to assess whether the measures reduce congestion and improve resilience on the stretch.