Filed Under · Unofficial
All Wonders
Every public-works marvel on file, regardless of category. Sorted by ambition, not by alphabet.
Ranked by Notoriety
Browse all 203 entries
Thiruvanmiyur–Uthandi ECR Elevated Corridor Suspension
A planned four-lane elevated corridor along ECR between Thiruvanmiyur and Uthandi, awarded via a Hybrid Annuity Mode concession to KNR Mahabalipuram Infra Private Limited in February 2026, was put on hold pending review by a technical committee after being conspicuously omitted from Tamil Nadu's 2026-27 Highways policy note. A rival bidder had also filed a procurement challenge in the Madras High Court.
Maa Flyover — Decade-Long Delay, Cost Overrun and Chaotic Partial Opening
Now West Bengal's longest flyover, it originally targeted an August 2012 deadline but was extended multiple times. It opened in October 2015 without its connecting ramps to the AJC Bose Road flyover finished, causing severe traffic chaos that forced police to temporarily shut it down; the eastbound and westbound connecting flanks were not completed until August 2016 and February 2019 respectively.
Avinashi Road Flyover Structural Neglect
India's first roundabout-style grade separator and Tamil Nadu's second flyover has gone without adequate maintenance for decades; it has no pedestrian corridor, and tree roots/branches have weakened the structure. Plans to widen it have stalled amid official uncertainty.
Amritsar's Stalled Bypass-Road Flyovers
Multiple flyovers on Amritsar's bypass road have remained incomplete years past deadline, turning the bypass into a routine accident zone due to poor visibility and narrow construction-zone passages; MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla called them "symbols of administrative neglect" in the Lok Sabha.
Walled City Drainage Collapse Forces Emergency Evacuation of 2,300-Year-Old Mummy
Just 2-3 hours of heavy rain in August 2020 inundated Jaipur's Walled City, triggering landslides and forcing emergency rescue of a 2,300-year-old Egyptian mummy from the flooded basement of the Albert Hall Museum. The city's historic 18th-century drainage system had been dismantled over decades by encroachment, metro construction damage, and basement construction blocking water flow, while a 2016 JDA master drainage plan remained unfunded and unimplemented.
Ballabhgarh–Sohna Railway Overbridge Widening — 8 Years Stalled
A four-laning project for this ROB, announced in 2016, has been stalled for eight years without construction beginning, due to unresolved land-acquisition disputes over ~360 yards of land held by multiple claimants and disagreements over compensation.
Sivananda Circle Flyover — Barricaded Days After Launch
One of the replacement flyovers built after the original Basaveshwara-Hebbal "steel flyover" project was scrapped, this Sivananda Circle flyover was barricaded by BBMP within about a week of its launch after commuters complained of an uneven, undulating road surface. BBMP admitted the surface had problems and ordered a third-party firm to inspect and report on construction quality.
Pallav Junction Flyover — Years Behind Schedule
Approved in April 2021 with a March 2024 completion target, this ring-road flyover was still roughly 5% short of completion a year past deadline as of early 2025, with AMC having already issued the contractor two formal delay notices back in April 2023.
Chandwara Bridge Dilapidated Before Inauguration
A newly built bridge at Chandwara was found with broken railings and visible structural damage even before it could be formally opened to traffic, raising questions about construction quality.
Bairamalguda flyover slab collapse
A slab of an under-construction flyover collapsed, injuring eight workers and passers-by.
Nehru Park underground parking & food court
An underground parking facility and "Food Villa" food court, once pitched as a modern parking solution and community hangout, now sit abandoned, with the food court itself demolished.
Khalini–Talland Flyover — Stuck at Tendering Stage for Years
A 220-metre flyover meant to ease chronic Khalini-Talland congestion has failed to move past tendering for years; CPWD has floated tenders four times, each cancelled or restarted after technical design revisions.
Panaji Multi-Level Car Parking Complex
This 465-space, three-floor-plus-terrace parking complex covering 14,611 sq m has run well below capacity since opening, filling to barely two-and-a-half floors even at peak times, despite parking being free; a planned hop-on hop-off shuttle service to draw users to the facility never materialised.
Ellis Bridge Rehabilitation Cost Overrun
Rehabilitation of Ahmedabad's historic Ellis Bridge began in September 2024 with a 12-month completion target, but had reached only 26% progress by the time authorities approved an extra ₹16 crore, pushing the budget from ₹26.88 crore to ₹42.90 crore. The same contractor's scope was later widened to also repair three other city bridges after a post-Gambhira-collapse safety review, reportedly because no separate tenders existed for that repair category.
Mumbai Coastal Road (Phase 1) — 6-Year Delay and ₹1,243-Crore Cost Overrun
Mumbai's flagship coastal road, meant to be completed in 4 years from contract award, took over 6 years and multiple phased openings before full completion, with costs escalating by over ₹1,243 crore due to BMC-attributed delays including a mid-project change in pillar design. BMC penalised the contractor ₹14 crore for the delays even as it publicized claimed benefits like a "70% reduction in travel time."
Karnal Twin Flyover — Shelved Before Construction Began
A twin-flyover project using single-pillar technology, with its foundation stone laid in March 2024 and a 24-month plan, was suspended indefinitely after traders and residents protested during the Lok Sabha election period over fears of business impact, even though soil testing and structural designs were already complete.
Tambaram (Irumbuliyur) Flyover Cave-in and Cracks
In April 2025, a section of the road surface on the 2012-built Irumbuliyur/Tambaram flyover on GST Road caved in, and a crack was simultaneously found on the flyover's railing wall near its starting point. Just 13 years after construction, the structural deterioration alarmed residents and commuters, prompting police to barricade the area and divert traffic while emergency concrete repairs were carried out.
New Market (S.S. Hogg Market) Renovation Stalled
Two years after the West Bengal government allocated ₹26 crore to renovate the 1874-built, Victorian-Gothic New Market — appointing Jadavpur University as consultant for central air-conditioning, seismic retrofitting, and repairs to its drainage, roof and toilets — no actual construction work had started on the deteriorating structure, which has cracked pillars and walls, flooding during rain, and roof leaks, despite housing 3,000 shops that generate ₹25 crore in annual revenue for KMC.
Pune Metro Pimpri–Dapodi corridor cost and time overrun
Mahametro claimed the Pimpri-Dapodi route was "100% complete," but junction work at Dapodi, Morwadi, Sant Tukaramnagar and Kasarwadi stations remained unfinished, with the metro operating only up to Phugewadi; the Nigdi extension was further delayed pending Union Defence Ministry clearance over its alignment near the Dehu Road Ammunition Factory.
Saharsa bridge collapse
A three-span bridge collapsed when an overloaded tractor carrying maize crossed it, part of a wider pattern the state has seen (Bihar's collapsing bridges reportedly cost the state at least ₹3,953 crore collectively over 4 years).
Bandra Skywalk (East & West)
Mumbai's first skywalk linked Bandra station to Kalanagar and was briefly used by over 100,000 pedestrians daily, but the Bandra East and West skywalks were later dismantled; 17 of 18 further planned MSRDC skywalks were cancelled.
Naya Raipur Skywalk
A skywalk built as a "modern urban amenity" in India's purpose-built new capital stands completed but essentially unused, towering over empty streets; local reporting describes it as a hangout for miscreants and a safety hazard for women, emblematic of the planned city's broader underuse.
Thorayikkadavu Bridge Collapse
A beam of an under-construction bridge at Thorayikkadavu in Koyilandy taluk collapsed on August 15, 2025, injuring two workers; local media framed it as public money wasted on shoddy construction.
Kollam NH-66 Embankment/Service-Road Collapse
On December 5, 2025, a sidewall embankment on an under-construction elevated NH-66 stretch collapsed during soil-filling work, opening craters that trapped vehicles including a school bus (all evacuated safely) — the second such embankment failure on this corridor within six months.
Thiruvananthapuram Monorail Project Scrapped
The state sanctioned a monorail in 2012, signed with DMRC in 2013, and ran two failed tender rounds before scrapping the plan in August 2014 for a "light metro" instead. As of the 2025-26 state budget, construction of any replacement had still not begun.
NH-365BG Underpass Bridge Slab Collapse
A freshly poured concrete slab of an under-construction underpass bridge caved in during evening hours after supporting scaffolding failed, injuring three workers.
Janampet Bridge — 12-Year Delayed Construction
A bridge meant to connect two villages across the Kanugula stream has stayed unfinished for over 12 years after quality-control problems, substandard work confirmed by 2018, design flaws, alleged fund misuse and contractor disputes repeatedly stalled the project. Officials admitted "there were no records of bills, measurement books, or other documents," and a stopgap ₹10-lakh temporary bridge's approach road has since suffered monsoon damage; villagers with 200 acres across the stream face a 12km detour instead of a direct 2km crossing.
Kantatoli Flyover
The flyover's foundation was laid in November 2017 but stalled for years over design changes, alleged design flaws, and land acquisition; it was finally dedicated by CM Hemant Soren on October 4, 2024 — nearly eight years after starting, and only after a design overhaul to a precast segmental box girder system.
Chimanbhai Patel Bridge — Cracks and Bulging Slabs
After heavy weekend rain in 2025, footpaths on this Sabarmati bridge split completely on the Sabarmati-side incline and fractured badly near the curve by the under-construction Bullet Train station, with concrete slabs visibly pushed outward at both spots. AMC had already flagged the need for repairs and expansion-joint replacement in a pre-monsoon inspection but postponed the fix, citing heavy daily traffic and ongoing secondary-wing construction.
14 Stalled / Incomplete Bridges Across Nine Districts
A state disclosure revealed 14 bridges across 13 assembly constituencies in nine AP districts sat unfinished for years — 11 structurally complete but unusable because their approach roads were never built — taxpayer-funded "bridges to nowhere."
Indora–Dighori Elevated Corridor (flyover through residential balcony)
A ~9km, ₹998-crore NHAI elevated corridor was built so close to a 150-year-old house that its beam passes roughly 14-15 feet through the family's balcony, triggering outrage over urban-planning failures. NHAI issued the family a 15-day eviction notice, calling the balcony an "unauthorised encroachment," despite an encroachment flag on the project having gone unaddressed for about a year.
Sion Road Over Bridge — Century-Old Bridge Demolished for Rail Expansion
This 112-year-old road-over-bridge near Sion station was closed to vehicular traffic from August 1, 2024 for demolition and reconstruction, after an IIT-Bombay structural audit recommended dismantling the century-old structure and rebuilding it with modern steel girders and RCC slabs. The bridge also obstructed Central Railway's proposed 5th and 6th line alignment between CSMT and Kurla, adding a second reason for its removal.
Swachh Bharat Mission toilets (unbuilt)
A CAG audit found Delhi's municipal corporations failed to construct a single toilet under the Swachh Bharat Mission despite ₹40+ crore sitting unused in bank accounts for over 30 months, while roughly 350,000 households lacked toilets.
Aguwani Ghat–Sultanganj bridge (Ganga bridge)
A 1.8km under-construction cable-stayed bridge over the Ganga collapsed dramatically in April 2022, then again in June 2023 — a near-unprecedented double collapse during construction, without casualties either time.
Naroda Patiya–Galaxy Junction Flyover — Ahmedabad's Longest, Also Its Slowest
Billed as Ahmedabad's longest proposed flyover at 2.5km, this project was approved in August 2021 but construction did not actually start until July 2023 — nearly two years later. As of a March 2025 report it was only about 40% complete and already deemed "unlikely to meet its 36-month deadline."
Dumna Airport Terminal Canopy Collapse
Part of the canopy at Jabalpur's newly built Dumna Airport terminal collapsed on June 27, 2024, during heavy rain — the first of three near-identical canopy collapses at recently built Indian airport terminals within three consecutive days (Jabalpur, then Delhi T1, then Rajkot).
Under-construction bridge girder collapse
A girder of an under-construction bridge collapsed amid heavy rain in Giridih district, adding to a wider pattern of construction-quality failures in eastern India.
Tonk Road Sinkhole and Citywide Trench Hazards From Gas Pipeline Work
A portion of Tonk Road collapsed into a roughly 20-foot-deep sinkhole in July 2026, one of several similar failures across the city caused by inadequately filled trenches dug for the Torrent Gas pipeline project. Rainfall repeatedly washed away the loose fill material used to close these trenches, exposing dangerous gaps and forcing repeated emergency repairs across multiple neighborhoods.
Aligarh's "Smart Road" Falls Apart Within Three Years
Aligarh's flagship Smart City "smart road" began falling apart within three years — streetlights broken or dark at night, and CCTV wiring/camera units near the Police Control Room and Lal Diggi crossing damaged.
Gaunchi Drain — "Waste to Wealth" Project Still Leaking Sewage
A 10km stormwater drain launched in 2021 under the central "Waste to Wealth" mission was found four years later to still be leaking an estimated 1,002 million litres of contaminated water daily into the river, with the channel remaining choked.
Hyderabad Cycle Track Project (MMI Cycle Lanes) — Failed to Take Off
A citywide network of dedicated cycle tracks built across major Hyderabad corridors has failed to gain adoption, with 15 cyclist accidents reported on the service-road cycle track in 2024 alone. Hyderabad's Bicycle Mayor said many tracks are blocked by vendors and parked vehicles, and sections suffer poor visibility, deterring especially parents from letting children use them.
Papagni Bridge Collapse
A bridge connecting Kadapa and Anantapur districts over the Papagni river collapsed in the early hours during severe November 2021 floods, cutting off a key inter-district road link.
Smart City Road Repeatedly Caves In Near Bareilly College
A road built under Bareilly's Smart City project caved in near Bareilly College, creating a large pothole — the second collapse recorded at this exact location, exposing weak sewer infrastructure beneath the surface work.
Ashoka Rajpath Double-Decker Flyover Cracks
Bihar CM Nitish Kumar inaugurated this three-level flyover on June 11, 2025, calling it "not just a bridge, but a vision." By August 2025 visible cracks had appeared following heavy monsoon rainfall, sparking public criticism about construction quality.
Ludhiana Southern Bypass — 7 Years Late and Over Budget
The four-laning of the Ludhiana Southern Bypass was tendered in 2010 with a two-year deadline but wasn't completed until 2019 after officials failed to complete inter-department formalities before the tender was allotted; poor PWD-Irrigation Department coordination drove repeated design changes.
Shahpura Railway Overbridge (NH-45)
A retaining-wall section of this overbridge collapsed on December 18, 2025, and a second section collapsed again on February 22, 2026 — barely 3-4 years after completion — forcing traffic closure on the busy Jabalpur-Bhopal highway.
Dravyavati River Rejuvenation Project — Missed Deadlines and Court Contempt
A flagship ₹1,676-crore project to rejuvenate Jaipur's Dravyavati river (formerly the sewage-choked Amanishah Nallah) missed its October 2018 completion deadline, left tributaries like Kartarpura Nulla untouched (causing dangerous sinkholes during rain, now under High Court litigation), and continues receiving untreated sewage from the Walled City, Sanganer and Pratap Nagar. In 2026 the Rajasthan High Court found the JDA had ignored a NEERI report's recommendations for constructing cement concrete drain channels along the river and demanded an explanation for the continued delay.
Peenya flyover
Heavy vehicles were banned from the flyover for over 3 years after structural defects emerged; a political party alleged corruption behind the substandard construction.
Balharshah Junction foot overbridge collapse
A portion of a foot overbridge at Balharshah railway junction, roughly 60 feet high, gave way in the evening, sending commuters falling onto the tracks below and injuring 13 people.
Kotdwar Bridge Collapse Amid Heavy Monsoon
A bridge in Kotdwar collapsed on July 13, 2023 amid heavy monsoon rains, an incident significant enough to coincide with a statewide school closure in Uttarakhand over weather/infrastructure safety concerns.
Nanda Ki Chowki Bridge — Approach Road Collapse
The approach road of a newly inaugurated ₹16-crore bridge on the Dehradun-Paonta Sahib highway near Premnagar/Nanda Ki Chowki caved in during heavy rain just 16-17 days after its opening, though it was patched and reopened within about 12 hours. Note: this is the one collapse confirmed across available reporting — claims of the same bridge collapsing three times in a year could not be independently verified via credible sources as of this research; only this single, well-documented incident is included here.
Vishnupuri flyover collapse (Nanded–Latur highway)
A portion of the lower flyover structure — reportedly built with "murum" (loose soil/gravel) fill rather than proper engineered material — caved in on the morning of July 9, 2026, injuring two people on a two-wheeler. Both the service road and upper bridge were shut, and residents demanded a formal inquiry and action against those responsible.
Palwal Elevated Flyover — Abandoned Mid-Construction Over Payment Dispute
Construction of a 2.5km elevated flyover began in August 2017 but halted in October 2019 when the contracting agency walked off mid-project amid a payment dispute with the main concessionaire; work remained suspended for at least nine months despite an NHAI notice.
Lucknow Metro — Showpiece Line Running at a Loss
The only operational corridor of a system sanctioned at ₹6,928 crore sees only a fraction of expected ridership — at Hussainganj station roughly 600 people board/alight daily, and about half the seats run empty between Charbagh and the airport.
Bhavnagar–Somnath Highway Bridge Collapse (near Rajula)
A portion of an under-construction bridge on the Bhavnagar-Somnath national highway collapsed near Rajula; a follow-up report roughly three years later found fresh cracks on the same stretch, worrying residents and motorists about a repeat failure.
GHMC Public Toilets — Crores Spent on Toilets That "Don't Exist"
GHMC has spent crores maintaining public toilets that turned out to be non-functional or non-existent — of a claimed 2,260 to 5,299 toilet seats, only around 400 were actually functional. In 2021 GHMC installed 2,260 temporary toilets that were reportedly "not opened for public use and were used for erecting banners," with many lacking water and sewerage connections.
Mira Road–Bhayandar Flyover — 4 Lanes Suddenly Shrink to 2
A newly built flyover carrying four lanes abruptly narrows to just two lanes midway across its span, forcing high-speed traffic into a sudden bottleneck; a viral video sparked public debate over the design, with critics calling it a road-safety hazard. MMRDA denied it was a flaw, saying the transition reflects "available road width constraints, and future network planning," with two lanes reserved for Bhayander East and future expansion.
Tellapur Underpass — Chronic Flooding
The Tellapur underpass becomes severely waterlogged after every heavy rainfall due to the absence of an effective drainage system with no proper outlet for rainwater, causing traffic standstills lasting hours. Vehicles become stranded and the State Disaster Response Force has had to be deployed to pump water and manage congestion.
Pardi Flyover
A partially built span of this flyover collapsed during construction in October 2021; then, within a day of its official inauguration in February 2025, a chunk of concrete fell and damaged a passing car; by August 2025 wide gaps had opened between deck segments. The contractor (GDCL) claimed the fallen material was construction "waste," not part of the structure.
Karimnagar Cable-Stayed Bridge (Manair Riverfront)
Built as a tourism showpiece with a dynamic LED lighting system, the bridge's lights stopped working within about 18 months, its pavement deteriorated, and an unpaid electricity bill of over ₹3 crore piled up; locals say it has become a late-night drinking spot rather than a tourist draw.
Parimal Underpass — Cracked Walls and Recurring Flooding
An August 2024 AMC bridge-audit inspection found cracks in the walls of this heavily used underpass, one of dozens of structures citywide flagged as defective. Weeks later, after about 3.5 inches of rain fell in 24 hours, the underpass flooded and trapped a 25-passenger inter-city bus overnight, requiring rescuers to pull passengers out through the windows using ropes.
1960s Bridge Over Gurgaon Canal Collapses Under Truck Traffic
A decades-old, poorly maintained bridge over the Gurgaon canal in Ballabgarh collapsed into a V-shape on a Friday evening while heavy trucks were crossing, trapping several vehicles in the water; no fatalities reported.
Srinagar Smart City Drainage Failure
Despite ₹792 crore spent under the Smart City project, major roads, hospitals and residential areas continue to flood after just hours of rain, most recently in July 2026 when dozens of neighbourhoods were submerged; SMC identified ~60 waterlogging hotspots citywide.
Smart City Area-Based Development roads (57 roads cancelled)
Of 197 roads (43km) planned for modernisation — with footpaths, utility conduits, stormwater lines and smart bus stops — under Nashik's Smart City Area-Based Development plan, 57 roads covering 11km were formally cancelled by the Nashik Municipal Smart City Development Corporation board after facing repeated delays.
Silk Board–Ragigudda double-decker flyover
Bengaluru's first double-decker flyover was shut for urgent safety fixes just days after it was opened to traffic.
Mirza Ismail (MI) Road 12-Foot Crater After Monsoon Rain
A massive, roughly 12-foot-deep crater suddenly opened up on MI Road, one of the city's busiest streets, after continuous heavy rains, forcing emergency barricading and repair. It was widely shared on video as an example of the poor state of Jaipur's road infrastructure under monsoon stress.
Sector 17 multi-level parking complex
A ₹48-crore multi-level parking complex sits largely empty years after opening, while nearby surface lots remain jam-packed; its floors are instead used to park municipal waste vehicles, bicycle-share cycles and a private vendor's taxis.
Jaipur Metro's Chronic Multi-Phase Delays
The Walled City extension (Phase 1B) opened years late in September 2020. Its further extension (Phase 1C) began underground construction only in 2024 and remains unfinished. Phase 2, first proposed for 2021 completion, only got its first civil contract awarded in January 2026 — pushing real completion to around 2028-2031.
BCT Road RCC Culvert Failure
An RCC culvert on the BCT Road failed under continuous heavy rainfall in August 2026, causing road inundation and forcing the District Magistrate to shut the stretch to all but emergency vehicles under the Disaster Management Act.
Mehdipatnam Skywalk — Five Years and Still Incomplete
A 390-metre pedestrian skywalk with 13 elevators and five entry/exit points meant to serve roughly 50,000 daily pedestrians has remained under construction for over five years, with an HMDA officer's June 2024 promise of "completion by the end of the month" still unmet as of April 2026. Citizens have separately criticised its design for low clearance forcing pedestrians to crouch, poorly placed pillars, and traffic-jam-inducing barrier blocks near the busy junction.
Damodar Iron Bridge and Water Pipeline Collapse
A 40-year-old iron bridge carrying a drinking-water pipeline collapsed into the Damodar river on July 23, 2025, cutting off water supply to Mohishila Colony, Searsole, Benali and parts of Asansol, Raniganj and Jamuria, requiring emergency tanker deployment.
Bowbazar East-West Metro Land Subsidence
On August 31, 2019, a tunnel-boring machine building the East-West Metro corridor struck an aquifer beneath Bowbazar's soft, historically wetland soil, causing numerous two-century-old buildings on Durga Pituri Lane to crack and partially collapse; 23 houses were demolished. The crisis recurred in May 2022 (3 more houses razed) and October 2022 (10 buildings cracked, 136 more residents evacuated), with a Jadavpur University expert panel subsequently recommending 45 additional houses be razed.
Jhansi Road Cave-In
A section of Gwalior's busy Jhansi Road — where construction had already dragged on for about 1.5 years without finishing — caved into a 10-foot-deep crater after roughly two hours of heavy rain, trapping a passing car whose occupants escaped unhurt.
Jaipur Ring Road — A Quarter-Century of Delays and Stalled Control
First conceived in 2000, actual construction on Jaipur's Ring Road only began in 2011, and the original contractor's deal was terminated in 2016 for lack of progress; a new contractor finished only a partial 27km stretch by 2019, still missing toll infrastructure, cloverleaves, electricity and traffic signals years later. A newly announced Northern Ring Road (100km, ₹3,000 crore) remains stuck at the land-acquisition stage across 150+ villages as of 2025, with the JDA now formally seeking to strip NHAI of control over the project, citing its slow progress.
Doraha Bridge Over Sirhind Canal — Abandoned Mid-Construction
A bridge over the Sirhind Canal at Doraha, part of the Ludhiana Southern Bypass project, was left incomplete when work stopped in July 2013; construction materials remain abandoned on-site years later.
Tala Bridge
One of Kolkata's oldest bridges was closed first to heavy vehicles and eventually to most traffic for years after being declared structurally weak, echoing the Majerhat collapse.
Smart City Mission Bhopal — "No Visible Development"
Nearly a decade after Bhopal was selected under India's Smart City Mission, residents, local leaders and journalists report little to no visible development on the ground, prompting demands for a high-level probe.
Hosur Flyover Structural Shift and Crack
A flyover on the Chennai-Bengaluru National Highway at Hosur developed a roughly 15cm-wide, 50-metre-long gap after shifting laterally by about half a foot, forcing complete closure and diverting traffic onto service roads for up to 3km of congestion during emergency stabilisation.
Vemulawada Under-Construction Bridge Collapse (Mulwagu)
One of two arch-technology bridges being built on the Mulwagu tank since 2016 developed severe cracks and partially collapsed after 13cm of rainfall increased water flow, loosening the centering and sweeping away supporting iron rods over a 38-metre stretch. Residents disputed the official weather-only explanation, alleging construction delays and poor material quality were the real cause.
Kali River Bridge Collapse
Three portions of the roughly 40-year-old Kali River bridge on the Karnataka–Goa national highway collapsed simultaneously around 1am on August 7, 2024, sending a loaded lorry into the river and disrupting a key interstate route.
Citywide Bridge Bearing Failures — Gandhi, Sardar and Majmudar Bridges
A safety review ordered after the July 2025 Gambhira Bridge collapse found deteriorated elastomeric bearings across 89 spans of three key Ahmedabad river bridges — 38 spans on Gandhi Bridge, 48 on Sardar Bridge and 3 on Parikshitlal Majmudar Bridge — prompting a ₹21.55 crore emergency repair sanction. The review followed an August 2024 AMC audit that had already found 75% of 70 inspected bridges/flyovers citywide defective.
Tiruvannamalai State Highway Bridge Collapse
A newly built bridge across the Thenpennai river collapsed on December 3, 2024, during Cyclone Fengal — just three months after opening. The bridge sat at a river bend acknowledged in its own tender document, and nearby bridges survived the same flood undamaged. Anti-corruption group Arappor Iyakkam noted that six months on, no FIR or accountability action had been taken.
Recurring monsoon waterlogging of underpasses
Despite over a decade of drainage and flood-mitigation spending, Gurugram's underpasses and major roads flood every monsoon, submerging vehicles and paralysing traffic citywide.
NH-66 Kooriyad Embankment and Retaining Wall Collapse
A section of NH-66 under construction at Kooriyad collapsed on May 19, 2025 when the foundation soil failed under a high embankment load; the retaining wall collapsed again days later. NHAI suspended its project director, terminated the site engineer, debarred contractor KNR Constructions for up to a year, and fined it ₹20 lakh.
Hirasar Airport (Rajkot International Airport) Canopy Collapse
On June 29, 2024, a canopy at the passenger pick-up area of Rajkot's newly built Hirasar airport collapsed during heavy monsoon rain while maintenance crews cleared accumulated water — the third such canopy collapse at a new Indian airport terminal in as many days.
Bopal-Ghuma-Shilaj Railway Overbridge Ends at a Private Plot Wall
After six years and ₹65 crore of construction shared between AUDA, DFCCIL and Railways, this railway overbridge connecting Bopal-Ghuma to Shilaj was structurally completed — but its southern ramp simply terminates in a dead end, blocked by a private property's boundary wall, with only a narrow six-metre dirt track leading roughly 2km to the Shilaj main road. Video of the bridge literally running into a wall went viral, becoming a symbol of poor inter-agency planning. As of January 2025 the connecting road on the far side remained unconstructed.
Garuda Varadhi (Srinivasa Sethu) Flyover
A flagship flyover jointly funded by the TTD temple trust and municipal corporation blew past its 2-year deadline after TTD's temple-donation income collapsed during COVID-19, starving the project of funds for extended stretches while partially built pillars sat idle.
Hindon Elevated Road — Pillar Erosion & Murky Maintenance Takeover
India's longest six-lane elevated road at the time it opened saw soil erode around pillar No. 187 within months of opening. In 2022 the municipal corporation abruptly took over maintenance and advertising rights without prior board approval, raising concerns about hidden costs.
Bengaluru Steel Flyover project
Karnataka government's ambitious 6.7km elevated steel flyover to the airport was cancelled after sustained public protests over tree-felling, cost, and design.
Madan Mahal Flyover
About eight months after inauguration, chunks of concrete began falling from the Madan Mahal section of this flyover, captured on video and widely shared; residents say they are now afraid to use the underpass beneath it after earlier reports of joint gaps and cracks.
IFFCO Chowk flyover crack
A 40-foot-long crack appeared in the flyover's structure, prompting emergency inspection and repair work on one of Gurugram's busiest junctions.
Tumakuru Road (Dr Shivakumara Swamiji) Flyover — Fraying Cables Closure
NHAI abruptly shut this elevated flyover on National Highway 4 for about a week from December 25, 2021 after a routine post-monsoon inspection found rust/erosion damage to two of the 20 steel cables linking pillars 102 and 103. The sudden closure caused major traffic congestion on the highway while an expert committee assessed whether the cables needed replacement.
Rakshak Chowk Flyover
Within 24 hours of opening, this flyover saw two accidents and drew criticism over its steep gradient flagged in early safety audits; commuters have since publicly said the road below is "wider, feels safer and experiences less congestion" than the flyover meant to relieve traffic.
Dharamshala Smart City Drainage Failure
Despite hundreds of crores spent rebuilding roads/drains under the Smart City Mission, Dharamshala's new covered drainage is too narrow, incorrectly sloped and cable-obstructed, causing uncontrolled rainwater flow every monsoon, replacing older open drains that handled both drainage and irrigation.
NH-327E Mechi River Bridge Collapse
A 100-metre span of an under-construction bridge collapsed into the Mechi River on June 4, 2023, despite no significant rise in river water levels — the 11th bridge collapse recorded in Bihar within three years, prompting an expert probe.
Gaganpahad Underpass — Flooding From a Breached Retaining Wall
The underpass floods with knee-deep water during rains because of a breached retaining wall between a nearby lake and an industrial area, with no proper drainage outlet. Despite multiple resident complaints, only cosmetic civic work (painting) has been done — the structural breach itself remains unrepaired.
Puducherry Harbour-Induced Beach Erosion
Construction of Puducherry's port/harbour in the late 1980s blocked the natural northward sand flow, and within a decade the town's entire beach had been swallowed by the sea, devastating over a dozen fishing villages and displacing roughly 7,000 fishing families. Subsequent breakwaters and a seawall shifted erosion elsewhere and cut off village sea access; restoration only began in 2017 after sustained activist pressure.
Indira Gandhi Flyover & Chinchwad Station Flyover (declared unsafe)
The Central Railway formally wrote to PCMC demanding demolition of these two of the city's oldest flyovers, stating their structural "life expectancy has expired" and that they remain unsafe despite PCMC spending three years on reinforcement work on the Indira Gandhi flyover.
Kozhikode Metro/Monorail Repeatedly Scrapped and Redesigned
Kozhikode's transit plans flip-flopped for 15+ years — full metro (2008) to monorail (2012, scrapped 2014 after the sole bidder nearly doubled the cost) to "light metro" (foundation stone laid 2016) to a fresh switch back to full metro announced in the 2025-26 budget — with no line ever built.
Palarivattom flyover ("Palarivattom flyover scam")
Just three years after opening, structural cracks and weak concrete forced authorities to demolish and rebuild the flyover; IIT-Madras and "Metro Man" E. Sreedharan's review found the contractor had used substandard construction materials, sparking a major corruption case.
Civil Lines Flyover Stuck at 50-60% Completion for Five Years
A flyover meant to relieve chronic congestion in Jaipur's C-Scheme commercial area remains only half-built five years after work began, with completion unlikely even by 2026. The Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) imposed a ₹1.07 crore penalty on the contractor for slow progress, but work reportedly slowed further rather than accelerating afterward.
Mangaluru Town Hall Skywalk (shelved)
A pedestrian skywalk was proposed and its foundation laid near Town Hall to address a pedestrian-accident hotspot, but the project languished for roughly three years before being quietly shelved in favour of a ₹6 crore underpass instead.
Butterfly Bridge (Thergaon–Chinchwad)
Meant to ease heavy-vehicle traffic between Thergaon and Chinchwad, this 107m bridge remained incomplete on one side eight years after work began, missing multiple deadlines including a final January 2025 target. PCMC's Joint City Engineer attributed the delay to objections from a housing society that forced design and height changes.
Daburji Flyover — Deteriorating a Few Years After Construction
The flyover deteriorated to the point former Improvement Trust chairman Dinesh Bassi publicly warned it "may collapse," alleging substandard contractor work and demanding an FIR and high-level inquiry; it was also built without a service lane.
Subhash Bridge — Span Sinks and Cracks Open Up
This 1973-built four-lane bridge, carrying thousands of vehicles and several bus routes daily, developed large cracks and a visibly sunken span section in December 2025 — its last repair had been in 2019 — forcing a five-day emergency closure. Months later, in March 2026, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation approved a ₹240 crore renovation of the bridge.
Motihari bridge collapse
An under-construction bridge collapsed in Motihari — the third such Bihar bridge collapse within a single week.
Adas Railway Overbridge Collapse
Approach girders of an under-construction railway overbridge near Adas village gave way on May 30, 2026, sustaining substantial structural damage; no injuries since no one was beneath it, but railway authorities launched an inquiry.
Meluri Pipeline Suspension Bridge Collapse
A cable suspension truss bridge carrying the sole water-supply pipeline to Meluri district headquarters was washed away by incessant rainfall on September 16, 2025, leaving the entire town without water supply.
Derelict Hindon River Bridge Left Standing 25 Years After Replacement
When Greater Noida Authority built a new four-lane bridge alongside an old two-lane one over the Hindon river roughly 25 years ago, it never demolished the original. That bridge has since developed large pillar cracks and eroded foundation soil, yet pedestrians and cyclists still use it.
Joka–Esplanade (Purple Line) Metro — Over a Decade of Delay
The Purple Line was sanctioned in 2010-11 to connect Joka with Esplanade, with RVNL awarded the construction contract in 2011. Only the 6.5km Joka-Taratala stretch actually opened, inaugurated by the Prime Minister in December 2022 — more than a decade after sanction. The remaining extension toward Park Street/Esplanade remained stuck as of 2026, most recently pending a land-swap deal with Nepal's Consulate General needed to build a ramp between the Mominpur and Khidderpore stations.
Dahisar Skywalk — Shut Since 2016, Still Awaiting Rebuild
Built by MMRDA in 2010 and handed to BMC in 2015, a portion of this 850-metre skywalk collapsed in 2016, forcing its complete closure to pedestrians. A structural audit by VJTI initially recommended repairs, but a later consultant's report recommended full reconstruction instead — leaving the structure shut for years while a rebuild languished in tendering.
Locked public toilets
Public toilets built under the Swachh Bharat Mission in parts of Guwahati remain permanently locked, defeating the mission's sanitation goals.
GIFT City — Gujarat's "Ghost Town" Financial Hub
Envisioned in 2007 as India's answer to Singapore or Dubai — a self-contained financial city with homes, malls, hospitals and nightlife around its office towers — GIFT City has built out only about 22 million of its planned 62 million square feet. Despite housing over 20,000 workers across 400+ companies, it has just one completed residential project, one five-star hotel, no malls, and Gujarat's statewide alcohol prohibition undercuts the after-work social scene finance professionals expect, leaving many firms' real operations still centred in Mumbai.
Freedom Park Multi-Level Parking — Half-Finished Inauguration and Years-Long White Elephant
Designed to hold roughly 580 four-wheelers and 500 two-wheelers, the facility was inaugurated by the Chief Minister while still only partly built — at opening it could handle just 34 cars and 50 two-wheelers. It then sat largely unused for years: BBMP ran at least seven failed tenders to find a private operator, halved the reserve price to attract bidders, floated electric buggies to ferry users to shops as a "last-ditch attempt," and eventually handed it to a firm on terms under which BBMP expects to take about 50 years to recover its investment.
Ganesapuram Subway — 32-Month Closure
The Ganesapuram subway, a key link for several North Chennai neighbourhoods, was closed in January 2023 for construction of a road overbridge and stayed shut for roughly 32 months before Greater Chennai Corporation announced its reopening. Residents expressed concern that new pumping arrangements to prevent monsoon flooding were only a short-term fix rather than a permanent storm-water drainage solution.
Victor Hospital–La Flor Hotel Flyover
A year after Central government approval and funding, work on this flyover — meant to ease Margao's chronic ring-road congestion — had not even begun, stuck awaiting a formal No Objection Certificate from South Western Railway since the alignment crosses railway property.
Ultadanga Flyover — Girder Collapse and Recurring Structural Cracks
Built by Mackintosh Burn Ltd. and inaugurated in January 2011 to link VIP Road/the airport with EM Bypass, a 200-metre iron girder of the flyover collapsed into the Keshtopur canal in March 2013 after a heavily loaded trailer struck the structure, injuring three people. In July 2019, KMDA inspectors found a fresh crack in one of the flyover's piers, forcing a 72-hour traffic shutdown, with officials noting a portion of the same flyover had broken down six years earlier.
Aishbagh ROB — Bridge With a 90-Degree Turn
The 648-metre, 8.5-metre-wide road-over-bridge was built with an abrupt L-shaped, sharp ~90-degree (later measured at 118-119 degrees) turn, which went viral as "inherently dangerous." After massive public backlash, Indian Railways agreed to transfer extra land so PWD could re-profile the curve for a gentler turn, adding roughly 3 feet of carriageway width; the original construction agency and design consultant were blacklisted.
Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar Setu (Ambedkar Flyover)
Bhopal's longest flyover was inaugurated in January 2025; a quality inspection a week later found unsatisfactory riding-surface finishing and excessive expansion-joint corrosion. By August 2026 the asphalt layer had begun peeling with reinforcement rods exposed.
Kharghar Skywalk
A section of the pedestrian skywalk connecting Kharghar station to surrounding sectors has been taken over as an illegal parking zone for vehicles, with commuters saying the public infrastructure meant for pedestrians is being completely misused while hawkers already choke the station entrance.
Mrinal Tai Gore Flyover — Potholes Hours After Inauguration
This 750-metre flyover extension, originally meant to take 24 months, took roughly 7 years and three cost revisions to complete. Within hours to days of its high-profile inauguration, videos showed visible potholes and patchwork on the freshly laid surface, triggering opposition outrage. BMC had already imposed escalating delay penalties on the contractor (₹25,000/day rising to ₹1 lakh/day) after it missed the revised deadline.
NTR Bridge (Upputeru Bridge) Partial Collapse
Roughly 70 metres of the 140-metre, ~30-year-old bridge collapsed, severing a key link in Jagannaickpur. Opposition leaders alleged nearby desilting, dredging and a ₹9 crore park project had undermined the foundation.
Ahmedabad (Kalupur) Railway Station Redevelopment Cost Overrun
The Rail Land Development Authority's flagship redevelopment of Ahmedabad's Kalupur station — styled after the Modhera Sun Temple with bullet-train, metro and bus integration — was budgeted at ₹3,000 crore. When financial bids opened in April 2023, all three bidders quoted far above that: Afcons at ₹5,355 crore, NCC at ₹5,694 crore, and L&T at ₹5,770 crore — a roughly 78% overrun before construction even began.
Batanagar (Sampriti) Flyover Cracks
Billed as West Bengal's longest flyover (roughly 7km) and dedicated by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in January 2019, the "Sampriti" (Harmony) flyover developed visible cracks on pillars 121 and 122 by January 8, 2020 — barely a year after opening — forcing KMDA to halt all vehicular movement for about 26 hours as a precaution.
Purvanchal Expressway — Road Caves In 11 Months After Inauguration
Less than a year after PM inauguration, the October 2022 monsoon caused wide stretches of the flagship expressway to cave in, with potholes up to 15 feet deep, triggering accidents and vehicle damage across multiple sections.
Puri "World-Class Heritage City" Cost Overrun
Odisha's flagship ABADHA scheme to redevelop Puri around the Jagannath Temple saw its budget balloon by over ₹1,000 crore due to design changes and additional projects added mid-course.
Hatkeshwar flyover
The flyover was declared unfit and closed to traffic soon after opening due to substandard construction quality; four directors of the contractor firm were arrested for cheating and criminal conspiracy.
Kancharapalem flyover
One of Vizag's oldest flyovers, once beautified ahead of a major international event, has since been left to decay — dead plants, broken tiles and deteriorated vertical-greenery structures — as maintenance funds are reserved mainly for VIP routes.
Indore BRTS ("iBus" corridor)
Indore's flagship Bus Rapid Transit corridor, once held up nationally as a model project, was ordered dismantled by the Madhya Pradesh High Court after years of complaints that it worsened congestion for other traffic.
Ralla Wagu Bridge Collapse
The bridge had been deteriorating for some time under continuous stress from heavy vehicle traffic, including overloaded sand-mining lorries, before a section gave way on January 4, 2025, cutting the direct Cherla-Venkatapuram passage and forcing a detour via Eturnagaram.
Smart City Footpaths Smashed by Drain-Cleaning Machinery
Premium footpath tiles installed in 2022 under the Smart City project are being smashed by JCBs and chain machines during routine drain-cleaning instead of careful removal and reuse, destroying crores worth of civic investment.
Sadar Flyover
This 3.9km flyover was built with a poorly designed landing that created a chronic traffic bottleneck at Samvidhan Square soon after opening. A state minister publicly acknowledged the "faulty design," and a ₹34-crore modification plan was announced, but implementation has stalled amid inter-agency disputes.
Perungalathur Flyover — 23-Year Construction Delay
First sanctioned in 2001, the flyover stayed incomplete for over two decades because an electricity board substation blocking the alignment was never relocated at the planning stage. Phase 3 only opened in June 2023, leaving roughly 200,000 residents to endure prolonged traffic chaos.
Korattur Railway Station Subway — Years-Long Delay
An 800-metre, 30-foot-wide two-way subway with LED lighting and storm-water drains near Korattur railway station was cleared in 2010 and began construction in 2013, but remained unfinished six years later in 2019 against an expected mid-2020 completion. A local resident noted the Railways had finished their portion of the work, but the Highways Department's portion continued to lag.
Koyambedu Flyover Cracks and Corrosion
The 1.15km Koyambedu flyover, inaugurated by CM M K Stalin, developed multiple potholes, exposed expansion joints and jutting-out steel reinforcement bars within about four years — a hazard flagged by cyclists and commuters.
Lachung Bailey Bridge Collapse
A 200-foot, 25-year-old Bailey bridge connecting the two halves of Lachung village and linking it to Katao and Sharchok villages collapsed on January 5, 2025 when an overloaded supply-laden vehicle attempted to cross, severing road connectivity (only a footbridge remained).
Versova-Bandra Sea Link — Cost Up 140% in 7 Years, Still Barely Started
This MSRDC sea-link project has seen its cost balloon by over 140% in seven years due to technical redesigns (a relocated Juhu exit, a shifted navigation span, and a casting-yard relocation from Juhu to Malad), while its deadline slipped from December 2026 to May 2028. As of the latest disclosure only about 11-12% of construction work had been completed despite years having passed since the contract was awarded.
Nanganallur Under-Construction Flyover Collapse
A portion of an under-construction flyover in south Chennai collapsed on January 18, 2024. No casualties were reported, but the incident raised fresh questions about construction quality and supervision on active flyover projects.
Mohali–Kharar Flyover — Redesigned Twice After Protests
The flyover has been redesigned twice: an original Sector 39–Khanpur alignment was shelved, as was a second alignment, after Phase VI residents and a Gurdwara committee protested planned demolitions; a third mixed elevated/surface design pushed the project years past its 2018 target, with contractor L&T claiming ~₹1 crore/month in losses.
Berhampur Ring Road
Then-CM Naveen Patnaik laid the foundation stone for this ring road in 2013, but land acquisition failures and NHAI non-cooperation meant actual construction of even phase 1 did not begin until November 2021 — eight years later.
Bhankrota & Kamla Nehru Nagar Flyovers Built With Debris Instead of Soil
Investigation found that instead of filling the space behind retaining walls with proper soil, contractors dumped demolition debris (broken asphalt and concrete chunks from old roads), along with broken blocks and pillars, causing leakage and pillar subsidence risk during monsoon. "Defective cement" was also found used in pillar construction, causing visible damage at multiple points on these two NHAI flyovers meant to serve 75,000-90,000 vehicles a day each.
Kakinada–Rajanagaram Road Widening (ADB)
A four-laning upgrade of a single-lane, 1997-built ADB-funded road was meant to widen ~30km within three years, but multiple stretches remain incomplete years past deadline, leaving dangerous half-finished sections that cause accidents.
Sambalpur Central Flyover Cost Blowout
Construction began in February 2016 against local opposition, with a May 2017 deadline; by June 2019 it remained unfinished with costs nearly tripled. Contractor Panda Infratech's work caused four construction accidents, including injury to a schoolgirl, and prolonged traffic chaos devastated local businesses.
Amaravati Capital City Start-up Area Project
A flagship public-private capital-city development anchored by a Singapore government-linked consortium was shelved by the incoming state government in November 2019 after the World Bank and AIIB pulled funding, leaving capital-city works stalled for roughly five years before a partial 2024 revival.
Noida's ₹500-Crore Elevated Road Left to Rot Amid Contractor Dispute
Noida's 4.8km elevated road suffered surface damage after monsoon rains; the contractor, contractually responsible for upkeep, refused to resurface it citing an unresolved financial dispute with the Noida Authority, forcing the Authority to repair it itself amid an internal probe.
Delhi BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) corridor
Delhi's first Bus Rapid Transit corridor was blamed for worsening congestion for private vehicles and was dismantled by the Delhi government in 2016 after years of controversy, PILs, and court battles.
Pitki Railway Overbridge (NH-18)
This 1.4km, 56-pillar overbridge was launched in 2019 with a 2022 target. As of April 2026, only seven of nine planned railway traffic blocks needed over live tracks had been used, leaving ~5,000 vehicles/day and ambulances stuck for up to 5km when level-crossing gates close for over 100 daily trains; cracks have appeared in some pillars.
Parwanoo–Solan NH-5 Four-Laning Cost Overrun & Flyover Collapse
The four-laning of a 39km NH-5 stretch, awarded with a 30-month deadline, took over five years to substantially finish and required extensive extra slope-stabilisation after the original design proved inadequate. In August 2022, a large flyover portion on this same stretch collapsed during heavy rain near Solan.
Palathara Bridge Structural Failure
A 60-plus-year-old municipal bridge began deteriorating after a heavy truck crossing caused cracking, and a nearby compound wall then collapsed onto it, compromising the foundation. The municipality restricted it to two-wheelers only pending an expert assessment.
Vallabhipur Branch Canal (SSNNL) Irregularities
Gujarat Congress filed a complaint with the CM and state vigilance commission in August 2026 alleging a ₹400-crore scam in SSNNL's Vallabhipur Branch Canal underground pipeline irrigation project in Bhavnagar district, citing an official CAG audit flagging large-scale irregularities.
Pumpwell Flyover
Approved in 2004 and taking roughly a decade to build, the flyover developed visible cracks on its road surface and embankment walls just 3-4 months after its high-profile inauguration, forcing NHAI to seal cracks with tar.
Neglected public park
A public park built by the city administration lies neglected and overrun with waste, cited by local media as symptomatic of poor upkeep of civic amenities across the city.
Locked/Unusable Public Toilets (Singara Chennai 2.0)
Greater Chennai Corporation spent crores building or upgrading community toilet complexes, but numerous completed units sit permanently locked and never opened, while others suffer inadequate water supply and severe filth that render them unusable.
Begusarai bridge collapse
A newly built bridge costing ₹13 crore collapsed in Begusarai district, adding to Bihar's string of bridge failures.
Overhead Water Tank Leaking Since Construction
An overhead water tank built to serve roughly 5,000 residents across four villages has leaked since it was completed around 2020; water supply was halted within about six months due to worsening leakage, and even after partial repairs roughly two years later, residents say "leakage in the tank continues," with water accumulating in village lanes.
Foot Over Bridges (FOBs), citywide
Multiple foot overbridges built across Guwahati sit in a "dismal state," poorly maintained and largely avoided by pedestrians who prefer crossing roads directly at grade.
Pataragitti Stream Bridge Collapse
A 16-year-old bridge connecting Vijayapura and Belagavi districts over the Pataragitti stream collapsed suddenly on a Monday afternoon, severing the Athani connectivity route and forcing a longer detour via Tikota.
"Temple Run" Bridge — Triple 90-Degree Turn
This short bridge/road stretch packs three consecutive sharp ~90-degree turns into a brief section, creating a zigzag pattern widely compared online to the mobile game "Temple Run" rather than conventional road design. Google Maps satellite imagery of the structure went viral on social media (shared by Congress Kerala in June 2025), racking up over a million views and a wave of memes questioning why it wasn't built as a simple curve.
STI Overbridge Waterlogging
Built in 2019, this overbridge developed large craters and broken dividers within two years, turning into knee-deep artificial ponds during rain; on September 16, 2021 Congress activists released live fish onto the flooded bridge to protest the drainage failure.
Locked and Unusable Public Toilets
More than ten public toilets built with Swachh Bharat and government grant money have remained locked for years, some with broken windows and drainage problems; a separate 2026 civic survey found toilets missing in 30 wards and closed in nine more.
Padappai Flyover — Multi-Year Delay
A 700-metre flyover at the Padappai junction, meant to relieve a stretch handling roughly 70,000 vehicles a day, was originally due in about 18 months from its 2019 start but was still only 50% complete as of February 2025 — over five years later. Peak-hour congestion at the site now stretches up to a kilometre, taking commuters roughly 25 minutes to cross, with inadequate lighting cited as a safety hazard.
Atal Pedestrian Bridge — Glass Floor Cracks
PM Narendra Modi inaugurated this 300-metre pedestrian bridge over the Sabarmati as a flagship riverfront showpiece featuring a lit glass floor section. About seven months later, in April 2023, one of the toughened-glass panels developed internal cracks — reported as having "shattered internally" — forcing officials to cordon off the spot even as the bridge stayed open to pedestrians.
Kalighat Skywalk — Four-Year Construction Delay
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation began building a "mega" skywalk to Kalighat Temple in 2021, displacing hawkers from the temple approach road and temporarily relocating around 195 traders to makeshift units at Jatin Das Park. Traders were told they would return to permanent stalls within 18 months, but the project dragged on for four years before keys to the new multi-storey market building were finally handed over on March 27, 2025.
Durgapur Barrage Bridge Disrepair
This bridge, a critical link carrying over 26,000 vehicles daily, went without major renovation for roughly 80 years before the West Bengal government finally ordered urgent repair work ahead of monsoon, citing poor condition.
Tarkhola–Kalimpong Teesta Bridge Collapse
A replacement bridge built to replace one destroyed by the October 2023 glacial lake outburst flood was itself washed away on February 20, 2024, about a week before planned completion, injuring three workers.
JLN Marg Elevated Road Plan Scrapped Over Aesthetics
An elevated road planned along JLN Marg — already included in the state budget — was shelved after Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma raised aesthetic concerns about the corridor's appearance during a review meeting. The JDA has since pivoted to planning an alternative elevated road along Tonk Road instead, which would require removing the existing older flyovers at Gopalpura and Durgapura crossings.
Bailey Bridge Collapse Cuts Off 4,000+ Residents
A Bailey bridge in Chamoli district collapsed in June 2024, cutting off road access for more than 4,000 residents, illustrating the fragility of temporary/emergency bridge infrastructure relied upon across Uttarakhand's landslide-prone hill terrain.
Adampur Flyover — A Decade-Old Project Still Unfinished
A flyover sanctioned in 2016 with a two-year completion target remains unfinished more than seven years later despite land acquisition and removal of over 120 encroachments in 2022; residents describe crippled local trade and a 2025 Lok Adalat petition alleging administrative indifference.
Ved-Variyav bridge
The newly inaugurated bridge developed visible cracks just 40 days after opening, part of a pattern of newly built Gujarat flyovers/bridges failing shortly after inauguration.
Tawde Hotel–Shivaji Bridge Flyover
A flyover meant to ease Kolhapur's growing traffic load received in-principle approval but has remained stuck for about two years because the municipal corporation has not appointed a design consultant, with disputes unresolved over who bears service-line relocation costs.
Lakshman Jhula Shut as "Beyond Repair" — Replacement Still Not Ready Years Later
The 90-year-old suspension bridge was shut in 2019 after a PWD panel found it "not in a position to sustain any more load." Its ₹56-crore glass-floored replacement, Bajrang Setu, missed its July 2023 deadline and was still under construction (65% done, retargeted June 2025) more than three years after being commissioned; as of May 2026 Lakshman Jhula itself remained closed with no reopening date.
Puri Heritage Corridor Temple Damage
As part of the Heritage Corridor project around the 12th-century Jagannath Temple, excavation by contractor OBCC allegedly destroyed archaeological remains and caused cracks in the Nata Mandap shrine, per a 70-page ASI affidavit in the Orissa High Court; ASI also found the project proceeded without valid National Monuments Authority permission.
Noida Metro Aqua Line — Missed Deadlines, Thrice-Cancelled Extension Tender
The Aqua Line, originally slated for May 2017 (then April 2018), did not open until January 2019. Its planned extension then stalled further: tenders were floated and cancelled three times between June 2020 and February 2021 due to poor contractor response.
AIIMS Darbhanga — Stalled Hospital Project
An RTI response revealed that years after being conceptualised in 2015 and despite a PM-led foundation stone ceremony in November 2024, "significant infrastructure work, including the hospital building and academic blocks, has yet to commence" and remains pending further approvals. As of the RTI disclosure, only the main gate had actually been built.
Ejipura flyover
A precast concrete slab segment cracked and fell in 2024, injuring an auto-rickshaw driver, repeatedly halting construction pending IISc structural review.
Sumanahalli Flyover — Recurring Road Collapse
Built by BDA between 2006 and 2010 on the Outer Ring Road with an intended 80-year design lifespan, the Sumanahalli flyover developed a gaping hole exposing the road below in 2019 — less than a decade after opening — and again in later years. A 2020 third-party structural audit commissioned by BBMP found that although 29 inspected city flyovers (including this one) were structurally sound, "none of them was being regularly maintained."
Lucknow–Kanpur Expressway Cracks Days After Inauguration
Roughly two weeks after its high-profile inauguration, the expressway's upper asphalt surface caved/cracked over a stretch of about 40 metres; viral photos later showed pedestal fans deployed on the road to dry out rain-soaked patchwork repairs, drawing sharp political criticism.
Kukrail (Khurram Nagar) Flyover — 8 Years to Build 5.8km
The 5.8km, six-lane flyover was sanctioned in 2009 but took nearly eight years of construction, plagued by "several construction snags and other issues," before opening in March 2019, three weeks behind even its extended deadline.
Delisle Bridge (NM Joshi Bridge) — Abrupt Closure and Demolition
This 97-year-old bridge connecting Lower Parel's mill district over railway tracks was abruptly shut to all traffic on July 24, 2018, days after a portion of Andheri's Gokhale Bridge collapsed triggered a citywide review of aging bridges; an IIT-Bombay inspection found its steel girders, pillars and underframe severely corroded and unsafe. It was fully demolished by mid-February 2019 and replaced.
Gandhi Bazaar Smart City Parking Used as Car Showroom Storage
A four-storey multi-level parking complex built with ₹27 crore of Smart Cities Mission public funds to ease chronic parking shortages in the busy Gandhi Bazaar commercial district was, soon after opening, allegedly taken over in large part by a Mercedes-Benz dealership to store brand-new luxury vehicles — squeezing out the public parking it was built to provide. Residents said the diversion pushed ordinary motorists back onto roads, footpaths and outside homes and shops in the neighbourhood.
CSMT "Himalaya Bridge" foot overbridge collapse
A century-old-style foot overbridge near CSMT collapsed during evening rush hour in March 2019, killing 6 people and injuring dozens; the BMC had ignored a prior IIT-Bombay structural safety recommendation.
Namma Metro (BMRCL) under-construction pillar collapse
An under-construction Namma Metro pillar collapsed onto traffic, killing a mother and her 2-year-old son; four BMRCL officials and six others were later charged.
Signature Bridge
Delhi's iconic cable-stayed bridge took 14 years to complete against a 4-year target, marred by fatal construction accidents, cable-stay failures, and contractor disputes, with the budget ballooning several times over.
Vivekananda Road (Posta) flyover collapse
An under-construction flyover collapsed onto a crowded market street during a weekday, killing 27 people and injuring around 80; investigators found defects across design, construction, materials and supervision after 7 years of delays.
Majerhat bridge collapse
A more than 50-year-old bridge collapsed during evening traffic, killing 3 and injuring over 25; it had been flagged unsafe in a 2016 audit but received only "patchwork" bitumen repairs.
Varanasi flyover collapse
A girder of an under-construction flyover in the Prime Minister's constituency collapsed onto a busy market road during evening rush hour, crushing vehicles and killing 18 people.
Morbi suspension bridge collapse
A 143-year-old colonial-era suspension bridge, reopened days after a hasty and allegedly substandard renovation, collapsed under crowd weight on Oct 30, 2022, killing 135 people in India's deadliest bridge disaster.
Gambhira bridge collapse
A 40-year-old bridge collapsed suddenly during morning traffic, killing 22 people; initial findings pointed to structural failure from heavy use combined with inadequate maintenance and supervision.
Bomikhal flyover ("bridge to nowhere")
Meant to be finished within 2 years of its 2012 start, the flyover remained unfinished more than 6 years later after a mid-project design change (from an L-shape to a T-shape) drove massive cost overruns; two people died in separate structural-collapse incidents during construction.
Indrayani River footbridge collapse
A 32-year-old iron pedestrian bridge over the Indrayani river collapsed on June 15, 2025 under the weight of roughly 100 tourists/picnickers, despite warning boards restricting two-wheeler and overload use. Four people died and 18 were seriously injured; CM Devendra Fadnavis confirmed the district collector had already declared the bridge dangerous before the tragedy and a contract for a replacement bridge had begun.
Madurai–Natham Highway Flyover Collapse
On August 28, 2021, a portion of an under-construction flyover on the Madurai-Natham Highway Project collapsed while workers were on site, killing one worker and injuring another.
Aroor–Thuravoor Elevated Highway Girder Collapse
A steel girder fell onto a pickup van during overnight construction at Eramalloor on November 14, 2025, killing the driver. An NHAI panel found work "carried out in violation of Indian Roads Congress (IRC) safety norms," with serious security lapses by contractor Ashoka Buildcon; the road had stayed open during active girder-lifting. NHAI ordered a wider safety audit of other NH-66 stretches.
Hubballi Flyover (Hosur Cross–Channamma Circle)
Sanctioned in 2021, the flyover has missed deadline after deadline — pushed to August 2026 — amid a police-station relocation dispute, a fatal construction accident, buried utility-line discoveries, and land/alignment objections. Authorities have threatened to blacklist the contractor.
NH-16 Flyover Beam Collapse
An under-construction flyover beam being erected as part of NH-16 highway-expansion works collapsed directly onto a moving car and truck, killing two people in the car's front seats and injuring two women passengers, one pregnant.
Kota Chambal Cable-Stayed Bridge Collapse
A partially built span of the under-construction cable-stayed bridge over the Chambal collapsed without warning on December 24, 2009, killing 48 workers and engineers. Construction was halted for years amid contractual dispute before resuming in 2014; the bridge was finally inaugurated by the PM in 2017, roughly eight years after the collapse.
Bhopal BRTS (Bus Rapid Transit) Corridor
The dedicated 24km bus corridor launched in 2013 recorded 121 accidents and 21 fatalities between 2016-2018, worsened congestion in adjoining lanes despite its own underuse, and hurt local businesses; years of pressure eventually led authorities to plan dismantling stretches.
NH-130 Under-Construction Bridge Collapse
A cement slab of an under-construction bridge on NH-130 near Podi village caved in on October 16, 2017, killing one worker and injuring seven, three critically. The bridge was being built by contractor Dilip Buildcon.
Chhatra Bazar–Malgodown Flyover Collapse
A portion of the flyover connecting Chhatra Bazar and Malgodown partially collapsed on March 9, 2022, killing at least two people (believed vegetable vendors/daily laborers working beneath) and injuring others, with some feared trapped under debris; residents said the structure had been "in a dilapidated condition."
Bhairabi–Sairang Railway Bridge Collapse
An under-construction railway bridge over the Kurung river collapsed on August 23, 2023 when a launching gantry gave way, killing at least 23-26 workers (mostly from Malda, West Bengal) in one of India's worst railway construction disasters.
Gopal Krishna Gokhale Bridge (Gokhale Setu) — Collapse, Demolition & 7-Year Rebuild
A pedestrian section of this ageing bridge collapsed during monsoon rain on July 3, 2018, killing two people and injuring several others. Post-collapse structural audits eventually led to the entire bridge being shut to traffic in November 2022 and rebuilt. Reconstruction dragged on for years — a 2023 deadline was missed after late girder delivery from an Ambala factory — and even after a much-publicised "reopening" in February 2024, a 6-foot height misalignment between the new bridge and the adjoining C D Barfiwala flyover caused traffic chaos, requiring further realignment work guided by IIT-Bombay and VJTI before the bridge was finally fully operational on May 11, 2025 — nearly 2.5 years after full closure and 7 years after the original collapse.
Elphinstone Road Foot Overbridge Stampede
During morning rush hour on September 29, 2017, a narrow, decades-old foot overbridge connecting Elphinstone Road and Parel stations became dangerously overcrowded when four trains arrived simultaneously during heavy rain; a panic-inducing rumor that the bridge was collapsing triggered a crush that killed at least 23 people and injured 39. Warnings about the bridge's inadequate capacity had reportedly been raised for years beforehand and ignored.
Manapakkam Metro Girder Collapse
On the night of June 12, 2025, a 40-foot concrete I-girder under construction for Chennai Metro Phase 2 collapsed from over 20 feet height after its supporting A-frame gave way, crushing a motorist, C. Ramesh (43), to death. It took rescue teams over five hours to retrieve his body from under the girder. Police booked contractor L&T and four of its officials under BNS Section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder).
Jaipur Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) — Abandoned and Dismantled
Jaipur's flagship BRTS, funded substantially by JNNURM, never delivered the 300 buses promised and built only two corridors — Sikar Road, chaotically designed with 11 junctions packed into 8km, and New Sanganer Road, which was "not operational at all." It recorded the lowest ridership of any Indian BRTS city, its median dedicated-lane design proved fatal for pedestrians, and its barricades were eventually ordered dismantled across the city.