Ever had to make a 90-degree turn on a bridge? No? That’s the problem. In India, seven engineers just got suspended for designing exactly that.

A brand-new $2.3 million bridge in Bhopal, India, is going viral—not because it solved traffic, but because it bends at nearly a 90-degree angle. Now, seven engineers have been suspended, a retired official is facing investigation, and the construction firms behind the project have been blacklisted.

The 648-meter Rail Over Bridge (ROB) was supposed to connect Mahamai Ka Bagh and New Bhopal, easing congestion and slashing wait times for up to 300,000 daily commuters. Instead, it’s become a punchline and a cautionary tale.

7 Engineers Suspended Over Bhopal Bridge With 90-Degree Turn

Photos of the sharp turn, which appears midway through the elevated roadway, exploded on Indian social media, prompting disbelief and concern. Drivers expressed confusion about how to navigate the turn safely. Others wondered how the project even got approved.

Chief Minister Mohan Yadav didn’t waste time. “Seven engineers, including two chief engineers, have been suspended with immediate effect,” he said, according to The Indian Express. “A departmental inquiry will be conducted against a retired sub-engineer. Both the construction agency and the design consultant have been blacklisted.”

According to official records, the design for the bridge shifted multiple times over the past seven years, largely due to conflicts between the Public Works Department (PWD) and the Railways. The two agencies couldn’t agree on how to share land, and in trying to work around both railway property and the new Metro line, they ended up producing a final layout with an abrupt 90-degree angle.

VD Verma, the project’s chief engineer, defended the layout, saying his team had no other option due to “limited land space” and the proximity of the Metro station. But critics argue that no one should ever have signed off on a turn that sharp.

Internal PWD documents show the original 2018 plan featured a more manageable 45-degree skew. That plan was scrapped after the Railways refused to approve construction on its land. A second design attempted to accommodate the Metro line. A third version adjusted for alignment errors, though the Railways later admitted that the final result “is neither fulfilling the functional requirement nor safe for road users.”

Now, Bhopal authorities are discussing buying additional land to fix the turn, but that means more money and more delays.

For commuters who hoped this project would ease daily travel, the bridge has become yet another example of bureaucratic infighting and design-by-compromise. For engineers, it’s a high-profile reminder that bad geometry can turn into political fallout very quickly.