NAWALPUR: Progress continues on the four-lane expansion of the East-West Highway. All 22 small bridges on the Gaindakot-Daunne section of the Narayanghat-Butwal road have been completed. These bridges fall under the eastern section of the 114-kilometer highway development project.
According to Engineer Shiva Khanal, Information Officer for the Eastern Section of the Narayanghat-Butwal Road Project, Bridges shorter than 25 meters are regarded as small bridges, while those longer than 25 meters are considered large bridges. Among the 12 large bridges planned for this section, five have been completed and are now in use.
However, Khanal clarified that some bridges are not yet in use due to incomplete access roads which connects them to the main highway. Construction work is ongoing and three additional large bridges are expected to be finished by Ashar.
“All the bridges except JayaShree and Beldiya in Gaindakot, Girubari in Madhyabindu and Arun-Khola will be completed by Ashar,” he said.
“The delay in these four bridges is because manpower and equipment have been diverted to reconstruct the Binayi Khola bridge, which recently collapsed under the load of heavy vehicles.”
Road and bridge expansion along the 65 km Gaindakot-Daunne corridor is progressing steadily. About 52.5 km of the road has been paved with blacktop. However, areas like Chormara Bazaar, Dumkibas and Daunne are yet to be completed blacktopping.
“Work is underway to finish the blacktopping in all areas, except for the 4 kilometers in Daunne, before the upcoming monsoon season.” Khanal added.
As of mid Chaitra, the overall progress of the eastern section stands at 63 percent. The broader project involves expanding the Narayanghat-Butwal road into two segments: the 65-kilometer eastern section (Narayanghat-Daunne) and the 49-kilometer western section (Daunne-Butwal).
The city sections of the road will feature additional service lanes on both sides, while the 14-kilometer road passing through Daunne will be widened to three lanes.
China State Construction Engineering Corporation Limited had won the contract for this big infrastructure project through a global tender. The agreement was signed in Magh 2075 and actual road work began on Chaitra 20. Initially set for completion in 42 months (by July 2079), the deadline has since been extended three times.
The contractor has cited multiple challenges for the delays. Four times more trees had to be cut down than what was mentioned in the Detailed Project Report (DPR). There were delays in receiving permission for tree cutting, the relocation of electric poles was very slow and additional disruptions were caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The current contract extension is set to expire in Ashar.
