KATHMANDU: The Department of Roads has invited global bids to upgrade the 70-km Hetauda-Narayanghat section of the East-West Highway, including a nearly 2-km flyover at Tikouli in Chitwan.
The Project Directorate (ADB) has divided the road upgrade into three packages. The first covers the 39.92-km Rapti Bridge-Lothar Bridge section, the second covers the 26.18-km Lothar Bridge-Tikouli section, and the third covers the 3.82-km Tikouli-Gondrang section. The Tikouli flyover will be part of the third package.
The existing two-lane highway will be upgraded to at least four lanes with support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of Nepal. The project has an estimated cost of around Rs 42.5 billion, with 82% financed through an ADB loan and the remaining 18% by the government. The Department of Roads has officially published the invitation for bids for the section.
Two parallel flyovers, each 1.992 km long excluding the approach roads, will be built through the Tikouli forest. One will carry eastbound traffic and the other westbound traffic. Each flyover will have a 600-meter approach road on both ends.
The flyovers will be 11 meters wide. The carriageway will be 7.5 meters wide, while a 2.75-meter-wide footpath will also be provided. Vehicles will travel above the forest while wildlife will be able to move underneath.
The structures will provide a vertical clearance of around 7 to 7.5 meters for wildlife movement. The project is intended to reduce wildlife deaths caused by vehicle collisions in the Tikouli forest area. It is also expected to be Nepal’s first flyover built in a protected forest area.
The flyover section will have 67 pillars and is estimated to cost around Rs 7 billion.
The wider Hetauda-Narayanghat road project will expand the highway to up to 50 meters in urban areas. Around 19.3 km of urban road will be developed as a six-lane road with service lanes on both sides.
Another 16.7 km in semi-urban areas will have a width of 37.4 meters, while 33.9 km through rural and forest areas will be 24 meters wide.
The project will also include 10 bridges, 10 box culverts and five underpasses or overpasses. Underpasses are planned at Simaltadi, Khairahani, Shanti Chowk and Bhanu Chowk. Eleven existing bridges will also be upgraded.
The road upgrade is targeted for completion within 42 months of awarding the contract. The contractor will also be responsible for maintenance of the completed road for five years.
