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Those who travel through the Narayangadh-Muglin road in Chitwan must have noticed one thing. That is, concrete bridges built in this section. The distance of the road connecting Muglin to Narayangadh is 36 km, but the number of small and big bridges constructed in that section is only 19.
Due to the bridges built here, sometimes you have to turn right, sometimes left. Again, you have to go up and down from a bridge that is higher than the road level. Not only the old ones, but also the newly built bridges are like this.
Why were the bridges built in this way so that there is a risk of accidents on this road? A brief conversation with Keshav Kumar Sharma, Secretary of the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport :
The bridge has not been built on the Narayangadh-Muglin road according to the level of the road, why?
It was very complicated to build a bridge by digging the wall. These landslides cause problems on the road. There was a risk of landslides while cutting the hill. Therefore, it was not possible to cut the mountain. It was not even possible to dig next to the bridge that is being done now. There was no situation to divert from the old bridge and go too far. So the bridge could not be built openly.
In some cases, the old bridge had to be demolished. As there was no alternative, traffic had to be stopped and the situation had to be demolished. Therefore, a new bridge has been built near the old bridge so that traffic is not affected. While moving from Muglin towards Narayangadh, we were able to construct the bridge with great difficulty due to the complex geographical structure. Where the road is made by cutting the mountain. In such a place, there is no condition to cut the wall, because there is Trishuli river below, it was not possible to build a bridge from there.
Now the old bridges are demolished and new ones are built or are they repaired and operated?
The old bridge is no longer needed. A new two-lane bridge has been built. Old bridges are narrow. Again, the old bridges are of 'Intermediate' type. The upgraded road has two lanes. Therefore, the old bridges have not been demolished. If the road is widened at some point, the old bridges have been kept intact. Gradually, the use of this bridge also decreases.
Is this a problem only on road bridges, is it similar elsewhere?
This is the most difficult road. The end is not that much of a problem. Little by little, the bridge and the road may not be coordinated on the Narayangarh-Butwal road. The problem is that the old bridge has to be preserved. Now the road from Nagadhunga to Muglin has not been able to work because of the new diversion at the place of the old bridge. Therefore, it is difficult to coordinate the drawing of the bridge and the road because the old bridges have to be preserved and the wall cannot be used much.
Bridges are built only after some roads are built, can't construction of roads and bridges be done at the same time?
A bridge cannot be built on a small budget. Building a bridge is not as easy as building a road. There is little budget, even if it is one km, we should not build a road. Bridge work should be done at once. Earlier, road and bridge contracts were done separately. Not so now. Currently, Narayangadh-Butwal, Nagadhunga-Muglin, Muglin-Pokhara, Kakdvitta-Laukhi and other highways, which have been expanded, have been contracted for roads and bridges at the same time. For two to four years, bridge and road contracts were being worked simultaneously. Before, bridges were built only by building roads.
