The construction of a bridge on the Mahalaxmi Khola on the Kulekhani-Phakhel road, a short alternative route from Hetauda to Kathmandu, has reached the final stage.

All that remains is to construct the slope on the upper part of the bridge and the access road on both sides. Sujan Bhandari, Chief of the Infrastructure Development Office, Makawanpur, said that preparations are underway to put the bridge into operation by the last week of Jestha after completing all the work.  

The Infrastructure Development Office of the Bagmati Province Government, Makawanpur, had awarded the contract on 2082 Asad 6 for the construction of the bridge and the access road damaged by the floods of 2081 Asod 11 and 12. Named Mahalaxmi Miteri Pakki Bridge, 92 percent of the work has been completed. The bridge, which is 15 meters long and 8.4 meters wide, has an agreement to be constructed by 2083 Asad 6.

Pandav Narayan Saraswati JV Hetauda has taken the contract to build the bridge at a cost of Rs 42 million, said Bhandari, the head of the Infrastructure Development Office. Although the work of widening and grading the road from Hetauda-Bhimphedi-Kulekhani-Pakhel-Humane Bhanjyang has been completed, not all parts have been blacktopped.

The road in the Mahalaxmi Khola area has been widened and a drain has been made, and a wall has been built to protect the road from the river. The floods and landslides that occurred last September had washed away half a kilometer of the road in the Mahalaxmi area.