After the 'break through' of the Siddhababa tunnel, there has been a lot of curiosity about when it will come into operation. The meaning of 'break through' does not mean that all the construction work has been completed. If only 1.8 meters were left to connect the north and south parts of the main tunnel, the work was completed only on Friday.

The tunnel was dug normally and only 'break through' was done . According to the project, it is now being made into a tunnel. Then Prabhat Kumar Jha, director of the Quality Research and Development Center under the Road Department, will start the work of concrete lining by placing strong supports of iron and rods around and above the floor. "After placing the support concrete, it will be observed for one and a half months that the soil will not fall and the water will not leak," he said.

After that, lighting and ventilation work will be carried out, he said. After all the work is done, the crankit slope (road) will be done, which will be two lanes . These works will also be done in three bypass tunnels . A drain will also be made inside the tunnel. "It is estimated that it will take another year and a half to complete all these works," he said, "We will start the outside work only after the completion of the first tunnel."

According to him, it is not possible to work by stopping traffic outside the tunnel. "Therefore, since we have to close the road and work, we will start other work outside only by driving vehicles through the tunnel," he said, "If there is no problem, there will be no delay in the construction of the tunnel." The construction company has been demanding an extension saying that all the work cannot be completed in this period . "The construction company is demanding an extension of 9 months regarding tree cutting and other works," he said 080 was started from May. Prior to that, due to preparation and cutting of trees, the tunneling work did not proceed . For convenience and immediate rescue in case of any problems with vehicles inside the tunnel, the first bypass tunnel of 151 meters, the second of 161 meters and the third bypass tunnel of 130 meters has been constructed, which has been 'break through' some time ago. 

Photos : Madhav Aryal/Kantipur

The length of the main tunnel is 1,126 meters. Due to frequent landslides and accidents on this road section, tunnel construction has been started as an alternative. According to the Siddhababa Tunnel Marg project, the physical progress of the overall construction is 40.18 percent and the financial progress is 39.90 percent. Road improvement work will be done on 2 thousand 398 meters in that section. _{Four km of this section falls within the landslide zone. Similarly, a rock set will be constructed in case of a landslide outside the tunnel. The distance of which is 780 meters. In the area where the tunnel is constructed, the stones will fall down and a cemented rock set will be made. It is said that rock sets are designed based on the fact that stones fall and can/cannot withstand them.}

Its contract was taken by China State Construction Engineering Company . The contract amount is 7 billion 34 crore 21 lakh rupees. It will be taller than the Nagadhunga-Sisnekhola tunnel route. Its height from the ground will be 9.2 meters. The height of Nagadhunga-Sisnekhola tunnel is 8.2 meters. According to the design, 15 jet fans will be installed for ventilation.

Since then, the 'break through' of the Nagadhunga-Sisnekhola tunnel took place on 081 Baisakh 3 . So far, the work inside the tunnel has not been completed, vehicles have not been able to move. The project says that all work will not be completed as soon as the break-through is done and only the first phase of tunneling will be completed. If there is no problem in the construction, the vehicles will be rerouted through the Nagadhunga-Sisne Khola tunnel within the next 082 October . So, its construction has been started on 076 November 4 . 85 percent progress has been made so far.