With four months left to the end of the three-year contract period, the physical progress of the 'Signature' bridge under construction on Seti River in Pokhara has reached a total of 44.66 percent.
The contract period of the bridge on the Pokhara-Muglin road is expiring next August. In July 2079, the construction company Rasuwa Construction took over the construction of the bridge.
Krishna Bahadur Kunwar, head of the western section (Pokhara-Jamune) of the Pokhara-Muglin road project, said that it will take another year to build the bridge. "Due to obstacles in trying to remove the structures within the standard, the construction could not accelerate at the initial stage, it took time to get the design of the bridge approved," he said, "The work is being delayed because the materials including the cables needed for the bridge have to be brought from abroad." Chief Kunwar said that three towers have been constructed and one is under construction. The construction company said that although the construction of the foundation of the 'signature' bridge, which will be made with an attractive design, will take more time, the work of the upper structure including the tower will be done quickly.
Chief Kunwar said that two 'signature' bridges of attractive structure will be built below and above the existing China Bridge on the six-lane road. The bridge is being constructed through the road department with the loan support of the Asian Development Bank.
Rasuwa Construction is working on bridge construction with a contract worth 94 crores excluding VAT. After the construction of the 'signature' bridge, the attraction of the tourist capital of Pokhara will also increase. It is said that the bridge to be built now is more attractive in terms of design than the old technology.
Chief Kunwar said that concrete and iron will be used in the construction of the bridge of 190 meters. Before the construction of the bridge, a team with foreign technicians designed the bridge. Under the Pokhara-Muglin road four-lane expansion and upgrading project, signature bridges are under construction on the Seti River in Pokhara and the Madi River in Tanahun.
Pokhara-Muglin road under the Prithvi Highway built fifty years ago was started from April 2078 for expansion and upgrading. The project office said that if there are no obstacles in the construction, the road upgrading work will be completed by next winter. So far, the physical progress in the eastern section (Jamune-Muglin) of the road, which is the 'life line' of Gandaki province, has reached 82.95 percent and in the western section (Pokhara-Jamune) 50.34 percent.
In the eastern section of a total distance of 41.45 km, only 3 km of blacktop is left. Chief Kunwar said that so far 35.5 km of one-way (two-lane) roads have been paved in the western section of a total distance of 38.88 km. "Around three km of the road has yet to be paved in one direction, 18 km distance has been paved in both directions", he said, "within the coming June, the goal is to have black asphalt in both directions in a distance of 30 km."
