The construction of 'fly over' at Gwarko Chowk in Lalitpur, which is a very busy road in the valley, has just been completed. Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has a program to inaugurate this plan, which has been completed several times.

Common people who are suffering during the construction of 'fly over' will now be relieved from the problem of traffic jam. The Quality Research and Development Center under the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Roads Department has advanced the process of construction of the much awaited Guarco Overpass project completed in Kathmandu Valley.

Center signed a contract with Ashish-Parallel Religer JV construction business company on February 12, 2078 to complete the work within two years. The contract completion date was fixed on 11th February 2080 . But after the construction was not completed in the specified time, the deadline was extended for the second time to complete the construction in June 2081. Once again, as the construction could not be completed within the stipulated time, the deadline was extended to be completed on January 8, 2081. After problems were found in the project, the construction work of the project was stopped for a month last December and January. Pradeep Bhandari, the spokesperson of the

center, informed that the construction was completed after the contractor company failed to complete the construction even after extending the deadline several times. "There was some delay in the construction of Guarco overpass due to technical complications and unavoidable technical modifications," he said, "even though the work started according to the initial design, necessary changes had to be made in the initial design submitted by the builders." For that, further study and approval process has taken time.' He said that when installing a mechanically stabilized soil wall, the expected amount of improvement in the soil under the ground should be improved, so additional work related to soil improvement was required and additional time and resources were consumed, he said.

Likewise, during the construction of the approach road, Bhandari said that more time was needed because the foundation soil was pressed unevenly in the part towards Satdobato. According to

Bhandari, the total length of the ramp and bridge of Gwarko overpass is 576.2 meters, 320 meters from Gwarko Chowk towards Lagankhel and 185 meters long overpass towards Satdobato. He said that the distance of the ramp of the overpass is 10.2 meters in addition to four layers of black sheets on both sides. The length of the middle bridge section is 36.2 meters. In this way, the total length of the overpass by combining the two ramps and the bridge is 576.2 meters with 540 meters (ramp) plus 36.2 meters (bridge),' said Bhandari.

14 million more cost

Center spokesperson Bhandari informed that the cost of the work could not be completed within the stipulated time and the cost was 140 million more than the initial contract. It is a contract, under which the responsibility of design and construction rests entirely with the builder.' According to

Bhandari, according to the contract, if there is any error in the construction work for five years after construction and for 10 years in the design, the full responsibility of correcting the error remains with the builder.  Easy to manage

traffic 

Kathmandu Valley Traffic Police Office Spokesperson Superintendent of Police Deepak Giri said that the problem of traffic jams in various intersections of the valley is increasing with the increasing number of vehicles recently and said that the construction of such flyovers will facilitate the management of traffic jams.

'The problem of traffic jam seen at Gwarko Chowk will be removed from now on . If a longer flyover can be constructed instead of a short one, it will be easier in traffic management,' he said, 'Guarco will no longer be jammed and vehicles can move quickly . But coming to Satdobato Chowk, the traffic will increase at once and the traffic jam will increase at that place . Therefore, it is necessary to bring a plan for the construction of a long overpass.'

Engineer Gajendra Prasad Thapalia, president of Nepal Intellectuals Council, who is also an infrastructure expert, said that underpasses and overpasses are the need of the day when traffic problems are increasing in the main cities of the country including the valley.

'The construction of Gwarko fly over reflects the positive side of infrastructure development in the country . Although the construction work is delayed, it has conveyed a positive message,' he said,                                          And only traffic management becomes easy.'

The need for CCTV and lights

The Infrastructure Development Committee of the House of Representatives inspected the Gwarko Overpass under the Federal Parliament. On the eve of the inauguration, an on-site observation was conducted last Wednesday under the coordination of the chairman of the committee, Deepak Singh.

Madhav Sapkota, a member of the committee and a member of the House of Representatives, says that an inspection was conducted to get information about the progress of the overpass and where small but important work is left.

'Even though most of the work has been completed during the inspection of the overpass, some small works are still left,' he said, 'such as the installation of lights, the installation of CC cameras to ensure security, etc. are still left. Officials including the secretary of the ministry, the director general of the road department have been called and discussed to give necessary instructions.'