The physical progress of the Narayangadh-Butwal road construction project has reached 69 percent. Shiv Khanal, Information Officer of Narayangarh-Butwal Road Plan Eastern Section, informed that the physical progress of the construction has reached 69 percent as the deadline for the third extension is about to expire.
Narayangadh-Butwal road expansion work was started by China State Construction Corporation Pvt. After the work was not completed within the stipulated time, the deadline was extended for the second time till 8 July 2081. After the work was not completed even during that period, the deadline was extended for the third time until 8 July 2082. By the end of that period, only 69 percent of the work had been completed.
According to information officer Khanal, the process of extending the deadline has been started for the fourth time. A total of 113 km of Narayangadh-Butwal road was divided into two sections and the work was progressed. China State Construction Corporation Pvt Ltd, the company entrusted with the construction, has requested an extension of 576 days. Information officer Khanal said that preparations are being made to extend the deadline for one year only.
While preparations are being made to extend the deadline for the fourth time, he informed that 55 km of tarred road can be traveled one-way in the section from Narayangadh to Dumkiwas. He said that only some parts of Chormara market, Arun Khola and Dumkiwas market in this section have yet to be paved.
The suffering of diversion will be removed
After the bridge on Vinayi river in Dumkiwas was broken under Narayangadh-Butwal road section, traffic was being operated through diversion. After the bridge was broken last December, traffic is being diverted through diversion. The drivers and passengers were suffering due to the floods that came along with the rains. The
project has already built a new bridge next to the broken bridge. Khanal informed that the bridge will be operated within two to three days. He said that if the weather permits, the plan is to lay the tarpaulin on Wednesday and start the operation by late Saturday. After the new bridge is operational, the passengers and drivers who have been suffering due to the diversion will get ease.
The bridge will be constructed on Arun river and Giruwari river in Nawalpur section only after monsoon. Khanal informed that the construction of these bridges will not be completed before the rainy season, even though some normal work is done regularly.
Daunne to be repaired to facilitate traffic
Narayangarh-Butwal road section under Daunne, the next work will be focused to facilitate traffic, Khanal informed. When it rains, there is a problem in traffic operation in Daunna section. He informed that in case of
, the construction work will be stopped and only the repair work will be done. He said that the repair work will be done with the aim of facilitating traffic operations by stopping other works including culvert construction. According to him, regular maintenance will be done by placing gravel on the lower section and attention is being paid to ensure that there is no problem in traffic operation even if it rains.
The total cost of both sections of the road expansion plan advanced with the loan support of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is Rs 16 billion 99 crore 52 lakh 96 thousand. Out of 113 km, 70 km will have four lanes, 29 km will have four lanes with 6/6 meter service lanes on both sides and 14 km of the road will have three lanes.
This important project of highway expansion has not been completed on time, so the commuters have to suffer for a long time. Now, although the work has picked up some pace and the journey has started to be a little easier, the problem still persists in the downhill section. Even when there is normal rain, the roads in the area are slippery and have to be jammed for hours.
