The bridge at Chisapani on the Karnali River under the East-West Highway has only one tower and cable. This is the first bridge to be built in Nepal with two towers and cables. Ships will also be able to pass through the towers, which will be placed 220 meters apart on either side of the bridge.
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Work on the 'Iconic Bridge' to be built over the Narayani River in Narayangadh, the foundation stone of which was laid with great fanfare by the then Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal in late April 2081, has finally begun.
An agreement was signed with the construction company Tundi Construction on 2080 Jestha 9, including the design and construction of the bridge, to complete the work in four years. Although there was an agreement to approve the design within a year and complete the construction in the remaining three years, the design was approved only on 18 Kartik.
The bridge construction period has been extended due to the delay in the design approval work that was supposed to be done in 2081 Jestha, according to the agreement. ‘We have started the field work. It took an additional year and a half because of the time it took to get the design approved,’ said Manjil Mishra, project manager engineer of the construction company Tundi.
The bridge will be constructed under the supervision of the Division Road Office in Bharatpur. ‘The bridge construction work has started. We will work continuously to complete it on time,’ said Narayan Lamichhane, head of the Division Road Office.
Mishra, the project manager of Tundika, said that the work of preparing the initial draft of the bridge within 90 days and completing the design within nine months was completed on time as per the agreement. Mishra said that the government had to approve the design within three months, but another design had to be made after the first design was not approved. Mishra said that the work started only after the second design was approved. ‘The flood in Asoj last year also made it necessary to change the design. The height of the bridge tower is 53 meters. The Civil Aviation Authority and the airport must also approve it,’ Mishra said.
The new bridge in Narayani is being built to be navigable. ‘This has not been practiced in Nepal till now. We have prepared the design to be navigable for ships up to 2,000 tons, based on India and Bangladesh,’ Mishra said. Water transport will be possible 330 days a year from under this bridge.
There will be a 10-meter open space between the bridge and the water surface even during the monsoon. The new bridge is being built nine meters higher than the current bridge on the Narayani River. The new bridge will be about two and a half meters higher than the old one. The total length of the bridge is 420 meters. The 12-meter-wide bridge will have a 7.5-meter vehicular section. Similarly, a footpath will be built at three meters. The total cost of the bridge is Rs 1.68 billion. The towers on both sides of the bridge will stabilize the bridge with the help of cables. There will be a distance of 220 meters between these two large towers. Technicians said that it will be easy to navigate ships from there.
The bridge at Chisapani on the Karnali River on the East-West Mahendra Highway has only one tower and cable. After that, this is the first bridge to be built in Nepal with two towers and cables. ‘Although it is also called a signature bridge . But this is an iconic bridge,’ said Project Manager Engineer Mishra .
The foundation stone of the current bridge built on the Narayani River in Narayangadh was laid in 2038 BS . The bridge, which was built after almost four years, is now getting old and narrow .
Even though the East-West Highway is getting wider, it is becoming difficult for vehicles to cross as the bridge is not wide enough for the road . As a replacement for the old bridge, a new bridge needs to be built quickly, and the time taken in the design has increased doubts that the work will be delayed . ‘We had put 17 employees in the field two years ago, saying that we would start work if the design is approved. We will not delay the field work within three years,’ said Mishra.
