Dhulikhel-Sindhuli-Bardibas road being repaired

KATHMANDU: Nearly six years after the completion of the construction and handover, the road from Dhulikhe to Bardibas via Sindhuli has been repaired in many sections.

The road, built by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), is now undergoing emergency, potholes and regular maintenance, as well as overlaying and single-surface tracing. The Dhulikhel-Sindhuli-Bardiwas road project has stated that the road is being repaired in the current fiscal year.

Project Chief Surya Bahadur Bhat said that regular maintenance of the road has been carried out as per the need in the last few years. “Maintenance work has been started this year to add to the level of the road and over a large area,” he said. The project has stated that most of the repair work is being done with Nepali funds.

Road Board Nepal has been allocating necessary amount for road maintenance from the annual toll collected from the road. Apart from that, the repairs have been carried out this year with the financial assistance of the World Bank, said Chief Bhat. The five-kilometer ‘overlay’ has been completed on the Nepalthok-Dhulikhel section of the BP Highway. In the current fiscal year, the target was to ‘overlay’ 35 km of road in Khurkot Chiyabari section of Sindhuli.

Chief Bhat informed that 25 km of roads have been repaired so far and work is underway on 10 km of roads. “We plan to complete that 10 km road by Chaith,” he said. The project has stated that 10 km of single surface tracing has been completed on the road from Nepalthok to Dhulikhel and the remaining 10 km will be completed in the next four months.

It is planned to do 25 km over on Nepalthok Khurkot road in the current fiscal year. Out of that, 5 km has been completed and 20 km road has been contracted for ‘overlay’. “Even if there is a contract this year, the work will be completed next year,” he said. Currently, five km of road is being repaired in Bhakunde Besi area. It was planned to do 20 km road ‘single surface tracing’ on Nepalthok-Dhulikhel road in the current fiscal year.

Out of that, 10 km has been completed so far. Construction is underway on the remaining 10 km and is targeted to be completed by Chaith. The project has already signed a contract for the maintenance of five km of Sindhuli-Bardibas road. That road will also be completed in the current fiscal year, said Chief Bhat.

The road is being repaired at the same time in many places almost six years after the transfer. The project has stated that the construction has been completed on different dates in different sections. The last time the Nepalthok-Khurkot road was completed and handed over. Chief Bhat said that the repair work has started from this year.

According to him, five km of roads have been repaired in this section and a contract has been signed for the maintenance of 20 km. The project has stated that there is foreign investment in the Nepalthok-Khurkot section of the road being repaired. The World Bank has invested Rs. 100 million and the Government of Nepal Rs. 46.8 million for the maintenance of 20 km of the road. The road is being repaired under the bank’s ‘Core Road Network’ program.

Despite the contract agreement in the current fiscal year, the construction work will be completed in the next fiscal year, said Chief Bhat. As the road construction has passed a period, it has been repaired in a large area at once. The project has stated that it is necessary to ‘overlay’ about 40 km of roads in the coming fiscal year. “We are repairing with the amount allocated by the road board,” he said.

The length of the road is 160 km. The length of Bardibas-Sindhuli Bazaar is 37 km, Sindhuli Bazaar-Khurkot 39 km, Khurkot-Nepalthok 32 km and Nepalthok-Dhulikhel 50 km. This highway is the shortest road connecting Eastern Terai with Kathmandu. JICA had constructed the road in one lane.

Although the government has taken a policy to encourage large vehicles, the road is not allowed to enter due to lack of width. The Department of Transport Management does not allow vehicles with a capacity of more than 32 seats to drive. The Dhulikhel-Nepalthok road was completed in 2001 and the Nepalthok-Khurkot road was completed in 2011. There is also a need to expand the roads that are being upgraded. – (Sanchita Ghimire / Rassas)