Traffic resumes along BP Highway

BY KEDAR TIMALSINA,Banepa, Oct. 17: Traffic has resumed along the BP Highway, which was damaged by floods and landslides triggered by heavy rainfall on September 27 and 28, but travel remains risky and difficult. 

The highway, which serves as a short route connecting the central and eastern Tarai districts with the Capital City, was severely damaged, causing transportation to come to a complete halt from September 28 morning.

To restore traffic on the blocked highway, the Division Road Office in Bhaktapur has worked on a road diversion towards Kavrepalanchok and Sindhuli with the assistance of the Division Road Office in Janakpur from Nepalthok. 

Senior Divisional Engineer Suman Yogesh from the Bhaktapur Division Road Office said that with the acceleration of diversion work from both sides, traffic has resumed along the highway since Friday.

 He said, "To facilitate the movement of passengers returning home for Dashain, we were compelled to connect the damaged BP Highway for traffic. The track has been connected before Dashain, but due to uneven road surfaces, there are issues for vehicles to travel smoothly." He said that the diversion at Chaukidanda, which was damaged by floods, had been extended due to some challenges and improvements had been made to the curves.

"Even though traffic is operating through road diversion, there is a possibility of stones and soil coming down from the upper areas into the Vyakure and Mamti rivers, which may create problems for traffic in those areas. Therefore, it is necessary to install Hume pipes at those two locations. As there is currently a rush of passengers returning to Kathmandu after celebrating Dashain, we will work on placing the Hume pipes by closing the road at night," added Engineer Yogesh. 

Dust has also been a big problem while driving through the diversions.   

The Division Road Office in Bhaktapur has implemented a one-way route from Chaukidanda to Nepalthok in Sindhuli along the highway affected by floods and landslides.

 Since Friday, small vehicles have been allowed to operate, while freight vehicles have been temporarily banned. 

Starting Tuesday, various passenger bus services that have obtained road permits have come into operation along the route. 

The office has informed that immediate two-way traffic operation on the damaged highway will be challenging and parking areas will be established in various locations. 

Dal Bahadur Moktan Tamang, the former chairperson of Roshi Rural Municipality, said that there were issues with vehicle operation along the BP Highway affected by floods and landslides. 

He said, "Even though traffic is being managed through road diversion, due to uneven road surfaces, smaller vehicles are colliding and empty vehicles are getting stuck and needing to be pushed." 

He said that the weakened ground due to floods and rain could lead to further landslides. 

He said that although vehicles were currently operating, the travel remained risky. 

The office reported eight kilometres of road section at 14 different locations from Chaukidanda along the BP Highway to Barkhe Khola at the Kavrepalanchok border area was completely damaged.