76% work completed on eastern section

By Amar Raj Naharki,Tanahun, Jan. 28: The expansion of the Pokhara-Mungling road under the Prithvi Highway project is progressing steadily. 

According to Engineer Bishnu Prasad Pandey, information officer for the project, 76 per cent of the work on the eastern section has been completed. Blacktopping is being carried out with urgency, and 71.1 kilometres of the road have already been blacktopped.

Of this, 68 kilometres have been blacktopped as a four-lane road (34 kilometres on each side), and three kilometres as a two-lane road, making a total of 71 kilometres. Final blacktopping work is now being done in the areas where the first layer was completed earlier. 

Out of the 71 kilometers, double-layer blacktopping (final layer) has been finished on 35 kilometres.

Final blacktopping work is progressing in various areas of Bandipur, Aanbukhaireni and Vyas municipalities. Initially, the road was 6 cm thick; an additional 4 cm is now being added. The final blacktopping is being done one side at a time, after which road painting and marking will begin.

In the eastern section, blacktopping work is also progressing from Buldi Bridge in Damauli towards Ghasikuwa. In Damauli Bazaar, drains are being constructed to prepare for road expansion. 

The road is being widened to 23 meters on each side of the centerline.

Fourteen small bridges have been completed in this section. Work on the bridge over the Madi River, connecting Ward Nos. 4 and 5 of Vyas Municipality, is 60 per cent complete.

The contract for the eastern section was signed on February 1, 2021, and work began on April 15, 2021. The contract was awarded to China Communication Construction Company. 

The road, originally designed in 1969, is being upgraded to four lanes with financial assistance from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) due to the increasing traffic pressure.

The eastern section contract is valued at Rs. 6.21 billion.