Extreme cold slows East-West Highway expansion work

BY JANARJAN KHATRI,Sarlahi, Jan. 8: The entire Tarai area is now under the grip of severe cold, affecting not only normal life but also development activities.  The bad weather has also impacted the expansion of the East-West Highway, with construction activities slowing down.

Under the Kamala-Dhalkebar-Pathlaiya Road Project (Eastern Section), work is currently underway to upgrade the highway to four lanes in Sarlahi, Mahottari and Dhanusha districts. However, in recent weeks, the expansion works have been slowed. 

Engineer Ramesh Pandey, who oversees the Phooljor-Bagmati section in Sarlahi, said that dense fog and persistent cold waves over the past several days had made it difficult to mobilise construction workers.

According to Engineer Pandey, construction activities had slowed significantly as temperatures dropped sharply. “There is some sluggishness in the work because it has become difficult to deploy labourers in extreme cold,” he said.  He added that the available labourers are continuing the work.

Most of the workforce engaged in the highway expansion consists of local labourers. Currently, construction of culvert and bridge is prioritised across all three districts.

Information Officer and Engineer Ramtahal Yadav of the Kamala-Dhalkebar-Pathlaiya Road Project (Eastern Section) said that tree-cutting work was ongoing simultaneously in the three districts. Under the 130-kilometre highway expansion from Kamala Bridge to Pathlaiya, contracts have been awarded, and work has begun only in Dhanusha, Mahottari, and Sarlahi, while contracts in Rautahat and Bara are yet to be finalised.

The project has been divided into three sections from Kamala Bridge to Jamunibas in Dhanusha as the first section, from Jamunibas to Phooljor in Sarlahi as the second, and from Phooljor to Bagmati as the third. Separate construction companies have been contracted for each section, and work is progressing simultaneously.

Project Chief and Senior Divisional Engineer Rajesh Kumar Yadav said that construction in forest areas had become particularly challenging due to excessive cold. He also pointed out that delays in relocating electricity poles had compounded the problem.

“Cold weather has led to some delay, but the major issue is the extremely slow pace of electricity pole relocation,” Yadav said. He expressed frustration over having to repeatedly visit the Nepal Electricity Authority’s provincial office in Janakpur to urge faster relocation work.

The project office has also been pressing contractors to complete bridge and culvert construction before the monsoon, especially in areas where existing bridges must be completely demolished and rebuilt.

With financial support from the World Bank, the Department of Roads is expanding the two-lane East-West Highway to six lanes with a width of 31 metres in market areas and four lanes with a width of 18 metres in other sections. As part of the project, a signature bridge will be constructed over the Bagmati River at the Sarlahi-Rautahat border, and overpasses will be built in major market centres.

While narrow existing bridges along the highway will be fully demolished and reconstructed, wider bridges will be repaired and supplemented with new two-lane structures alongside them for continued operation.