100 box culverts near completion along East-West Highway in Mades

BY JANARJAN KHATRI

Sarlahi, Apr. 10: Box culverts along the East-West Highway, currently being expanded across Sarlahi, Mahottari, and Dhanusha districts, are set to be completed before the monsoon.

The highway, which is presently two lanes, is being upgraded to a four-lane road in line with Asian standards. At locations where water previously flowed over causeways, box culverts are now being constructed to allow proper drainage. 

According to the Kamala-Dhalkebar-Pathlaiya Road Project (Eastern Section), box culverts are under construction at around 100 locations across the three districts. Project Chief and Senior Divisional Engineer Rajesh Kumar Das said the work was being accelerated to ensure completion before the monsoon, as delays could obstruct water flow and disrupt traffic along the East-West Highway.

He added that a total of 34 bridges also need to be constructed across the three districts. Some smaller bridges are being completely demolished and rebuilt.

For bridges that do not require full demolition, new parallel structures are currently being built alongside the existing ones. Since it is not feasible to operate vehicles via diversions during the monsoon, the project aims to complete the construction of box culverts, being built in place of causeways, and the replacement of narrow bridges before the onset rainy season.

“We cannot rely on diversions during the monsoon,” said Engineer Das. “So, wherever work on bridges and culverts is being carried out using diversions, we have planned to complete it before the beginning of monsoon.”

However, unexpected heavy rainfall on Thursday morning caused flooding in the Lakhandehi River, washing away a diversion and blocking the highway for four hours. The road was later reopened after emergency repairs, with soil hastily filled over an under-construction bridge.

Sujit Rijal, an engineer and representative of Rasuwa Construction working on the Sarlahi section, said that after the unseasonal rain washed away the diversion, vehicles will now be routed through the old bridge throughout the monsoon while construction of a new bridge continues alongside it.

“Our initial plan was to operate traffic through diversions while maintaining the old bridge and simultaneously constructing a new one,” he said. “Now, vehicles will use the old bridge during the entire monsoon. Maintenance work on the old bridge will resume only after the rainy season ends.”

The expansion of the East-West Highway from the Kamala Bridge in Dhanusha to the Bagmati Bridge in Sarlahi is being carried out in three sections by three different construction companies.

Contractors have complained that the project initially faced delays due to slow tree-cutting and the relocation of electric poles. More recently, rising construction material costs and fuel shortages have created additional challenges, further affecting progress.