Kaligandaki Highway Bridge in Parbat Completed After Eight-Year Delay

Parbat. The Lamakhola Motorable Bridge, part of the national pride project Kaligandaki Highway connecting north and south, located in the Parbat section, has been completed after eight years.

The construction of the bridge over the Lamakhola river, situated between Devsthan of Phalebas Municipality-6 and Kurgha of Phalebas Municipality-10, was completed in eight years due to the contractor's negligence and flawed design. The agreement for the bridge, which was supposed to be completed in two years, was signed on Ashadh 28, 2074 BS, and construction began on Poush 19, 2074 BS.

The Kaligandaki Corridor Project Office, Palpa, stated that the bridge, which was due for completion by the end of Ashadh 2076 BS, took eight years due to the flawed design and the contractor's delays. The construction contract for the bridge, built at a cost of Rs 58,89,277, was awarded to Naya Bato Gauchan JV construction company. With the completion of the 25-meter long and 11-meter wide bridge, direct traffic operations have commenced on the Kaligandaki Highway.

Upon the bridge's completion, it has not only eased travel for residents of South Parbat to the district headquarters, Kushmabazar, but also facilitated easier movement for passengers and vehicles traveling along the highway towards Butwal, Bhairahawa, Palpa, Gulmi, and those coming from this region towards Mustang, Parbat, Baglung, and Myagdi. The bridge has reduced a journey that previously required a nearly one-hour detour to just five minutes.

Under the corridor, the road track has been opened from Mirmi in Syangja to Armadi in Parbat, and the road from Setibeni to Lamakhola in Parbat has also been blacktopped. Due to the incomplete construction of the Lamakhola bridge, direct traffic could not operate on the corridor. Pipul Gautam, Site Engineer for the Kaligandaki Highway Project, informed that direct traffic operations began last week after all construction work on the bridge was finalized.

Engineers from the Kaligandaki Corridor Project initially informed that the designed bridge would be constructed over the river's banks from the stone base. Following local protests during the design phase, the engineers proceeded with the flawed design and opened the tender. Naya Bato Gauchan JV, selected through competition in late 2074 BS, had committed to completing the bridge within two years.

Engineer Gautam of the Kaligandaki Highway Project Office explained that the delay was caused by redesigning and restarting the bridge construction. Gautam stated that the bridge was constructed while preserving the original location. According to Gautam, further delays occurred when last year's flood washed away the structure while the slab casting was underway.

The contract deadline for completing the bridge construction was extended for the sixth time. The contractor, who started work in Poush 2074 BS, was preparing to hand over the project after completing the bridge by Jestha 2076 BS. When the time came to raise pillars on both sides and cast the slab, the project office ordered a halt to the construction. The bridge, which was left abandoned since then, resumed work in Mangsir 2080 BS.

The Modi Khola bridge, which started alongside this bridge, was completed two years ago. The blacktopping work for the 14-kilometer stretch of the Phalebas-Armadi section of the Kaligandaki Corridor has also begun. The project stated that this completion will finalize the 55 kilometers of road in Parbat.