Portion of Arniko Highway Upgraded; Traffic Restricted at Night for Paving Work

Kavre. Traffic movement has been halted on the Dhulikhel-Kawas section of the Arniko Highway here to carry out upgrade work. The Division Road Office, Bhaktapur, has intensified the upgrade work on this section and closed the road for two weeks starting Saturday night to lay the asphalt (paving).

After the expansion work, which was stalled for a long time due to the negligence of the construction company, a new contract was signed last Kartik (October/November), and with the upgrade work gaining momentum again, traffic has been stopped from 6:00 PM to 5:00 AM from Chaitra 7 to 20 (March 20 to April 2) for paving. Furthermore, during this period, cargo vehicles, including tippers, have been completely stopped, stated Sunam Yogesh, Senior Divisional Engineer and Head of the Office. According to him, out of the four-kilometer stretch, the target is to pave 2.5 kilometers in Chaitra and the remaining portion in Baisakh (April/May).

Yogesh stated that 'CTB' (Cement Treated Base) will be laid on the road section first, followed by paving according to the target. Following the signing of a contract with a new construction company last Kartik for the expansion work, which had been stalled due to the contractor's prolonged negligence, the upgrade work has been intensified through cutting work at various locations. According to the office, the contract was signed with CNA-1 Kali JV for NPR 31.56 crore (excluding VAT) with a completion timeline of 14 months. Currently, work on small structures and retaining walls is underway. Yogesh mentioned that surface work on the road was postponed due to cold weather, and the paving plan was set as the cold subsides.

Yogesh added that after the asphalting work on the section is complete, 'slope maintenance' and other remaining minor works will be carried out. New technology will also be employed to manage landslides on the road section, which will be seven meters wide.

Meanwhile, travel on the highway has been arduous for three years due to construction delays. The office re-invited bids in Shrawan (July/August) five months after canceling the old contract. The office had canceled the contract with the construction company, stating that the work on the road section from the district headquarters Dhulikhel to Kawas was not completed on time. The office canceled the contract with Gauri-Parbati Construction Service, which took responsibility for the upgrade on Bhadra 15, 2081 (August 30, 2024), after it failed to complete even 25% of the work 11 months after the agreement deadline. It had secured the contract on Jestha 20, 2079 (June 3, 2022) for NPR 20,19,46,501, with a deadline of 22 months, meaning it should have been completed by Chaitra 19, 2080 (April 1, 2024).

This road section serves as the main route to Tatopani, Nepal's northern border with China in Sindhupalchok, and to neighboring districts like Dolakha and Ramechhap via the Arniko Highway. The office stated that considering the load-bearing capacity of cargo vehicles plying this route, a 20 cm thick cement-mixed base layer will be laid over the gravel for the first time in Nepal, followed by a two-stage asphalting process: DBM and Asphalt concrete.