KATHMANDU, June 13: Three more bridges have been constructed along the Narayanghat-Mugling road section.
According to Road Project Chief Kiran Karki, three bridges at Seti confluence, Dumre and Lamo Balwa have been completed.
Karki said that vehicles will start running on all the three bridges by mid-July. At present, the work of paving, railings and footpaths of the Seti confluence bridge has been completed. Painting work is currently underway.
Similarly, after completing the work of the right and left bases of the Dumre and Lamo Balwa bridges, final preparations are being made to black-top them. Project Chief Karki said that the blacktop will be laid within a few days.
Out of the 19 bridges to be built along this road section, four bridges have been constructed so far while three bridges are ready for operation. The construction of 11 out of the remaining 12 bridges is going on in full swing. The work of a bridge is yet to be started.
Karki said that since the slope work of 10 bridges has also been completed, the work is being done with preparations to be put into operation before Dashain festival.
On Khahare Khola Bridge that falls on the road while going from Mugling towards Narayanghat, the foundation work on both sides has been completed and the arch has been built. According to Karki, the work of removing the houses on the Narayanghat side of the bridge to be built lower than the current bridge has been delayed.
There has been some delay as there is a provision to remove those living around the bridge on the road section only by paying a compensation.
As the project demanded 9.7 million rupees from the government for compensation, the amount has been distributed in installments of five million rupees.
He said that 40 percent of the first installment has been given for compensation ranging from Rs 40,000 to Rs 1.5 million per house. As many as 26 houses have to be removed along the road section.
The Narayanghat-Mugling road project has progressed by constructing seven bridges from Khahare River to Rigdi River near Mugling under package-1 and eight bridges from Jugedi to Simaltal under package-2.
The work of widening the road from nine meters to 11 meters was completed four years ago with the support of the World Bank. The road is wide but the bridge is narrow and dilapidated, so the work of building a new bridge is currently underway.