Kathmandu, October 11: The obstruction on the BP Highway, which had been blocked for a week due to floods and landslides, has been cleared, and a temporary track has now been opened. The highway was reopened on Friday afternoon after clearing landslides and constructing temporary diversions at all affected locations.
With the track reopened, transportation along the highway can now resume. Senior Divisional Engineer (SDE) Suman Yogesh from the Bhaktapur Road Division said that the BP Highway, which had been blocked for a week due to floods and landslides, is now operational following the completion of temporary road restoration.
According to Yogesh, Roshi River floods had damaged the section of the highway from the Dapcha (No. 1) Bridge to Barkhekhola in Kavrepalanchok district. “All obstructions on the BP Highway were cleared by 4 p.m. Friday, and the temporary track has been opened. Work to widen narrow sections, raise road height, and improve the surface will continue,” he said.
The road division, in coordination with contractors responsible for the highway reconstruction, deployed about two dozen pieces of heavy equipment to work day and night to reopen the track.
Although the temporary track is open, transportation remains difficult in some sections that still require widening, elevation, and surface improvement. The road division has stated that repairs and maintenance will continue to make travel smoother.
The floods and landslides triggered by rainfall on October 3 and 4 (Asoj 17 and 18) damaged about 4 kilometers of road between Dapcha Bridge and Barkhekhola. According to the division office, the damage included:
• 400 meters at Mamtī,
• 235 meters at Upper Mamtī,
• 220 meters at Lower Pipley,
• 220 meters at Upper Pipley,
• 362 meters at Sukha Landslide area,
• 500 meters at Dalabensi,
• 410 meters at Kaladhunga, and
• 200 meters at Bokshikuna.
Additional damage included:
• 120 meters at Chiuribas,
• 50 meters each at Narke and Gimdibensi,
• 300 meters at Char Hundred Bensi,
• 80 meters at Char Hundred Bensi Turn,
• 300 meters at Katunje Turn,
• 375 meters at Chaukidanda, and
• 20 meters at Dapcha Bridge — totaling 3.842 kilometers of road damage.
Last year, floods and landslides in the second week of Asoj had completely destroyed 29 kilometers of the same highway section from Dapcha Bridge to Barkhekhola.
Reconstruction work for the Dalabensi–Char Hundred Bensi section has been contracted to Khani/Ewan/Kamaljit JV, and the Char Hundred Bensi–Bakhundebensi section to Lama/Navakantipur JV. These contractors were responsible for reopening their respective tracks.
Meanwhile, the section from Barkhekhola to Pipley, which was supposed to be reconstructed by JICA, and Pipley (Sukha Landslide) to Dalabensi were repaired directly by the Road Division. The contract evaluation for the Pipley–Dalabensi section is still in progress.
Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation; Physical Infrastructure and Transport; and Urban Development Minister Kulman Ghising visited the damaged sections on Thursday, inspecting the site and directing authorities to resume operation as quickly as possible.
Chief of the Federal Road Supervision and Monitoring Office, Kathmandu, Subharaj Nyaupane, said that temporary diversions were constructed at damaged sections, and the highway has been partially opened for one-way traffic. He added, “About 410 kilometers of road in 16 locations of Kavre and Sindhuli were temporarily repaired for one-way operation. The highway will be open for two-way traffic from Sunday.”
Repair work on the damaged sections began on Monday.
People’s News Monitoring Service.
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