Highway repairs advance as officials rethink central transit corridors
Upgrades on the Muglin–Pokhara Highway western stretch are slated for November completion, while northern tracks reopen to Rasuwa and officials weigh parallel river corridors along the Prithvi Highway.
Authorities are racing to restore vital transport links and advance highway upgrades across central Nepal following severe monsoon flooding, even as recurring disruptions push planners to consider parallel transit corridors.
Work on the western stretch of the Muglin–Pokhara Highway upgrade is nearing completion, with officials aiming to wrap up construction by November, according to reports by Bizmandu and Newspolar. Minister for Infrastructure Development Sunil Lamsal stated that the 38.41-kilometre section between Jamune and Pokhara will be finished within two months after agencies resolved longstanding hurdles, including utility pole relocation, site handover for a new road division office in Damauli, and land acquisition for approach roads.
The project, backed by the Asian Development Bank, has already completed the four-lane main carriageway and 32 kilometres of the planned 38 kilometres of service lanes, Newspolar reported. While the structural works of the 310-metre Madi arch bridge are finished, about 70 percent of construction on the 190-metre Seti bridge has been executed, with full completion scheduled for April. Additionally, contracting has begun to build roughly four kilometres of an eight-kilometre Muglin–Abukhaireni stretch on the opposite bank of the Marsyangdi River.
At the same time, recurrent disasters along key arterials connecting Kathmandu to the Tarai plains have prompted officials to explore building roads along both banks of the Trishuli and Narayani rivers, BBC News Nepali reported. Department of Roads spokesperson Shuva Raj Neupane said a formal proposal has been submitted to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority to study routes along the opposing riverbanks from Galchhi down to Narayangadh.
Immediate efforts focus on establishing an alternative bypass around the vulnerable Krishnabhir stretch, where an existing track between Fisling and Benighat is being extended and widened, BBC News Nepali noted. Department officials warned that shifting river currents from the Trishuli have undercut road foundations from below, while poorly managed hillside drainage exacerbates slopes. Engineering geologist Ranjan Kumar Dahal cautioned against repeating traditional hill-cutting methods, urging authorities to adopt short tunnels, half-bridges, and targeted designs rather than unviable, overly expensive foreign models.
Meanwhile, northern links are gradually reopening after widespread flood damage on August 26, according to Annapurna Post. A temporary track reached Betrawati on the Nuwakot–Rasuwa border, ending a 37-day road blockade. Rasuwa Chief District Officer Kamal Prasad Pandey said a bailey bridge is being assembled over the Phalankhu River with Nepal Army assistance, which should take 10 to 12 days once materials arrive. Restoring Betrawati allows emergency supply trucks to reach isolated communities in Rasuwa and sets the stage for reopening the Pasang Lhamu Highway further north toward Syabrubesi and Rasuwagadhi.