Gandaki. Work on the western section of the Pokhara-Muglin road section has been expedited with the aim of completing it by mid-July.

The physical progress of the road section linking Seti Bridge of Pokhara to Jamune of Tanahun has been 77.47 per cent while the financial progress has been 62.20 per cent. Chief engineer of the section, Krishna Bahadur Kunwar, said that barring sporadic works, all the works would be completed within the stipulated time.

The second phase of blacktop has been done on 37.28 kilometers stretch of the total 38.71 kilometers stretch so far. A total of 17.66 km of the total 36.32 km service lane has been blacktopped so far, Kunwar said. According to him, one hundred and five culverts have already been constructed and the construction of drains is also in the final stage. Of the 13 bridges in this section, 12 have already been constructed.

The Seti bridge is under construction. Engineer Kunwar said that road marking and placing road safety barriers have also been carried out. According to him, only 400 meters of the four-lane road is left to be blacktopped in front of Bijayapur Bridge and one hundred meters in front of Pokhara University. “The construction of the service lane is going on at a rapid pace. A 20.55-kilometer four-lane road and an 18.16-kilometer six-lane road will be constructed in the western section of the 38.71-km stretch,” Kunwar said.

Currently, construction of road safety barrier is going on from Talchowk to Dandakonak and from Khairenitar to Dulegauda. According to the project office, road marking work is underway from Jamune to Dulegauda. The second phase of blacktopping of 33.78 km four-lane road using asphalt technology was completed this year alone. A 15.6-km service lane along with a bridge over Bijayapur River and two culverts has been constructed. The first phase of blacktopping of the 12.1-km four-lane road was carried out this year.

Engineer Kunwar said that the road construction has gained momentum this year in comparison to the previous year. Earlier, the deadline for the contract was extended due to sluggish road construction. The Chinese construction company Yanhui Kaiyuan Highway and Bridge Construction is carrying out road expansion and upgrading works along the stretch.

Although 12 bridges have been constructed under the road contract, Seti Bridge in Pokhara is under construction. According to the project office, the physical progress of the bridge has reached 58.37 percent. Rasuwa Construction is constructing this signature bridge. Engineer Kunwar said that the construction of the foundation and tower of the bridge has been completed. He said that the work of super-structure is going on now.

The deadline for the construction of the bridge has been extended till April after the three-year contract expired last August. Kunwar said that the construction company has not been able to bring cables and materials required for the bridge on time. He said that there will be two ‘signature’ bridges of attractive design, below and above the existing China Bridge. The bridge is being constructed with the loan assistance of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) through the Department of Roads.