सिंहदरबार संवाददाता
Lumbini. The ‘breakthrough’ of the main tunnel of the Siddhababa Tunnel, which is under construction as a national pride project, is being held today. The work of breaking through the tunnel, one kilometer and 126 meters from the upper Siddhababa Temple on the Butwal-Tansen road section along the Siddhartha Highway, has been completed.
The ‘breakthrough’ of the main tunnel is scheduled to be held today in the presence of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Poudel, Minister for Physical Infrastructure Devendra Dahal and others are scheduled to attend the main tunnel ‘breakthrough’ program.
Krishna Raj Adhikari, the project’s planning chief, informed that all preparations for the final ‘breakthrough’ program by the Prime Minister today have been completed. The Siddhartha Highway is an area prone to landslides from the lower Siddhababa Temple to Dobhan in Palpa. Since dusty landslides occur even in the dry season, a tunnel has been constructed to make this section of the highway safer.
After the budget was allocated for this tunnel by the Council of Ministers in 2077 BS, the Department of Roads invited bids internationally on 2078 BS and awarded the contract for the construction of the tunnel.
Three bypasses have been constructed to allow exit in case of any problems inside the tunnel. The ‘breakthrough’ of the third and first bypasses took place in Bhadra and Asoj, while the breakthrough of the second bypass took place on Poush 7.
Here, the length of the first bypass is 151 meters, the length of the second is 161 meters, and the length of the third is 130 meters. The first bypass is towards the Upper Siddha Baba Temple and the third bypass is towards the Dobhan Dam side.
The work, which was started by the China State Construction Engineering Corporation at a cost of 7.34 billion 2.14 billion, will be completed in 2083 BS with the aim of completing the tunnel in five years.
Although the construction contract agreement was signed in Falgun 2078 BS, the company started digging the tunnel towards the end of 2079 BS. Project Chief Krishna Raj Adhikari said that all three bypass tunnels of the tunnel have been broken through.
After the construction of this tunnel, which is being promoted by the government as a national pride project, movement from Butwal to Palpa, Gulmi, Syangja, Baglung, Parbat, Lumbini and the hilly districts of Gandaki Province will be easier.
The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) had surveyed the area in 2075 BS and prepared the Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the tunnel.
The said company has completed the construction of the tunnel from Siddhababa to Dobhan on the Bartung-Chidiyakhola road section of the Siddhartha Highway. The government was informed that the 2,700-meter road to the outpost was risky. The decision to build the tunnel was made based on the same suggestion.
The tunnel has been dug as per the proposal for a tunnel in an area where rock set, i.e. slope protection work is not possible on a cliff with huge rocks.
10.15 billion rupees were secured for the tunnel on Mangsir 2, 2076. Currently, 40 Chinese and 150 Nepalese skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled workers are working here regularly. Secondary support work is underway by entering the collapsed tunnel.
‘Rock set and slope protection’ on both sides of the tunnel
It is generally understood that during the construction of the Siddhababa Tunnel, a short tunnel was built, leaving the main risk area on the road. A 3,500-meter-long rock net and slope protection will be installed in the risk area on both the Butwal and Tansen sides of the tunnel.
The technology will be used to protect the risky road up to the top of the cliff on the Butwal section leading to the tunnel and the Tansen section exiting the tunnel. The tunnel has been built using a new design called the ‘Nyatham Method’ from Austria.
Shrijes Poudel, the tunnel engineer, says that the work of rock net and slope protection will be done in the new design according to the same. Earlier, Engineer Poudel was involved in the construction of the Nagdhunga-Sisnekhala tunnel. Engineer Poudel said that the slope will be protected up to about 35 meters above the road on both sides.
Due to high cliffs and rocky hills, the Siddhababa road section is prone to landslides during the rainy season and winter. The five-kilometer area from Dobhan to Chidiyakhola in Butwal is considered risky. The tunnel construction has been started to make this section safe, which is prone to landslides every year, causing human casualties.
Butwal-Gorusinghe road being upgraded
Prime Minister Oli is scheduled to lay the foundation stone of the Butwal-Gorusinghe road upgrade project along the East-West Highway today. Kushalata Neupane, the chief engineer of the project, said that the Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone at Jitgadhi, Butwal Sub-metropolitan City-13.
The Roads Department is upgrading the 50-kilometer road from Butwal to Gorusinghe and the 19-kilometer road from Gorusinghe to Chandrauta in two phases. The contract for the construction of the road from Butwal to the Kothi River, bordering Rupandehi and Kapilvastu, was signed on Ashad 13, dividing it into two parts: 25 kilometers from Butwal to the Kothi River and 25 kilometers from Kothi to Gorusinghe.
The contract agreement was signed between Chinese construction company Shaanxi Construction Engineering Group Corporation and Chitwan Construction Service. Project Chief Neupane said that the road upgrade will be constructed in a way that does not disrupt the existing transport service.
According to Project Chief Neupane, the construction company received the work order from the Road Department on Kartik 4 for the road upgrade and has already set up a lab, crusher, and a place to make concrete. .
Although the construction company is the same, since it is divided into two parts and has separate contracts, the work will be done simultaneously from both sides. There is about 20 kilometers of forest area between Saljhandi-Pipara and Wanagai-Gorusinghe under the fifty-kilometer road.
A four-lane road of 24 meters wide will be built in this section without a service lane. Since it is an East-West Highway section, a six-lane road with service lanes on both sides will be constructed in the 30 kilometers that fall within the market and settlement areas, said Project Chief Neupane.
This road will be 37 meters wide with service lanes in the city-facing area and 50 meters wide with service lanes in the urban area. There will be underpasses and overpasses at major intersections.
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