Gandaki. With four months remaining before the end of the three-year contract period, the physical progress of the ‘Signature’ bridge under construction on the Seti River in Pokhara has reached 44.66 percent.
The contract period of the bridge, located on the Pokhara-Muglin road, is ending in the upcoming Bhadra. Construction company Rasuwa Construction took over the construction of the bridge in Shrawan 2079 BS. Krishna Bahadur Kunwar, chief of the western section (Pokhara-Jamune) of the Pokhara-Muglin Road Project, said that it will take another year to build the bridge.
‘The construction could not gain momentum in the initial phase due to obstacles while trying to remove structures within the parameters, and it took time for the design of the bridge to be approved,’ he said. ‘The work is being delayed because the cables and other materials required for the bridge have to be brought from abroad.’
He informed that four foundation works have been completed on the bridge using the ‘cable-stayed’ technology. Three towers have been constructed and one is under construction, said Chief Kunwar. The construction company has stated that although the construction of the foundation of the attractively designed ‘signature’ bridge will take more time, the work on the upper structures including the tower will be completed quickly.
Major Kunwar said that two attractively designed ‘signature’ bridges will be built below and above the existing China Bridge on the six-lane road. The bridge is being constructed through the Roads Department with the loan assistance of the Asian Development Bank. Rasuwa Construction is carrying out the bridge construction work under a contract worth Rs 940 million excluding VAT.
After the construction of the ‘signature’ bridge, the attraction of the tourist capital Pokhara will also increase. It is said that the bridge to be built now is more attractive in terms of design than the old technology.
Major Kunwar said that concrete and iron will be used in the construction of the 190-meter bridge. A team including foreign technicians had designed the bridge before the construction of the bridge. Under the Pokhara-Muglin road expansion and upgrading project to four lanes, signature bridges are under construction on the Seti river in Pokhara and the Madi river in Tanahun.
The expansion and upgrading work of the Pokhara-Muglin road under the Prithvi Highway, which was built fifty years ago, was started in Baisakh 2078 BS. The project office has stated that the road upgrade work will be completed by next winter if there are no obstacles in the construction.
The physical progress of the eastern section (Jamune-Muglin) of the road, which is the ‘lifeline’ of Gandaki Province, has reached 82.95 percent so far and the western section (Pokhara-Jamune) has reached 50.34 percent. Only three km of the eastern section of the total distance of 41.45 km remains to be blacktopped. Chief Kunwar said that 35.5 km of one-way (two-lane) road has been blacktopped so far in the western section of a total distance of 38.88 km.
‘About three km of the road remains to be blacktopped on one side, while 18 km of the road has been blacktopped on both sides,’ he said. ‘The goal is to complete the blacktopping of 30 km of the road by the end of Ashar.’
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