Baglung, November 3
The Gandaki Province government is set to construct 15 Bailey bridges in Baglung district at the same time.
The bridges will be built over small and medium-sized rivers along rural roads where the lack of permanent bridges has disrupted vehicular movement during the monsoon.
The process of constructing the bridges has been initiated through the Infrastructure Development Office, Baglung, in the current fiscal year. A budget of Rs 4 million has been allocated for each bridge, according to Gandaki Province Finance Minister Jit Sherchan.
He said detailed project reports (DPRs) were currently being prepared. The projects will be put out to tender after surveys, designs and cost estimates are completed.
“We are preparing to begin work on all the bridges simultaneously in the current fiscal year. Depending on the cost, we aim to complete all of them within two to three years,” Sherchan said. He added that constructing Bailey bridges over small rivers would be quicker and easier under the provincial government’s policy of building bridges up to 40 metres long at a maximum cost of Rs 40 million.
According to Anup Thapa, chief of the Infrastructure Development Office, Baglung, the proposed bridges will make it easier to connect most rural roads in the district to national highways through provincial roads. Surveys of the proposed bridge sites are currently underway, after which the design, cost estimates, and tendering process will proceed, he said.
Under the plan, five Bailey bridges will be constructed in Nisikhola Rural Municipality. Surveys are underway at Sip-Chhichhore Jhimaghat, Dhartichok, the Ghat leading to Ghartithok-Chaite, Talghat and Budarnath.
Similarly, bridges are planned at Chhentung Link Road, Dawal Khola and Lakuribot in Dhorpatan Municipality.
Other proposed sites include Thamthara Thulokhola in Jaimini Municipality; Kath Khola-Dobilla Chanauteghat, Lekhani Dobillakhola and Kadesh Khola in Kathekhola Rural Municipality; Masbar in Galkot Municipality; Upper Bongadobhan Ghat in Tamankhola Rural Municipality; and Jyoti Khola in Badigad Rural Municipality.
The Infrastructure Development Office said the bridges would help reduce road disruptions when river levels rise and make year-round transport services more accessible to people in rural areas.
