Maitighar-Tinkune road to complete by June

The government has set the target of completing the most expensive Maitighar-Tinkune road section in Kathmandu by the end of mid-June.
“It is the most expensive road section in the Valley in terms of cost,” Tulasi Prasad Sitaula, secretary at the Ministry of Physical Planning, Works and Transport Management (MoPPWTM) told Republica.
The government has allocated Rs 450 million for the expansion of the 3-km road section. “Unlike in other parts of the valley, this section would require more time as there are not only electricity poles but also trolley bus poles that have to be removed,” Sitaula said.
The road section will also have two bridges - the Dhobikhola Bridge in Bijulibazaar and Bagmati Bridge in Tinkune. “The eight-lane will be completed on time as the design of two bridges along the road section has already been prepared,” said Sitaula.

In a bid to complete the road section on time, the Department of Roads (DoR) has sought request for proposal (RFP) from eight contractors. “We will select two contractors from among them,” said Shyam Kharel, chief of the Kathmandu Valley Road Improvement Project, said.
According to Kharel, the DoR has already removed 80 trolley bus poles out of the total 160 poles in the road section. “Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has assured us that it would complete installation of new poles by the end of this month and then old poles will be removed,” Kharel added.
The road section after expansion will have footpath for pedestrians. Kharel further informed that gravelling in some of the places has already started. “We are hoping that the construction of the bridges will kick off within one-and-a-half month,” said Kharel.
However, the government, for the time being has shelved its plan to build flyovers at New Baneshwar. “The construction of flyovers in New Baneshwar will start after the expansion of the road section,” Sitaula said. “The road section would be developed in a way that flyovers can be built at Baneswar in future.”
The government had launched the road expansion drive in order to minimize traffic congestion in the Kathmandu Valley. The government is working on expansion of more than 125 road sections with a total length of 200 km in the Valley.