The government has adopted a policy to construct the 1,776 km highway maintaining the existing routes or tracks for the time being.[break]
"It is our compulsion to either follow old tracks or construct new track as per the diktats of local leaders, which would unnecessarily increase the construction cost. We can bring down the proposed length of the road by more than 200 km if roads are to be constructed following a straight route," said a senior official at Mid-Hill Highway project.
For example, the source said, the 96-km existing route of (Teharthom) Sakranti-Myanglung-Jorsal (Panchthar) could be downsized to around 40 km Jorsal-Myalung route, and 76-km Myalung (Teharthom)- Basantapur-Hile-Leguwaghat (Dhankuta) route can be shortened to 48 km Hile-Lepuwaghat route if technicians are given authority to fix the alignment independently.
"In some sections, existing routes are followed to save money needed for the construction of new tracks. However, the sections have been unnecessary long despite possibility of bringing down the length significantly reducing the cost by over Rs 2 billion in the total project cost," added the source.
The source said the project is also confronting with similar problems in different sections of the highway in some districts in western part the highway including in Dailekh, Dang, Achham and Doti districts.
Keeping in view the prospect of reducing the length of the highway, technicians are proposing to the government alternative short routes to avoid zigzag routes that are adding to the length of the highway. "We are proposing a list of alternative routes to reduce the length and cost of the highway," the source added.
Detail Project Report presented last year by Tech Studio of Engineering (TSE) - a consulting firm - estimates that Rs 43.38 billion is required to complete the construction of the highway, which is a top-priority national project billed to benefit over seven million people across the country.
The highway, which crosses over two dozen districts, has been divided into 27 sections with lengths ranging from minimum 34 km to maximum 198 km. The two-lane highway with a width of 8.5 meter passes through 215 villages in 12 zones with the expected speed of vehicles up to 50 km per hour. The report says a total of 48 bridges need to be constructed along the highway.
The highway traverses though mid-hill districts connecting Panchathar in the east to Baitadi in the west. The report has put the total cost for land acquisition at Rs 2.27 billion. The highway, which is scheduled to complete in three years, is expected to open up the prospect of developing hydropower projects in 16 places, tourism destinations in 15 places, and housing and agricultural projects each in 15 locations.
According to the report, the number of freight traffic, large buses, small vehicles and motorcycles plying on the highway is expected to rise by 5.4 percent, 6.3 percent, 8.1 percent and 9 percent every year till 2022. Similarly, the number of freight traffic, large buses, small vehicles and motorcycles is expected to increase annually by 5 percent, 5.4 percent, 6.8 percent and 6.8 percent respectively between 2023 and 2032.
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