KATHMANDU, July 21: The construction of the network arch bridge over Dhobikhola River at Bijulibazar has neared final stage.

The bridge, first of its kind in Nepal, would be completed in four months, according to the Kathmandu Valley Road Expansion Project.

The arch bridge, popular across the globe, is unique in Nepal. It is more attractive than other types of bridge. Its construction had begun four years back, the Project said. Project engineer Bishwobijaya Lal Shrestha informed that the contract for the construction of bridges over the Dhobikhola and Bagmati Rivers were given to separate companies, but the construction of the arch bridge over Dhobikhola is faster than that of Bagmati.

Work on one side of the major lane is over and it has begun on the other side too. "Transportation is operated in one side while construction undergoing on the other," he said.

Moreover, the installation of the arch with steel rods, pavement and approach road is in the process for completion. There is no obstruction for the workers to continue the remaining tasks. Although the physical progress of the bridge construction was meager in the initial two years, it gained pace now. The first year of the contract was spent on design. It was delayed in the beginning because it took almost one and half year to clear the structures around the site. The concerned authorities took time to remove the electricity poles, and sewage and water pipes. They had to be prodded repeatedly for it.

 The arch bridge, as the engineer argued, would sustain for long and is more attractive than those constructed in RCC technology. "Other bridges have the bearing capacity of 50 years while it has exactly double," he shared. The bridge is 12 meters wide and 51.45 meters long.

 
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