Ministry of Physical Planning and Works (MoPPW) has identified Birgunj-Pathalaiya segment of Tribhuvan Highway, Bhakapur-Dhulikhel segment of Araniko Highway and Balkumari segment of Ring Road as three strategic road segments that need to be upgraded. [break]
It has even submitted a proposal to this effect to Ministry of Finance (MoF) and National Planning Commission (NPC) for approval and necessary budget allocation.
“Both MoF and NPC have given verbal approval for widening these roads, which are seeing huge traffic pressure,” Tulsi Prasad Sitaula, joint secretary at the MoPPW, told myrepublica.com on Monday.
Sitaula said 6 km section (Gaushala-Balkumari) of Ring Road, 15 km section (from Jitpur to Pathalaiya) of Birgunj-Pathalaiya road and 22 km Bhaktapur-Dhulikhel section of Araniko Highway will be upgraded into four main lanes and two service lanes on par with the Tinkune-Suryabinayak road which is under construction.
“We selected the roads on the back of growing number of traffic and considering possible growth in future,” Sitaula said.
Traffic congestion in the 27km long Ring Road has become a common phenomenon these days due to narrow roads and increasing number of vehicles.
Traffic movement along the Birgunj-Pathalaiya Road, one of the major routes to move goods to and from the Birgunj customs, is also troublesome. Officials expect increased flow of vehicles along the Bhaktapur-Dhulikhel section of Araniko Highway once the construction of Banepa-Sindhuli-Bardibas road completes in 2014.
Sitaula said MoPPW will complete designs of upgrading those roads by the end of this fiscal year. The government is arranging funds for design and improvement of those roads from internal resource after donor agencies showed no interest on the projects.
“We are arranging necessary funds to prepare design of the roads using the unutilized budget in different expenditure heads under the MoPPW and other ministries,” said Sitaula. He also informed that the ministry was considering using the design of Tinkune-Suryabinayak road to upgrade the 6 km section of Ring Road.
The total cost of the projects will be ascertained once the design is completed, officials said.
Related story
Chinese team starts upgradation work
