First of all, it was painful to know that the Government of Nepal squander hefty sum in the name of maintenance work every year, but the task doesn’t receive a clear finishing. Naubise road is the only way via which thousands of vehicles enter the valley every day. Nevertheless, the two lane pavement is not sufficient enough for the smooth flow of traffic. Also, because it’s narrow, the chances of accident soar up every now and then. Furthermore, the flexible pavement that covers the majority section of a road is designed in such a way that it can resist only 20 tons of load. Unfortunately the heavy weighted transport and the excessive loads carried by them together weigh almost 40 tons. As such the bearing capacity of the road gets deteriorated than its normal life span. Since the tenure of flexible pavement is less, we can build a rigid pavement throughout the Naubise road as the path is confined to only two lanes. Although the initial cost of rigid pavement is high, it is more reliable and durable. Wise use of reinforcement and correct ratio of concrete mix can give us even better results.
Secondly, while asphalt laying is carried out, it is necessary to keep away vehicles from the road for at least 24 hours. However, as we have an only access to enter the capital, vehicles are compelled to pass without the pitch being compacted properly. This results in faulty construction resulting in visible cracks on the newly constructed roads. It is not only in the case of Naubise road, most newly constructed roads are not designed properly. For illustration: In a heavy downpour, the recently constructed Shantinagar road in Kathmandu gets filled with water. There is no proper drainage system nor is the necessary cross slope maintained.
Yes, we are topographically weak and it’s unfair to imagine the ubiquitous turnabouts, overhead bridges and cross over in every parts of the country. But some serious steps must be taken for the smooth flow. For instance, the Tripureshwar-Thapathali and Gaushala-Chabahil section are getting busier than ever, and an overhead bridge in Baneshwar is a must. Widening of roads is not the only solution; it is vital to utilize engineering principles effectively.
One of the biggest loophole in our government’s policy is the lack of proper execution of plans. At times we read the news of introducing metros in the capital, but the news gets limited to papers and promises. Although the metro’s construction is not a day’s play, it won’t happen ever if we don’t even start the work. The saddest part is that most of the government officials are so busy to fend for themselves that they have even forgotten to utilize the budget sincerely. The interminable tales of corrupt engineers and contractors is not a new story in our nation.
Whatever I have pointed out in this article is not even one third of the actual scenario of roads in Nepal. In a nutshell, instead of spending time in dividing the country into provinces, let’s join our hands together to build a well-managed Nepal.
Sarin is a final year undergraduate student of Civil Engineering at Invertis University in India.
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