The section of the East-West Highway at Lokaha Khola closed for several hours due to heavy rain during the last few days, leaving hundreds of vehicles and their passengers stranded. [break]
Officials at the Division Roads Office (DRO) in Butwal say difficulties have arisen as material ordered for the repair of the bridge did not arrive in time.
On April 2012, a truck hit the bridge, causing severe structural damage. After the accident, the bride was made one-way for some six months in view of its weakened condition. Later on, a diversion was constructed for the vehicle traffic.
But with the diversion wiped away by floods at different time, passengers are delayed for several hours at that point in their journey. “We had aimed to repair the bridge by the end of May, but due to the untimely rains, construction work has been halted,” said Dipak Kumar Bhattarai, DRO chief.
He also said DRO failed to complete the repair as scheduled as the steel planks required did not arrive in time. “As the planks were not available in Nepal, we had to order from the United Kingdom. So, the construction period was prolonged,” he said.
The construction work was initiated some four months ago. The steel planks arrived in the country some 10 days ago and cost Rs. 1 million, informed Bhattarai.
DRO said the bridge will be repaired at a cost of around Rs. 8 million. “We will replace the damaged planks in the next few weeks.”
He said DRO has also constructed a special diversion for transport movement along the highway.
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