Construction of major corridor roads -- Bagmati Corridor, Dhobikhola Corridor and Bishnumati Link Road – that the government has identified as alternatives to minimize traffic woes in major thoroughfares of the capital are seeing slow progress.
Officials at the Ministry of Physical Planning and Works (MoPPW) said construction of 9-km Bishnumati Link Road (Balkhu-Gongabu) that began from 1997 is yet to be completed as the 1.5-km Swoyambhu-Balaju stretch is still under construction. The Chamati Land Pooling Project has undertaken the responsibility of completing the remaining part of the project.
“It will take at least a year for the Link Road project to complete,” said Tulsi Prasad Sitaula, joint secretary at the MoPPW.
Similarly, the 10-km Bagmati Corridor (Tilganga-Balkhu) project is also getting delayed as the construction of 8-km stretch in Kathmandu district has not been completed due to cremation site at Shankhamul area. The high-powered Bagmati River Sewerage Project is planning to extend the road up to Chobhar.
Sitaula said it would take at least two years for the completion of the corridor project. “This project is crucial for reducing traffic pressure between Kathmandu and Lalitpur on existing roads,” he added.
The 12-km Dhobi Khola Corridor (6 kilometers on each side of the river) is expected to ease flow of traffic from Chabahil to Babarmahal upon its completion. Construction of only 8-km stretch has been completed so far. “We can’s say when the project will complete as the Kathmandu Town Development Committee, which is undertaking the construction of the remaining stretch, is facing fund crunch to provide compensation for land acquired for the project,” said Sitaula.
He informed that over 40 percent works of the Inner Ring Road project that includes construction of three link roads as well as other crucial roads are yet to be completed. Works on widening the Shital Niwa-Baluwatar road has been affected due to stay order by the apex court. The road is of strategic importance in reducing traffic flow on Maharajgunj-Lazimpat section where traffic chaos is a regular phenomenon.
Similarly, it would take at least a couple of years to conduct feasibility study of east-west and north-south metro rail projects in the capital. The government through the budget for the current fiscal year has provided Rs 3 million for the study.
The government’s plan of widening the existing three-lane Ring Road into four-lane with service track has yet to be materialized after the proposal for assistance was cold-shouldered by the Chinese government.
Similarly, the process of widening Gaushala-Kamalpokhari (2 km) stretch into a four-lane road has not progressed as planned due to local’s demand for high compensation for the land acquired by the project. The project has stalled after the completion of 500 meters from Gaushala side. Upon completion, the process is expected to significantly ease traffic to and from Tribhuvan International Airport.
The Tilganga-Tamraganga tunnel road (400 meters) has also been delayed due to objection of UNESCO as the tunnel road passes through UNESCO World Heritage site. The road is an important project floated by the government to ease traffic pressure from Jorpati to Tilganga.
The government is also working on designing model flyovers most possibly in Chabahil and Narayan Gopal Chowk on Ring Road. Sitaula, however, said it will take at least a year to begin construction of flyovers on Ring Road. He also informed that the government was mulling over constructing a model sky bridge for pedestrians on Tinkune-Bhaktapur road which is expected to complete this year.
Similarly, the process of improving traffic, widening roads as well as building footpaths in core areas of the Valley will begin only from next year with the inception of Kathmandu Sustainable Urban Transport Project (KSUTP) which is being implemented with the assistance of Asian Development Bank (ADB). The project, which will start from 2011 with the assistance of $20 million for ADB along with $6 million from the government and some assistance from Global Environment Initiatives, aims to improve junctions and footpaths in core areas of the capital. The two-year project will also construct four pedestrian bridges over Bishnumati River and also build stop lay-bays for vehicles besides implementing programs for improved pedestrian crossing.
It will improve bus lanes and footpaths on the western boundary of Tundikhel and Bishnumati Link Road and construct flyovers at Lazimpat Chowk and Lekhnath Marga.
Rabindra Kumar Poudel, chief of Physical Infrastructure Development Division at Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC), said the metropolis at present has no plan to widen major roads to ease traffic movement. “We, however, have been encouraging locals to widen roads and complete dead-end roads by contributing 90% of the total cost,” Paudel said.
He said the effective remedy of easing traffic woes in the capital is the early completion of Bagmati, Bishnumati and Dhobighat corridor road projects. “These link roads would make significant contribution in reducing traffic congestion in core city area,” Poudel.
KMC, however, has no plan to construct new roads on its own because of resource crunch. “We aren’t even in a position to carry out maintenance works in an effective manner as we have just Rs 20 million for the purpose,” Paudel said.
Of the total budget of Rs 27 billion allocated for road construction, the government has set aside about one billion rupees for road maintenance.
More than 500,000 vehicles, about 70% of which are two-wheelers, are plying on the roads in capital every day.
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