A tale of two bridges

What delayed the construction of Nepal’s first arc bridges?

BIKEN K DAWADI

KATHMANDU, July 9
In 2015, Kathmandu Valley Road Improvement Project (KVRIP) decided to build
two sets of network arc bridges along the eight lane Tinkune-Maitighar road section
to facilitate the traffic in the road section. These bridges were going to be the first of
their type to be constructed in Nepal.
Although one set of the bridges was to be completed in 2017 and the other in 2018,
much of the construction works remain to be carried out. As a result, the bottleneck
four lane bridges over Dhobi khola and Bagmati River have been causing traffic jam
each and every day.
One of the bridges to be constructed over Dhobi Khola is in the final stage of its
construction now. Final works are being hastened to build the frame of the 50.3
meters long bridge which is being built downstream of the present bridge while
construction the bridge to be built upstream has not even started. Officials from
KVRIP claim that one bridge will be completed by Dashain.
With a budget of Rs. 131 million, JAYEE Construction was given the tender of the
bridges with a timeframe of 36 months to complete the construction. The deadline
for the construction was in 2017 but since the construction was nowhere near
completion, an extra year was added to the deadline.
The situation of the bridges to be built over Bagmati, however, has indicated
negligence from the contractors. Construction of the bridges remains in the
preliminary stage and unattended. Construction aggregates, iron rods, concrete pipes
are scattered haphazardly under the current bridge of four lanes. Two sub structures
have been built for the bridge upstream of the present bridge, but further works
remain unattended.
In 2015, Pappu Construction was handed a contract of Rs. 211.3 million to build the
85.22 meters long bridges within 48 months. According to Officials from KVRIP, the
deadline of the contract is expiring in this month.
Officials from KVRIP claim that the delay in approval of the design of the project
and additional works to shift the public utility nears the bridge were the two main
reasons behind the delay in the completion of the project.
“Since we had no expertise in building network arc bridges, we had to consult to a
foreign organization for the assurance of the design,” Information Officer of KVRIP
Bishwa Bijay Lal Shrestha said, “And the organization took one and half years to
evaluate the design! This created an impediment on the construction works.” The
Design and Build project of the bridge which was designed by RND Centre, was
PEER reviewed by International consultant Design Planning and Management Dhaka
(DPM) of Bangladesh.
“There were water supply pipes, sewerage and electric lines near the bridge, which
were very difficult to shift,” Shrestha added, “We had to consult with various
authorities to shift those public utilities. It took almost a year to do so.” He said that
the two problems in construction added up to two years of delay in construction. He
therefore claimed that the contractors cannot be fully blamed for the delay in
completion of the bridges.
However, he accused Pappu construction of making unnecessary excuses in the delay
of the bridge. “They should have done a lot works by now,” Shrestha said, “But they
keep on telling us that their crane is broken. It has been a year that they have tried to
repair the crane.” He questioned, “How can they be so negligent? If their crane is not
working, they should either repair it soon or get a new one.”
Network arch bridge is a type of bridge that has a convex arc above the road section
where steel rods called ‘hangers’ are installed to support the road section. KVRIP
officials claim that the new type of bridge will be stronger than orthodox bridges and
will be a showpiece in Kathmandu.