Nepal races to rebuild roads and bridges washed away by floods

The Bhotekoshi River tore away bridges at dozens of locations across northern Nepal on August 26, severing links between districts, towns and villages. Authorities are now racing to reopen the roads and replace the crossings with temporary structures.

The Department of Roads says floods destroyed 41 motorable bridges between Rasuwa and Chitwan. Four more suffered damage, leaving only 18 of the 63 bridges along the corridor intact. In Rasuwa, the disaster cut the road connection with Nuwakot. It also destroyed the concrete bridge at Furke Khola, breaking the direct route between Dhadingbesi, the headquarters of Dhading district, and the Prithvi Highway.

Crews have begun clearing road sections swept away by the floods. The immediate goal is to reopen the track from Dhunge Bazar to Betrawati in Nuwakot, with a Bailey bridge planned at Betrawati once the road reaches the site, said Shubharaj Neupane, the department’s deputy director general and spokesperson. The Nepali Army is separately installing an Acrow bridge at Devighat in Nuwakot.

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Even where Bailey bridges are available, there is no road to transport them to the sites.

Only about 1.5 kilometres of track remains to be reopened between Dhunge Bazar and Betrawati, Neupane said. The department has 11 Bailey bridges, each up to 48 metres long, but transporting them is difficult because many approach roads have also disappeared. Sushil Babu Dhakal, joint secretary at the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, said seven bridges, ranging from 30 to 70 metres, are urgently needed between the Rasuwagadhi border crossing and Syafrubesi.

Nepal has requested temporary bridges from India and China. China has already sent two 100-metre Bailey bridges to the Korala border crossing in Mustang. The structures weigh about 320 tonnes combined and require 17 trucks for transport, while two Chinese technicians have arrived to help install them. The bridges could be used at the Trishuli crossing in Nuwakot and Furke Khola, although the larger structures need enough space at the site. India has offered bridges, but none has arrived yet.

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Work is underway to reopen the tracks damaged by the floods.