New bypass track to be built above collapsed Krishnabhir stretch

Workers have begun clearing trees above the collapsed Krishnabhir section of Nepal’s Prithvi Highway, preparing a new track cut into the hillside. Authorities hope the temporary alignment will reconnect with the highway within 10 to 15 days and restore traffic on Kathmandu’s main road link.

The move follows Sunday’s collapse, when about 70 metres of road plunged into the Trishuli River. Another 120 metres has developed severe cracks. The highway has remained closed for five days, forcing traffic onto routes through Hetauda-Naubise and Fisling-Benighat. Officials are also examining roads on both sides of the river for possible alternatives.

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We have started work. It may take 10 to 15 days.

“We are working to find a way to operate the road by making arrangements on both sides of Krishnabhir,” Department of Roads Director General Bijaya Jaisi said. The damaged section normally carries about 12,000 vehicles a day, making the closure a major disruption for travel and supplies to the capital.

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We are working to find a way to operate the road by making arrangements on both sides of Krishnabhir.

The original alignment may be difficult to repair because the Krishnabhir slope is highly prone to landslides. Engineers say work from the riverbank would also be difficult during the monsoon. The Infrastructure Development Ministry has approved immediate measures, including structures above the hillside’s gabion breast wall, sacrificial gabion boxes and boulders placed down the slope.

Officials are separately studying a tunnel, soil nailing, sheet piling and a permanent bypass. The ministry has asked the Department of Roads to develop an alternative arrangement by the end of the current fiscal year, with support from the Nepal Geotechnical Society. Experts say the extent and cause of the damage must be established first. A technical assessment is examining whether powerful floodwaters carrying water and gravel struck the base of the slope. The site has also experienced a major landslide, which blocked the highway in 2000.

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It is not yet clear how serious the damage is or how it can be repaired. It appears that the road collapsed after powerful floodwaters laden with water and gravel slammed the Krishnabhir base.