Valley
Road expansion drive resumes
The Kathmandu Valley Road Improvement Project (KVRIP) has resumed works to expand the two-lane road from Tripureshwor to Kalanki.Anup Ojha
The Kathmandu Valley Road Improvement Project (KVRIP) has resumed works to expand the two-lane road from Tripureshwor to Kalanki.
The expansion into six lanes, which was scheduled to be completed last year, was halted due to the April earthquake and the subsequent fuel crisis.
The Tripureshwor-Kalanki road section is one of the most congested in the Valley, which sees heavy traffic every day. The project under the Department of Roads is going to turn the 12-metre wide road into 22-metre with 2m wide footpath and cycle lane on either side.
“Traffic movement on this section is heavier than the capacity of the road,” said Manoj Shrestha, head of the KVRIP. “There will be a significant improvement in traffic movement once the project is completed.” He said the expansion works would be over within six months.
In the first phase, the KVRIP has expanded the 2km stretch from Tripureshwor to Teku. The Kathmandu Valley Development Authority (KVDA), responsible for widening the road under the project, has demolished one house and hundreds of illegal pavements attached to the buildings in the area.
“We will start demolishing houses from Kalimati to Soalteemode within one month,” said Bhai Kaji Tiwari, chief of the KVDA. According to KVDA officials, as many as 17 houses that fall within the road space need to be pulled down.
The road-widening follows the standards set by the Town Development Implementation Act-2029BS for Kathmandu Valley. As per the provision, roads in the Valley can be expanded up to a width of 25 metres.