Authorities have completed repairs on the Chormara Bridge in Nawalparasi East and plan to resume vehicular movement on Wednesday evening. The bridge sank in the last week of April after overloaded cargo trucks passed through.

Tara Paudel, the proprietor of Jalapa Nepal, the construction company responsible for the repairs, said traffic will be allowed from this evening as work has been completed. According to Lalijan Khanal, chief of the Bridge Division of the Department of Roads, technical teams and engineers inspected the site earlier today and confirmed the structure is ready for limited use.

The 216-metre-long iron bridge was constructed 52 years ago during the construction of the East-West Highway. Officials said while the damaged section has been repaired, the bridge remains vulnerable, especially if heavy trucks continue to pass over it.

“This does not mean the bridge is now fit and fine,” said contractor Paudel. “Only the damaged section has been fixed and realigned. The entire bridge has not been reinforced with new materials.”

Khanal stressed that the District Administration Office is now responsible for preventing heavy vehicles from using the bridge. He added that if the bridge collapses again, the chief district officer of Nawalparasi East will be held accountable, as per existing laws.

“We are compelled to use this old bridge until a new concrete bridge is constructed along the highway,” Khanal said.