A cantilever bridge has been constructed at Yarubagar, which connects seven northern villages of Gorkha district.

The bridge is built across the Budhigandaki river to connect Sirdibash and Kerauja VDCs. According to the District Development Committee, the bridge is the first of its kind in Nepal.

The bridge at the Manaslu foot trail is the only pathway connecting the VDCs with the district headquarters. Chief Engineer Sahadev Bahadur Bhandari of the District Technical Office said the bridge was constructed by engineers and workers from Switzerland.

The structure was constructed by drilling the rocky cliff of Yarubagar. The UK Department for International Development built the bridge after its successful experiment at Godavari in Kathmandu. One of the representatives of the DFID said the construction had taken them three months.

Rs30 million was spent on it, he said. Construction materials were delivered by helicopter to the site due to the difficult geography.

The average life span of the bridge is 50 years. There used to be wooden bridges in Yarubagar. However, the northern VDCs were cut off from the district headquarters after the flooded Budhigandaki swept away a wooden bridge at Yarubagar two weeks ago.