The government has stepped up efforts to reopen the Galchhi-Rasuwagadhi road, with the Department of Roads aiming to establish a temporary track to the Chinese border point before Dashain.

Floodwaters from the Bhotekoshi have washed away large sections of the highway, cutting off road links between Nuwakot and Rasuwa. The road department is now opening new tracks around damaged sections and installing Bailey bridges to restore connectivity.

The road from Galchhi in Dhading to Rasuwagadhi via Dhunche is 108 km long. The alternative route through Mailung is considerably shorter at 82 km.

The Mailung-Syafrubesi section, however, was only usable by vehicles during the dry season. A 19-km section had been put out to tender for widening, but the department terminated the contract with Mainachuli Construction after the company failed to make progress. The department was preparing to invite bids for a new contract when the August 26 flood swept away the road.

Until the disaster, most vehicles travelling to and from Rasuwagadhi used the Dhunche route. The flood damaged or destroyed around 40 km of road in Nuwakot and Rasuwa, bringing traffic to a standstill.

One of the major breaks is at Ratmate, about 8 km from Galchhi towards Nuwakot. The Trishuli river eroded around 200 metres of the road, leaving the section impassable since August 26.

“We are opening a new track above the section washed away by the flood,” said Shubha Raj Neupane, deputy director general and spokesperson for the Department of Roads. “Residents initially objected because they feared the new track would expose their land to landslides. We assured them that no land would be affected and that we would provide compensation if the road required any private land. Work has moved ahead and should be completed by Sunday, allowing vehicles to pass.”

An alternative route adds about 3 km and connects to Bidur, the Nuwakot district headquarters, via Dui Pipal village.

The road from Ratmate to Devighat remains passable. The Nepali Army has installed an Acrow bridge over the Tadi river, linking Devighat with Bidur.

Of the 10-km stretch from Dhunge Bazar in Bidur to Betrawati, workers have already opened a track along 9.5 km, according to Neupane.

“Only 500 metres remain,” he said. “We have opened a 1.5-km feeder route through Gerku and Bhainse to reconnect with the road towards Betrawati.”

About 300 metres of steep terrain still has to be cleared before vehicles can reach Betrawati. The old road is now occupied by the Trishuli river.

One option is to build a track through the riverbed by placing stones in the Trishuli. Another route is being prepared through a narrow local road at Bar Bhanjyang. A set of heavy equipment has already been taken across the river towards Betrawati, Neupane said.

The department has deployed 15 machines on both sides of the river to clear debris and reopen the road.

Once the track reaches Falakhu Khola, which lies along the Rasuwa-Nuwakot border near Betrawati, authorities plan to install a 70-metre Bailey bridge.

“A Bailey bridge provided by the Indian government is on its way from Hetauda to Falakhu Khola,” Neupane said. “If there are no obstacles, we expect to install it within ten days and establish a direct road connection up to Dhunche and then Syafrubesi.”

He described this as the first phase of the reopening operation.

“In the second phase, we will install Bailey bridges over the Bhotekoshi and Chilime rivers in Syafrubesi and rebuild the road,” Neupane said. “In the third phase, we will install another Bailey bridge over the Bhotekoshi to reopen the route from Syafrubesi towards Timure.”

Crews are clearing mud and debris and moving heavy equipment into the damaged areas with the aim of restoring regular traffic as quickly as possible.

The department plans to reopen the road all the way to Rasuwagadhi via Timure. China is currently working on the road on its side of the border, and the Ministry of Infrastructure Development has asked the Chinese government to begin work on the Nepal side from the border towards Timure.

“We will also continue working upwards from Syafrubesi,” Neupane said. “The plan is to extend a temporary track to the Rasuwagadhi border point by Dashain.”

Syafrubesi is about 16 km from Rasuwagadhi. Traffic on the section has remained suspended since the flood, although residents have continued to travel through inner roads.

The flood also washed away 41 motorable bridges between Rasuwa and Dhading, severing road connectivity between Nuwakot and Rasuwa.

Physical Infrastructure Development Minister Sunil Lamsal said the government had already asked China to open a temporary track between Rasuwagadhi and Syafrubesi.

“They have said they will do it,” Lamsal told Kantipur. “No agreement has been signed yet, but we understand they are preparing on their side. We remain in regular communication on the issue.”

The government is working to reopen all flood-damaged roads before Dashain, Lamsal said.

“At least five Bailey bridges, each 100 metres long, are needed for this,” he said. “We are working on that. Five 70-metre bridges have arrived; three of them were already available, and three have come from India.”

The bridges cannot be installed until temporary road tracks are opened at the damaged sites, he said.

“This road connectivity affects around 600,000 to 700,000 people,” Lamsal said. “That is why we are treating the work as a priority.”

The Galchhi-Mailung-Syafrubesi road was already undergoing upgrading under a Nepal government project. The 65-km road was divided into two contract packages: the 46-km Galchhi-Mailung section and the 19-km Mailung-Syafrubesi section. Work had been progressing on the first section, with the road being upgraded to two lanes and widened to four lanes in market areas, while work on the second section had stalled.

China is also funding the upgrading of the approximately 16-km Syafrubesi-Rasuwagadhi section.

A Chinese team set up a camp on January 1, 2026, and began upgrading work. The contract is worth around Rs6.5 billion and has a 39-month completion period.

The Bhotekoshi flood has now swept away the entire section where the upgrading work had begun.

The Department of Roads estimates that the disaster caused around Rs30 billion in damage to roads and bridges alone. Rebuilding the damaged infrastructure is expected to cost about Rs50 billion.