Rasuwa and Nuwakot have regained a direct road connection after six weeks, with vehicles beginning to cross a newly installed Bailey bridge over the Phalakhu river on Sunday.

The bridge was installed with support from the Nepali Army, restoring a route severed when floods on August 26 swept away a bridge and sections of road between the two districts.

Krishnanath Ojha, project chief of the Galchhi-Trishuli-Mailung-Syafrubesi-Rasuwagadhi Road Project, based in Bidur, said the bridge had allowed vehicles to resume travelling between Nuwakot and Rasuwa.

The 73-metre Bailey bridge has restored the route between the two districts, with Betrawati, near the district boundary, about 10 kilometres from Dhunge Bazar.

Preparations are also underway to install a Bailey bridge at Syafrubesi, Ojha said.

Sunil Lamsal, infrastructure development minister, said approach roads had been built on both sides of the river at Syafrubesi to facilitate construction of the bridge foundations. The work is now expected to gather pace, he said.

Authorities had earlier opened a track through a 300-metre stretch of steep hillside near Uttargaya Public School in Nuwakot to reach Betrawati. The Nepali Army helped blast through the difficult terrain to create the route.