Road widening and upgrade work along the Muglin-Malekhu section of Prithvi Highway, one of the country’s busiest roads, is currently underway. According to the office of Muglin-Nagdhunga Road Project, the west section of the road project commenced its work in around five kilometres stretch in Malekhu area a month ago. The road expansion is ongoing along the entire 95 km long Muglin-Nagdhunga section with the financial assistance of the World Bank.

“The existing two-lane road will be widened ranging from two-lane to six-lane along Muglin-Nagdhunga road, depending on the geographical situation,” said engineer Krishna Acharya, information officer of the road project. “The expansion work has begun at Malekhu area of the western section. The project will soon begin work in other sections as well.” According to him, the road, which was constructed some 30 years ago, will be upgraded and widened as per the pressure of traffic in tune with time.

The Muglin-Nagdhunga Road Project plans to set up three lanes in a steep section of the road and six lanes in town areas. “A separate lane will be managed for goods carriers in the steep sections. Around six kilometres of road will be made of three lanes in different places. Around five kilometres of the road will be six to seven lanes while the rest of the road remain two lanes. But the road will be of high quality and bear the pressure of increasing traffic,” said Kiran Karki, the chief of the road project. It is expected that the road widening work along the 39 km long Muglin-Malekhu section will be completed within three years at an approximate cost of Rs 4.4 billion.

According to the road project, the workers started constructing retaining walls on the roadside in the Malekhu area. However, the electricity poles are yet to be shifted and roadside trees are yet to be cut down to widen the road.

According to Karki, a total of 2,546 trees should be cut down from Muglin to Nagdhunga for the road expansion. “A total of 125 trees should be removed in the Muglin-Malekhu stretch. The Department of Roads has already urged the Department of Forests and Soil Conservation for permission to cut the roadside trees. The decision will hopefully come soon,” said Karki. “The process of shifting utility poles has already begun. It is expected that the work of removing poles will begin within a month.”

Prithvi Highway links two major cities—Kathmandu and Pokhara. It was built with Chinese assistance and was completed in 1974. As one of the busiest highways in the country, it faces frequent traffic jams. The highway traffic is expected to ease once the road widening project is completed.

The highway, particularly from Muglin to Kathmandu, serves as the main gateway to Kathmandu for vehicles coming from eastern, western and southern parts of the country. Around 8,000 vehicles ply the road daily, according to the road department.

The capital city does not have a reliable alternative to Prithvi Highway as the main supply line. Some road projects including Kathmandu-Nijgadh Expressway, Kanti Rajpath connecting Kathmandu to Hetuada, and Kathmandu-Hetauda Tunnel Road have been planned as alternative routes but the progress of these projects remains poor.

“The highway road was just repaired over the past 30 years. The old road will be broken to make a new and strong one during the road widening and upgrade work,” he said, adding six new bridges will be constructed in the Muglin-Malekhu section while two existing bridges will be repaired. “The new road won’t sink or get damaged easily,” he said.