Kanti Lokpath (highway), one of the country's oldest road projects and a key alternative route linking Kathmandu and Hetauda, continues to face frequent disruptions from landslides, with traffic blocked eight times over the past 45 days.

According to police, landslides, both rainfall-induced and dry ones, have repeatedly cut off the highway, causing long delays for travellers and raising concerns about the safety of one of the country’s most important strategic roads.

Police Sub-Inspector Pramod Prasad Sah Teli of the Area Police Office at Thingan said traffic had been disrupted eight times between mid-April and May last. Of those incidents, five were triggered by rain-induced landslides, while three resulted from dry landslides.

“The most vulnerable section lies between Thingan and the Bagmati bridge on the Makawanpur side,” said Teli. “Landslides frequently obstruct traffic in Bharyangdanda and Gagate in ward 8 of Bhimphedi Rural Municipality, as well as Ghatthepakh and Lendanda in Bakaiya Rural Municipality.”

The risk remains high even during light rainfall. In several cases, loose soil and rocks have collapsed onto the road in dry weather, forcing authorities to halt traffic for hours while debris is cleared.

On May 27, a dry landslide at Bharyangdanda caused a motorcycle accident involving a rider travelling from Hetauda towards Kathmandu. Two days later, flooding in the Bagmati river swept away construction materials belonging to a bridge project and damaged the access road leading to the existing bridge.

Officials say the fragile topography is the main reason for the recurring problem. Upendra Maharan, information officer of the Kanti Highway Project, said the upper slopes above the road consist largely of loose soil and gravel, making them highly prone to collapse.

“The risk of landslides remains significant in several sections,” Maharan said. “Studies are under way to identify long-term measures to stabilise vulnerable slopes and reduce future disruptions.”

The Kanti Highway was originally conceived as an alternative to the Tribhuvan Highway connecting Kathmandu and Birgunj. Construction began in 1956, and the track was opened within three years.

Despite its strategic importance as the shortest road link between Kathmandu and Hetauda, the project remains unfinished nearly 70 years later.

The 79-kilometre highway is among Nepal’s oldest road projects. According to project officials, around 71 percent of the work has been completed so far. Maharan said delays were largely caused by difficult terrain, natural disasters and chronic funding shortages.

“Although the track was opened decades ago, the government began prioritising large-scale construction only from the fiscal year 2007-08. Since then, more than Rs8.4 billion has been invested in the project,” said Maharan.

The project office aims to complete all remaining work by the fiscal year 2026-27.

Only around 4.5 kilometres of blacktopping remains unfinished. However, the remaining stretch passes through difficult rocky terrain where the existing single-lane road must be widened into a two-lane carriageway before paving can begin.

Officials say geographical challenges rather than distance have slowed progress.

For the current fiscal year, the project has contractual obligations worth Rs1.5 billion but has received only Rs470 million in budget allocations. Eight separate contracts covering retaining walls, slope cutting, drainage systems and blacktopping are currently under implementation.

The highway stretches from Buddha Chowk in Hetauda to Tikabhairav in Lalitpur. Another 10-kilometre section from Tikabhairav to Satdobato falls under the Kathmandu Valley Road Expansion Project.