On-site monitoring begins for upgrading Gaddachauki-Attariya section of east-west highway

Mahendranagar: On-site monitoring has begun from Gaddachauki in Kanchanpur for the proposed upgrading of the East-West Highway to a four-lane road. A joint team from the Department of Roads and the donor agency World Bank started field monitoring and study on Wednesday to advance the project.

Rajesh Kumar Yadav, Chief of the Roads Division Office in Kanchanpur, informed that higher authorities have initiated on-site monitoring to facilitate highway expansion and are now entering the phase of preparing the Detailed Project Report (DPR).

“A team led by Arjun Prasad Aryal, Deputy Director General of the Department of Roads, along with a World Bank representative, has come to study the 45-kilometer road section from Gaddachauki in Paschimanchal to Attariya in Kailali for four-lane expansion,” said Division Chief Yadav. “The Roads Department will select a consultant within three months and move forward with the work. The donor agencies are positive about the project.”

He expressed optimism that the design work would proceed soon after the consultant selection. “Earlier, the Road Division had worked on upgrading intersections and small market areas along the highway to reduce accidents,” Yadav added. “So far, two kilometers of the road have been upgraded in intersection areas.”

Similarly, Deputy Director General Aryal said that the portion of the highway from Chandrauta in Kapilvastu to Gaddachauki is yet to be upgraded. “We are preparing a future plan and conducting monitoring,” he said. “We plan to upgrade the remaining sections of the road with the support of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank. Design and study work will move forward based on the recommendations and agreement of both institutions.”

He further informed that work will begin immediately after the preparation of the detailed project report (DPR).