DoR finalises four-lane flyover for New Baneshwor junction

KATHMANDU, MAR 19 -

The Department of Roads has finally decided to build a four-lane flyover at the New Baneshwor junction—one of the busiest intersections in the Capital. The 17m-wide overpass is amid at making the junction congestion-free for the next 20 years.

The department recently finalised the basic design of the proposed flyover after holding consultations with shareholders and international traffic management experts. The 500m-long overpass (Bijuli Bazar-Tinkune) will separate critical lanes with high traffic volumes on the Araniko Highway.

“The consultant will start work on the project’s detailed project report (DPR) within next two days,” said Naresh Man Shakya, senior divisional engineer at the Bridge Project of the Road Department. The department is dealing with work related to five proposed grade-separated junctions in the Capital.  The detailed report will come up with cost estimation, comprehensive design, a draft of the contract document and technology to be adopted for fast and efficient construction of the overpass. The consultant—a joint venture between Soil Test and Aviyaan Consulting—is expected to complete the DPR within this fiscal year, said Shakya.

The consultant had also proposed another option—a two-lane underpass on the Old Baneshwor-Sankhamul section for improving traffic movement at New Baneshwor. However, the flyover was selected considering the heavy vehicle movement at the junction, according to traffic expert Suman Baidya of Aviyaan Consulting. “Our study has shown that around 115,000 vehicles and 50,000 pedestrians cross this junction every day,” he said.

After the flyover construction, there will be three-lane road and three-metre footpath on either side of the overpass. The construction can be completed within next fiscal year if the government adopts accelerated bridge construction process—a method that reduces impact on normal traffic movement and minimised construction time, Baidya said.

Meanwhile, the Bridge Project is in the final stages of finalising designs for underpasses/flyovers planned for other four busy junctions—Kalimati, Tripureshwor, Old Baneshwor and Thapathali. Shakya said the designs would be finalised in next two weeks.

For the Thapathali junction, the consultant has proposed a two-lane flyover (Maitighar-Thapathali-Tripureshwor-Kalimati) or a flyover on Maitighar-Tripureshwor section. For the Tripureshwor junction, a two-lane underpass (Thapathali-Kalimati) or a two-lane flyover (Sundhara-Thapathali) has been proposed.

Similarly, the consultant has proposed a two-lane flyover (Teku-Soaltee Mod) or a flyover (Kuleshwor-Teku) for the Kalimati junction. For Old Baneshwor, a grade separated underpass (Maitidevi-Sinamangal) or a two-lane flyover (Battisputali-New Baneshwor) has been proposed.

Source: Kantipur