MUGLIN: Four bridges along the Muglin-Malekhu section of the Prithvi Highway in Chitwan are being fast-tracked to open by mid-July 2026, with only minor finishing touches remaining.

According to Sachendra Mishra, Information Officer at the Nagdhunga-Muglin Road Project (Western Section) Office, the bridges over Khahare Khola, Chiraudi Khola, Gomati Khola, and Hugdi Khola are scheduled to become operational within the next month, though some still require approach roads to connect them to the highway alongside minor tasks like plastering, painting, and installing traffic safety features.

Overall, more than 90 percent of the work on these four bridges is complete, while two other bridges on the same section, Hugdi and Charaudi, are still under construction with 30 percent and 50 percent completion respectively, as workers focus on their foundations and pillars.

Meanwhile, preparations are underway to resume blacktopping on the road, which had been halted due to a shortage of bitumen caused by skyrocketing prices.

The construction company has indicated that bitumen will arrive within a day or two, allowing them to lay the base and blacktop a nearly two-kilometer stretch where the sub-base is already prepared, with drainage construction and railing installations continuing in the interim.

To date, 43 percent of the overall road upgradation work has been completed across this 38.86-kilometer section, which serves as a vital artery for vehicles entering and leaving Kathmandu.

The upgraded highway will feature varying widths: a 2.2-kilometer six-lane stretch across Malekhu, Benighat, and Muglin; a 7.2-kilometer four-lane stretch spanning Ramailo Danda, Kurintar, Fisling, Chumling, Majhimtar, Charaudi, and Bishaltar; a 2.3-kilometer three-lane “climbing lane” on steep inclines and declines; and the remaining sections will be two lanes wide.

Funded by the World Bank, the infrastructure project was contracted to the construction company for Rs 4.80 billion.

Outstanding works across various stretches include blacktopping, building drains and retaining walls, landslide prevention measures, cutting hillsides, road safety installations, and bridge construction.

Following the expiration of the original construction deadline last December, a 183-day extension was granted, and the process for further extensions is currently underway.