NEWS LETTER

Department of Roads (DoR)

E-mail: mis@dor.gov.np Vol. 29
Website: www.dor.gov.np August 2022

Table of Contents
1. Appointment of new Director General 1 7. Road safety initiatives in Nepal: An overview 17

2. Major achievements during tenure (17/2/2021- 30/12/2021) 8. Road Asset Management System in Nepal 20
of former DG Er. Shiva Hari Sapkota 1
9. Seismic Retrofitting of Babar Mahal (DoR building) 24
3. Annual Progress of Fiscal Year (FY) 2078/079 2 10. Ready Made Premix (RMP): “A Rapid 26
Response Solution for Pot-hole Repair”
4. Design and Construction of Dhobi Khola twin network
arch Bridge 2 11. Accelerating Transport and Trade Connectivity in
Eastern South Asia (ACCESS) 29
5. Landslide Stabilization Works in Improvement of Narayang-
hat-Mugling Road 9 12. Short Term Restoration of Traffic through Bhapsi Bridge,
Bardibas along EW-Highway. 30
6. Proposed Pavement Distress Index for Asphalt Pavement
Management 15 13. Photograph of Some Major Works in Fiscal Year 2078/079 33

1. Appointment of new Director General 5. Accelerate the preparation of typical Designs/Drawings for
short and long span bridges.
Er. Arjun Jung Thapa has been
appointed as a new Director 6. Establish DoR’s own state of art training Center at Gajuri
General (DG) of DoR on with modern facilities.
2079/02/25 BS (8th June 2022). 7. Focus on Road Assets Management works of DoR.
This is his second tenure as a
8. Development of curriculum for training in different areas.
DG of DoR. The responsibility
of DG was taken over by acting
DG Er. Shiva Prasad Nepal after 2. Major achievements during tenure (17/2/2021-
retirement of former DG Er. Shiv 30/12/2021) of former DG Er. Shiva Hari
Hari Sapakota on 2079/01/19 BS (2nd May 2022). The new Sapkota
DG has affirmed that DoR will have following priorities in his 1. Enhanced Good Governance in contract administration to
tenure. resolve chronic contracts in DoR.
1. Continuation of Bio-engineering more intensively by 2. Initiated to work for institutionalization of Engineering
establishing nurseries and implementing slope stabilization Governance in DoR.
works under all Road Divisions and Project Offices.
3. Enhanced road safety works in National Highways focusing
2. Planning, Designing and Constructing modern office on Pillar two of action plan i.e. Safer Roads.
buildings in all Federal Monitoring Offices and Road
4. Enhanced all types of road maintenance works on the
Divisions Offices.
National Highway focusing mainly on pothole repair of
3. Strengthen Laboratory facilities in all Road Divisions and roads under DoR jurisdiction and keeping it pothole free.
Projects Offices to enhance quality of construction and
5. Accelerated the preparation of typical Design/Drawings
maintenance works.
for short and long span bridges.
4. Accelerate publication work of different guidelines and
6. Continued of Bioengineering and Road Asset Management
manuals that are useful for design, construction, supervision
works.
and maintenance works.
1
3. Annual Progress of Fiscal Year 2078/079 bridge has already been opened to traffic. There is also another
network arch bridge above Bishnumati Khola at Paropkar which
PME Unit, DoR
is almost completed. The credit for successful completion and
Annual operation of these network arch bridges goes to all high level
S. N. Details Units Progress DoR officials, above mentioned personnel, Bridge Branch DoR,
Target Progress
(%) associated consultant and contractor.
1 Blacktop Road Km 1800 618 34.33

2 Gravel Road Km 800 335 41.87

3 Earthen Road. Km 350 280 80

Reconstruction
and
4 Km 600 423 70.5
Rehabilitation of
blacktop Road
Periodic
5 Km 550 250 45.45
maintenance
Bridge
6 Nos 300 282 94
Construction
Annual Financial Progress: 55.18%

Fig. 4.1: Google map of bridge site

4. Design and Construction of Dhobi Khola twin
Network Arch Bridge
This bridge site is located at Km 0+850 at Bijulibazar along
-Dr Bijaya Jaishi, SE, FRSMO, Kathmandu Arniko highway. The google co-ordinates of the bridge site is
27°41’25”N, 85°19’42”E. The Google image of the bridge site
4.1 Introduction is shown in Fig. 4.1. The twin bridges are constructed upstream
and downstream of the existing bridge. The twin bridges
The Network Arch is an arch structure where the hangers serve bridge crossing for widened portion of Arniko highway.
supporting the lower tie (deck) are inclined in opposite The contract for construction of this bridge was awarded in
directions and they cross one another at least twice. The idea 2071/09/13 (28th Dec, 2014 AD) as a Design and Build contract.
of a network arch bridge was developed by Prof Per Tveit from The contractor was Jayee Construction (P.) Ltd. Design review
Norway in 1950’s. The advantages of network arch bridge are: consultant was Design Planning and Management Consultant
Ltd., Bangladesh.
● It could be useful at the bridge sites with boundary
conditions on approach road gradient or vertical clearance The construction was completed and opened to traffic in 2077
or waterway requirement below soffit. B.S. (2020 AD). This bridge has set up many records in the
● It will ensure unaffected river morphology and aquatic bridge construction history in Nepal and will be a great milestone
lives with no pier as obstruction in river flow. in the era of modern bridge construction in the country. Dhobi
Khola arch bridge. It is the first network arch bridge in Nepal.
● It has a better aesthetic view than conventional bridges. It is also the first bridge in Nepal that uses lead rubber bearing.
● The cost will not exceed conventional bridge cost.
● It can be constructed with locally available materials and 4.2 Salient features:
construction technology. The elevation and cross section of the bridge is shown in Fig.4.2.
The salient features of this bridge is presented below:
A long effort has been carried out by DoR before implementing Total length of bridge = 51.45 m
the construction of Dhobi Khola Bridge. DoR, Bridge Branch
Arch Span (L) = 50.35 m
had carried out four days training on network arch bridge
in 2013 in DoR after series of discussion among Mr Bishnu Arch Rise = 9.68m
Prasad Shrestha, Mr I.A. Khan, OBE, ICE representative, Span Rise ratio = 5.20
Mr Nareshman Shakya and author of this article at World Number of arch ribs = 2
Bank Kathmandu. Two gentlemen from Bangladesh, Mr M.A
Size of main arch rib = End:1m (B) x 1.7m (D);
Sobhan, CEng FICE and Mr. Samy Muhadmad Reza, DPM Mid:1m (B) x 1.038m (D)
were the main tutors. Similarly, seminars and presentations had
Total width of bridge = D/S:12.0m; U/S:10.5m
been organized several times. Then, Kathmandu Valley Road
Improvement Project (KVRIP) awarded a Design and Build Contract amount (Both bridges U/S and D/S): NRs.
contract for construction of twin network arch bridges at two 131,385,000.00 (with PS and VAT)
places, namely Bagmati and Dhobikhola bridges in 2016. The Original cost estimate (Both bridges U/S and D/S):
Bagmati Bridge is still under construction and Dhobikhola 187,012,447.00 (with PS and VAT)
2
Fig. 4.2 : (a) Elevation of bridge

Fig. 4.2 : (b) Elevation of bridge

Cross section of Bridge (D/S)

3
 Cross section of Bridge (U/S)
Fig. 4.2 : (c) Elevation of bridge
Note: D/S and U/s means upstream and downstream respectively

4.3 Design
The bridge is designed as per IRC design specification. The main loads considered are (i) Dead load (ii) Moving load (iii) Braking
load (iv) Wind load (v) Earthquake load (vi) Temperature load (vii) creep load (viii) Shrinkage loads (ix) Load due to elastic
shortening etc. The main design steps are:

(a) Design of slab

(b) Design of cross girder (pre-stressed)
(c) Design of longitudinal girder (pre-stressed)
(d) Design of hanger
(e) Design of arch rib
(f) Design of bearing
(g) Design of substructure

4
 Fig. 4.3 : (a)

Fig. 4.3 : (b) Finite element model of bridge

The finite element model is developed in SAP2000 4.4 Construction Sequence

(Fig. 4.3) to find out the internal stresses in different elements.
Construction part is the most challenging in arch bridges
In FE modeling, slab has been modeled as shell element; cross
compared to other types of bridges like suspension and cable
girders, longitudinal girders, arch ribs are modeled as frame
stayed bridges. Although overall bridge cost is lesser in arch
elements. Hanger is modeled as frame element with both end
bridge, the associated construction issues make construction
release (moment). Linear static analysis, non-linear static
costlier.
analysis, buckling analysis and response spectrum analysis has
been carried out. The section design has been carried out for
computed internal forces.
5
Fig. 4.4 : Construction sequence diagram (D/S-downstream, U/S-upstream)

6
 1. Construction of substructure -(D/S) 2. Temporary staging for construction of superstructure- (D/S)

3. Lead rubber bearing ready to install-(D/S) 4. Construction of L and X girder-(D/S)

5. Details of hanger anchorage system and prestressing duct in 6. Duct for prestressing (post tensioning) of cross girder-(D/S)
longitudinal girder- (U/S)

7. Details of hanger anchorage system in arch rib- (U/S) 8. Preparation of concreting work of arch rib and bracing-(D/S)

7
9- Concreting work of arch rib and bracing-(D/S) 10- Arch rib and bracing after concreting (U/S)

11. Hanger anchorage system –D/S 12. Preparation of hanger tuning- (U/S)

13. Landmark twin bridges in the heart of Kathmandu

Fig. 4.5 : Construction sequence photographs

8
The construction sequence is presented as follows: of Nepal (GoN) and World Bank (WB). Because of the weak
and fragile geological condition many slope failures have risen
(a) Arch foundation construction (pile, pile cap and abutment)
along this highway section and stabilization works are being
(b) Construction of temporary staging for construction of L
performed along the highway. The stabilization at Ch 17+025
girder, cross girder, slab
km is a peculiar example of landslide stabilization and the
(c) Construction of lead rubber bearing
(d) Construction of L girder (with duct), cross girder(with methodology used in this section can be performed along many
duct), slab road projects in Nepal.
(e) Construction of temporary staging for construction of arch
rib and bracing The site is amongst the most critical highway sections in
(f) Construction of arch rib Narayanghat-Mugling highway. In 2003 AD, the landslide
(g) Installation and tuning of hangers was mitigated using soil nailed walls and soil nailed blocks,
(h) Construction of expansion joints and appurtenances which served well for thirteen years. Commendably and much
to a surprise, the slope remained stable during the Gorkha
The construction sequences are shown in Fig.4.4 and Fig. 4.5.
Earthquake 2015. However, the activation of landslide was
The bridge has become land mark structure in the heart of
observed at the time of road expansion during 2016 to 2018
Kathmandu (Fig. 4.6).
AD. The road subsided up to 1.5m at the end of first monsoon
when it was noticed. The consultants for this use is ITELO/
ICGS JV Kathmandu and contractor is Bajraguru/Rayamajhi
JV Kathmandu.

5.2 Reason of failure

A survey was performed in 2003 during low flow season which
led to the conclusion that the toe cutting by the Trishuli River
is also one of the major reasons for activation of slope. A large
debris was deposited in the opposite bank, causing scouring at
the left bank. A bathymetric survey was carried out to determine
the depth of Trishuli River at the location of the slide and the
dry season flow was found to be 6m to 8.5m deep.

The soil nailed treatment worked well from 2005 to 2018 but
road widening works led to the reactivation of the landslide
from 2016 to 2018. The wall had excessively moved along with
Fig. 4.6 : Live telecast of famous program in Sagarmatha TV the loss of nuts and head plates. The geometry of subsidence of
(in frame of the bridge) the valley side lane indicates that the current failure is limited
to depth of about 5m and few couplers have failed. Without the
4.5 Conclusion soil nailing done in 2005, the slide would have developed as
deep as 11m as of 2003.
Successful completion of this bridge is the milestone for
construction of network arch bridge in Nepal. Nepalese
Engineers have gained a lot of knowledge and confidence after 5.3 Site specific activity during design period
constructing this bridge. The replication of construction of such The site specific activities are as follows (shown in fig. 5.1)
type of bridge in other locations in Nepal is highly recommended
1. Detail topographical survey using SW DTM and SW Road
where the site demands. Such bridge has advantage in Nepalese
topography since such design doesn’t involve the construction with 1m contour interval
of a pier in the middle, construction work could be carried out in 2. Movement monitoring of all activities during study period
all seasons and flood has less effect on the bridge.
3. Engineering geological mapping for four hectares in
1:1000 scale
5. Landslide Stabilization Works in Improvement
of Narayanghat-Mugling Road 4. Multi-Channel Analysis of Surface Waves (MASW) at
three points to determine geotechnical data such as shear
-Kiran Karki, S.D.E wave velocity, directly SPT N value, cohesion, friction
- Deepika Ghorasaini, Engineer angle, bearing capacity etc.
(Mugling Narayanghat Road Project) 5. Slope stability analysis using software like RS2, Rock fall,
Rock Plane, DIPS etc. for various design options. Factor
5.1 Introduction
of safety (FoS) taken 1 for seismic and 1.4 for static waves
The road widening works along Narayanghat-Mugling Highway along with seismic coefficient 0.18g.
is under Nepal India Regional Trade and Transportation
6. Bathymetric survey to determine the bed profile level
Program (NIRTTP) through the joint funding of Government
9
 Fig. 5.1 : Geotechnical Investigations performed at Chainage 17+025 km, Chitwan.

5.4 Slope Stability Analysis 8. Soil nails with yield strength of at least 500 MPa with
nominal diameter of 32mm and should be double corrosion
The preliminary slope stability analysis was carried out using
protection.
Phase 2 software. The soil/rock strata were generalized into
9. Anchor end plate minimum dimension 250×250×25 mm.
layers indicated by the shear wave profiles obtained from
10. Anchor be tightened using bedding pressure of about 25%
MASW investigation and laboratory investigation. Back
of working load i.e. 62.5KN.
analysis for factor of safety was also performed assuming factor
11. Drainage pipe for horizontal drain HDP pipe of diameter
of safety 1 at dry condition, varying water table and seismic
63 mm and minimum thickness of 3mm, which is to be
condition. Three various options were analyzed; among the
perforated by drilling minimum 50 holes per meter length
three, considering ease of construction, time of construction,
on upper half with minimum diameter 5 mm and drain pipe
effect of traffic, construction during monsoon and traffic
is covered using geotextile.
management, Piled and Anchor wall option was preferred.
12. Laying of flexible geogrids as primary reinforcement for
composite soil reinforcement system, made of polyester
5.5 Salient Features of Pile and Anchor wall solution core with polyethylene coating including secondary
The site features of the pile and anchor wall are as follows: reinforcement of Terramesh system (TMS) with Zinc and
1. Placing of articulated (with 16mm stranded steel cable) PVC coated facing material.
precast concrete blocks (1.5×1.5×1) m at the river bank in 13. Construction of compacted embankment to reinstate full
four rows from the present water line and gabion mattress width of embankment.
till the High Flood Level (HFL). 14. Construction of road pavement
2. Installation of two rows of tangential piles of diameter 0.8m 15. Surface protection using bio-engineering measure
and depth 13m, total 80 nos and total length of structure 16. Installing piezometers, inclinometer and extensometer
52.1 m. for the study of fluctuations in water table with regular
3. Pile cap of depth 1.3m, length 10.6m and breadth 3.2 m. monitoring at weekly intervals during monsoon period and
4. Pile Integrity Test monthly during dry season and depth of water recorded
5. Construction of french drain with respect to the reduced level.
6. Construction of plum concrete 17. Setting up DGPS or total station at the desired locations
7. Installation of 32 nos. of soil nail each 20 m long along to study the surface movement in horizontal and vertical
with semi flexible 3D galvanized steel mat for slope directions at frequency of weekly during monsoon period,
stabilization. and monthly during dry season.
10
5.6 Typical design and drawing
The typical design and drawing of the pile anchor wall is as shown in Fig. 5.2 - Fig. 5.5

Notes:
• All dimensions are in meter(m) unless mentioned.
• Pile shall be socketed into bedrock by min. 3*dia. Of pile.
i.e. 2.4m.
• The front pile shall be extended 2m above the ground.
The exposed part of the front row piles (riverside) shall be
concreted together as single unit.
• The steel casing for the front row piles are left behind for a
depth of 5m below the GL.
• The rear piles shall be constructed to the front piles by RCC
concreting of 0.8m depth
• A 25mm gap is provided @3.6m spacing on 2m exposed
part of front row piles.
• Details of Crash barriers in sheet 25/29; and piling &anchor
details in sheet 7/29.
• Horinzontal drains with semi perforated 63mm HDPE (6
kg/cm2) piles are installed to prevent the saturation of the
weathered material for the part of the slope below the road.
Details in sheet 8/29.
• For slope reinforcement, nonwoven geotextile shall be
provided to separate facia structure and structural fill
materials. The structural fill shall be well compacted to
density graeter than equal to 95% Modified Proctor Value
using light roller of 2 ton.
• If the geogridcan not be provided for full length of 4.5m
due to presence of rock 25mm dia dowel bars shall be
installed as directed by the engineer. No separate payment
shall provided for the supply and use of dowel bars and the
cost of the dowel bars shall deemed to be included by the
contractor in other activities of this item.
• For any specified and change in words, proceed as directed
Fig. 5.2 Cross section of the protected structure by site engineer.

ANCHOR HEAD DETAIL

SCALE–1:25

Fig. 5.3 Anchor head details

11
 PLAN ELEVATION
SCALE–1:50

PLAN VIEW OF MICRO PILE

SCALE–1:5

Fig. 5.4. Elevation and Plan of Pile and pile cap

FRENCH AND TRIBUTARY DRAIN PILE

SCALE–1:500

Fig. 5.5. Plan view of French and Tributaries Drain

12
5.7 Some site photographs of the site.

5.6 (a): Chainage 17+025 km before commencement of work 5.6 (b) : Construction of Launching Apron

5.6 (C): Pile construction at site 5.6 (d): Construction of Pile Cap

5.6 (e): Pile Integrity Test 5.6 (f): Laying and placing of geogrid

13
5.6 (g): Compaction test using Sand Replacement Method

5.6 (h): Casing for piezometer

5.6 (i): State of launching apron after flood of 2021

5.6 (j): Well compacted layer of geogrid and terramesh

14
6. Proposed Pavement Distress Index for Asphalt The prioritization and choice of candidate road section for
Pavement Management periodic maintenance works has been done on the basis of three
main criteria i.e., Surface Distress Index (SDI), traffic volume
- Prabhat Kumar Jha, Joint Secretary, MoPIT and age of surfacing. This article defines the pavement distress
index and presents the possible merits of using proposed
6.1 Introduction ‘Pavement Distress Index’ over SDI.
Today’s increasing budget constraints demand optimization and
higher performance efficiency i.e., more volume of work with 6.2 DoR System for Scoring Surface Distress Index (SDI)
lesser investment. Thus the preservation of existing road asset The pavement condition survey is evaluated from six rating
plays great significance in management of scarce resources. score from 0 to 5. The 0 score indicated the pavement surface
Historically, the emphasis of the departments was given without any defects and score 5 indicate the maximum possible
towards building new roads. After the establishment of Roads deterioration. A shoulder condition survey is also carried out at
Board Nepal under Roads Board Act 2058 BS, the concept of the same time using a rating in the range of 0 to 4. The following
maintaining and preserving existing pavement surfaces has been table shows the value of SDI and pavement condition indicated
focused. This was a positive shift and it has resulted in three by the value.
types of pavement maintenance operations under a Planned
Surface Distress Index Pavement Condition
Maintenance Approach:
(SDI) Value
0 – 1.7 Good
Preventive Maintenance (Routine, Recurrent and Periodic):
Performed to improve or extend the functional life of a 1.8 – 3.0 Fair
pavement. It is a strategy of surface treatments and operations 3.1 – 5.0 Poor
intended to retard progressive failures and reduce the need for SDI score classification and corresponding criteria use to adopt
corrective maintenance works. for surface are shown Table 6.1 below:

Corrective Maintenance (Rehabilitation): Performed after Scores Incidence of minor Incidence of major defects
a deficiency occurs in the pavement, such as loss of friction, defects (refer Table 6.2) (refer Table 6.3)
moderate to severe rutting, or extensive cracking. May also be
referred to as “reactive” maintenance. None None
0 None None
Emergency Maintenance: Performed during an emergency 1 1 to 200 sq.m. per 1000 1 Occurrence
situation, such as a blowout or severe pothole that needs repair m.
immediately. This also describes temporary treatments designed 2 <50% of the area 2 to 4 occurrence
to hold the surface together until more permanent repairs can be 3 >= 50% < 30% of area
performed. 4 >=30% of area or potholes and
base exposed <20% of the area
All types of maintenance are needed in a comprehensive 5 Potholes and exposed base = or >
pavement maintenance program. However, emphasizing 20% of the area
preventive maintenance may prevent a pavement from requiring Table 6.1 : SDI Scores
corrective maintenance. Preventive maintenance is completing
the right treatment option on the right road at the right time.
The distress elements are divided into two groups; major
Many pavement treatments can be used for preventive, defects and minor defects. Among the different defect types,
corrective, or emergency maintenance. Fig. 6.1 illustrates cracking, raveling and potholes are generally characterized by
the differences among these three types of maintenance. As extent and severity while for rut depth, being continuous in
indicated on the graph, the main difference is the condition nature, only severity of the deformation is noted. The following
of the pavement when the treatment is applied. There are no sections (Table 6.2 and Table 6.3) consist of definitions and
clear boundaries between when a treatment is preventive versus interpretations considered during survey and score assignment.
corrective, or corrective versus emergency.

Fig. 6.1 Pavement condition versus time or traffic

15
 6.3 Drawbacks of the Present SDI System:
S.N. Types Sub Type Definition
• There is no relationship between the severity level of
a) Cracking Narrow interconnected cracks (1-3 defects and their density. The same rating might indicate
mm width)
different severity levels.
Line cracks (longitudinal or trans-
• Just averaging the different SDI values, cannot give a true
verse)
picture of pavement distress. Example: SDI score 4 for
Sealed cracks cracking and that of the pothole shall not be same and just
b) Maintenance Distinct localized patchwork has averaging the individual defect SDI values may mislead
Patches been applied the condition assessment.
c) Texture Shallow raveling or scabbing (<20 • It may fail to measure the transverse undulations or
mm) consider the sections with poor IRI.
Slickness (texture depth, 1 mm) • Visual assessment may differ from person to person and
degree of reliability may be lesser.
Bleeding
d) Short Edge Short edge break (> 100 mm < 5 m 6.4 Pavement Distress Index
Break length)
• Pavement distresses contribute to pavement failure in
Table 6.2 : Definition of Minor Defects for Bituminous Roads different ways. If the distresses identified in a pavement
are related to structural deficiencies, the pavement section
S.N. Types Sub-Type Definition is most likely not a candidate for preventive maintenance
treatment, and should instead be scheduled for renewal or
Wide interconnected cracks rehabilitation or reconstruction.
(a) Cracking
(>3 mm)
• Other distresses can be corrected with preventive,
(b) Texture Scabbing (>20 mm depth)
corrective, or emergency treatments. To be effective,
(c) Rutting Rut depth >15 mm an engineering approach should be taken to select and
construct the treatment. It is critical that the proper
Pothole (>30 mm depth,
(d) Pothole maintenance treatment be done at the right time for the
>150 mm dia/length)
pavement to function as designed and for the maintenance
Exposed base or sub base or program to be effective.
(e) Exposed base
gravel
• Based on the DoR maintenance practices and worldwide
Long edge break (>100 mm, best practices, the following indices and formula have been
(f) Edge Break
>5 m Length)
developed for practical application:
Corrugations of any type and
(g) Depression/ humps
extent
IRI Scale
Table 6.3 : Definition of Major Defects for Bituminous Roads Ride Index Remarks
(m/Km)
<= 1.5 0 Superior
SDI is averaged over each road link or section under
consideration and is used to provide an objective assessment > 1.5 - < 3.5 0.20 Desirable
of pavement condition and to indicate the need for periodic
maintenance, rehabilitation or reconstruction. The DoR assesses >3.5 - <6 0.50 Undesirable
the pavement condition and rates in the terms “good”, “fair” and
>6 1.00 Unsatisfactory
“poor” on the basis of averaged SDI for a particular road link.
Table 6.4 : Ride Index

Severity Density
Aggregated Density Level of ‘i’ distress of a Road Section
Level SLValue Level DLValue
(DLi)
(SL) (DL)
Low 10 0 0
Segment _ Area SL
Moderate 50 1 1 D
L i = × value × D
L value
Road _ Section _ Area 100
High 100 2 2
3 3
Segment Area means Observed area (Observed length x
4 4 carriageway width) including the defective area.
5 5 Maximum Road Section length shall not be more than 5Km.
Table 6.5 : Aggregated Density Level Determination

16
Pavement Distress Index = 0.30 x Ride Index + 0.30 x Rut (DLi of C1) + 0.15 x Functional Index (Sum of DLi of
A2,A3,A4,A6,B2,C2,D1,D3) + 0.25 x Structural Index (DLi of A1)

Pavement
Remarks Choice of Maintenance
Distress Index
<= 0.15 Superior Routine and Recurrent
> 0.15 - < 0.45 Desirable Routine and Recurrent followed by Overlay
>0.45 - <0.75 Undesirable Rehabilitation (Part or Full)
>0.75 Unsatisfactory Reconstruction (Part or Full)
Table 6.6 : Maintenance Type Selection

Example :
Road Section 5 Km
Road Width 7.5 m
Road Section Area 37,500 Sqm
Ride Index 0.2

Segment Density
Index Category Defect Type Severity Level SL Value DL Value DLi PDIi
Area, Sqm Level
Rut C1 2000 L 10 2 2 0.011 0.003
C1 1000 M 50 4 4 0.053 0.016
C2 790 H 100 5 5 0.105 0.032
Functional A2 5000 M 50 1 1 0.067 0.010
A2 2400 H 100 2 2 0.128 0.019
A4 4500 M 50 4 4 0.240 0.036
A6 4200 M 50 3 3 0.168 0.025
B2 2500 H 100 5 5 0.333 0.050
C2 5000 M 50 4 4 0.267 0.040
D1 7000 L 10 2 2 0.037 0.006
D3 8000 L 10 2 2 0.043 0.006
Structural A1 9000 H 100 5 5 1.200 0.300
Ride 0.060
Pavement Distress Index (PDI) 0.6032
Rehabilitation is necessary (Table 6)
Table 6.7 : Calculation matrix of the defects

7. Road safety initiatives in Nepal: An overview precious lives and 50 million get injured in road traffic accidents
every year. There is an increase in accidents and associated
Dr. Tulasi Sitaula, Ph. D., P.Eng.
casualties every year which translate up to 1.5% of GDP loss.
7.1 Background:
Nepal has one of the highest death rates caused by road accidents
Road safety is a critical issue for developing nations. Road in the world. There were a total of 46,712 road accidents in
safety being a shared responsibility, it is very difficult to the last five years, which killed 11,945 people. In 2019, there
assign responsibility to various stakeholders, to coordinate and were nearly 13,000 highway and road accidents in which 2,736
monitor programs. Precious lives and huge GDP are lost in people lost their lives and 10,731 people were seriously injured.
Road Traffic Accidents every year. 90% of these accidents are Those who survive often have traumatic brain and spinal cord
clustered around developing economies with only 60% share of injuries requiring long-term or life-long rehabilitative care.
world vehicle fleet. Developed nations could contain the rate of
accidents over the last ten years and brought forward the zero- Nepal has a trend of increase in road length by 6.9% and growth
accident vision to their safety planning. They have backed the of vehicles by about 10% annually. Accidents are growing
programs with necessary commitments, funding, and actions. every year and the fatality is 10 per one lakh people. Nepal
On the other hand, developing nations including Nepal are implemented Road safety Action Plan 2013-2020 which helped
deficient in all three components. to contain the road accidents, though the target of halving it
could not be achieved. Nepal participated in the third ministerial
Road safety has become a chronic problem in the road conference in Sweden and reiterated its commitment towards
management business. Globally 1.3 million people lose their road safety. Nepal has prepared the action plan for 2021-2030

17
and initiated its implementation. Nepal has involved itself in The road safety management in Nepal is running in an ad-hoc
road safety initiatives from early 90’s when a dedicated unit manner. Few years back, there was no lead agency to lead and
named Traffic Engineering and Safety Unit, TESU worked coordinate the road safety initiatives. Transport ministry is
towards it, made useful publications and started implementation now designated as lead agency and DoTM is given adequate
in Naubise -Mugling road section as a demonstration program. power and responsibilities to enforce road safety related rules
Nepal was also a signatory of Busan agreement 2006 and and regulations. There is a critical need to have an institutional
Stockholm resolution 2020. arrangement like Road safety council and to equip it with
budgets and human resources.
7.2 The Issues and challenges:
Number of Road Traffic accidents and associated deaths in Nepal The current state of road traffic accident in Nepal is presented
is quite high compared to global figures. The UN mentions in table 7.1 below
that there is under-reporting of accidents in underdeveloped
countries including Nepal due to errors and omissions in data No of
Fiscal Serious Minor No of
collection. Driver negligence is the main cause of accidents Death vehicles
Year Injury Injury accidents
in Nepal followed by Overspeed, poor vehicle condition, involved
Haphazard overtaking, overload and poor road condition. There 2016/17 2384 4250 8290 10178 16515
is lack of proper training and commercial licensing to drivers of 2017/18 2541 4144 8247 10965 18034
public vehicles. The fund is a severe constraint as well.
2018/19 2789 4376 10360 13366 22087
Nepal is the participant and signatory of many of the global 2019/20 2251 4615 11219 15559 25788
road safety conventions. Commitments are expressed by Nepal 2020/21 2500 6448 18600 20640 33135
to reduce road traffic accidents as recommended by the United 2021/22* 1638 4037 14197 13709 22050
Nations. The UN has prepared and circulated guidelines for
Decade of action of road safety 2021-2030 with an objective Table 7.1 :. National RTA trend of Nepal
of reducing the RTA by half. In order to achieve this goal, it
was agreed during Ministerial conference in Sweden 2020 that *2021/22 data are for seven months only. Data source Nepal
i) improve all the existing highways that carries 75% traffic to Police HSPTD
a minimum of three-star safety standard for all traffic including All the five pillars for road safety as agreed jointly at UN
pedestrians, and ii) develop all the new roads with a minimum conventions are weak in Nepal, both in terms of infrastructure
of three-star safety rating for all types of road users. These goals and implementation. The implementation of Decade of Action
are in line with SDG 2030 targets of reducing deaths due to road Nepal 2013-2020 was not successful despite a reasonably good
traffic accidents by 2030 by half. The planned target are shown plan of action. As a result, the rate of accidents is increasing
Fig. 7.1. regardless of the commitment to halve it. Lack of Awareness
programs for critical road users, lack of adequate funding
for infrastructure and monitoring and Lack of coordination
among stakeholders could be mentioned as three leading
issues for not achieving road safety goals. Progress of action
plan implementation, as per Ojha 2022 is not satisfactory. The
overall progress is 58% whereas some activities have quite a
low progress rate of about 25%.

The implementation of the action plan was partially successful

leading to completion of 43% activities only, where out of the
94 planned activities 40 of them were completed. The details
of activities implemented in each of the 5 pillars are presented
Target: By 2030, all new roads achieve technical standards
below in table-7.2.
for all road users that take into account road safety, or meet
a three star rating or better. S. Activities Actions Actions Percentage
No. planned completed action
Completed
1 Road Safety 19 9 47
Management
2 Safer Roads and 26 11 42
Mobility
3 Safer Vehicles 22 6 27

4 Safer Road User 16 9 56

Target: By 2030, more than 75% of travel on existing roads is 5 Post-Crash Re- 11 5 46
on roads that meet technical standards for all road users that covery
take into account road safety. Total 94 40 42.55

Fig. 7.1 :. Planned Target Table 7.2 : Implementation of RS Action Plan 2013-2020
18
The first pillar namely Road safety Management is ad hoc till are required to construct and operate trauma centers as per the
date. Though the Road safety Strategy was passed long back, international standards.
Road safety Bill could not be enacted till now. This is hampering
the formation of Road Safety Council which will have a The huge fleet of motorbikes and lack of cycle lanes in Nepal
mandate to spearhead road safety activities including funding, urban roads are pertinent issues to ponder seriously and to obtain
stakeholder coordination and monitoring. The bill proposes unique solutions. Lack of reliable and efficient mass transport
minister of MoPIT as chair of RSC and there is representation system is further crippled by absence of public vehicles in this
from key stakeholders in the committee. The provisional road area. Government jointly with private sector actors should
safety council formed in the year 2017 could not function as develop a dependable mass transport system for which JICA
envisaged, for lack of authority and fund. master plan and Kathmandu Sustainable Urban Transport
Project, KSUTP has created a very good groundwork and a
The second pillar, namely Safer vehicles is progressing at a sound theoretical base for it, which includes route allocations for
very slow rate. Vehicle maintenance could not be implemented different vehicle types and dedicated routes for mass transport.
at the desired rate. Though the new vehicles are of high safety Many of the activities related to road safety are the mandate of
standards, twenty-year-old vehicles could not be taken out of the the Department of Transport Management, DoTM. The current
roads as planned. The body building that takes place locally for organization of this department is not enough for undertaking
these activities. A serious thought and proper action are
public vehicles like bus, mini-bus, and trucks are not designed
warranted either to shift this responsibility to other capable
at a reasonable safety standard. As a result, there is a huge loss
agencies or to strengthen the DoTM to carry out these activities
of life and property in the event of accidents.
in an efficient manner.
The Third pillar, namely safer roads and mobility is being
Recent study in the USA by Michigan University Transport
implemented in a progressive way. All the programs supported Research Institute has shown that the following (Table 7.3) are
by development partners are duly emphasizing on road safety. the top ten countries in the world ranked on the basis of car
Thus, newly built and recently upgraded roads are relatively crashes per 100,000 population. The irony is that all of them
safer and some of them meet 3-star safety conditions as per belong to the underdeveloped and developing part of the globe .
our commitment. However, there is no program to enhance the
safety of many of the existing roads while the UN decade of
action 2021-2030 pledges for improving 75% of existing road
Ongoing activities
There are a number of activities going on to reinforce road safety.
network to 3 star or better conditions to all types of road users.
The first and foremost one is the Road safety Act submitted to
The road safety audit function is weak both during design and
parliament for approval. The other activities include:
implementation.
• Action Plan for 2021-2030
Implementation of fourth pillar namely safer road users, has • Ad-hoc Road safety Council
not been successful so far. This is directly associated with lack • Road safety Audit
of awareness among road users including drivers, lapses in • Study and monitoring of black spots
licensing and its monitoring and weak enforcement. Provision • Road safety awareness programs
of footpaths and proper road crossing facilities at level and • Dedicated budget head for road safety
at grades are vital, but they are lacking on most of the Nepal • Strict action against drink and drive
roads contributing to accidents. A higher level of risk taking • Increasing donor support
• Studies and star ratings by ADB and iRAP
from concerned road users expedites the road accidents and
• Installment of 700 km of steel road safety barrier in critical
associated fatality/injuries. Inclusion of road safety materials in
highways
the school level curriculum is not happening as well.
• Systematizing Road accident data collection and its
management
The fifth pillar called post-crash response and recovery is not
• Proper road safety measures in the roads being upgraded
very prompt as well. There is issue of coordination to implement
this activity. UN has appointed Ministry of Health as focal point
7.3 Way forward
for this pillar, but this organization is overloaded with general
health issues and hence less focused on this activity. In a recent Road accident database creation and information management,
survey by Tulasi Sitaula, 2022 majority of key informants Research and Development in road safety are two critical areas
proposed that the responsibility should go to Road safety demanding the attention of policy makers. Nepal also needs
council and the Ministry of health should represent there as a to invest in safe system-based interventions. This includes
member. There is issue with regards to who should reach to the designing safer roads, improving vehicle standards, deterrence-
crash site first. The study suggested that Local representative based traffic enforcement and encouraging positive road
supported by Police are the appropriate authorities to handle user behavior. This will require bringing together different
the accident sites at the first instance. Prompt rescue from agencies responsible for road safety, including transport,
accident site and safely carrying the crash victims to nearby infrastructure, traffic police, health and emergency care, and
health facilities holds paramount importance from safety point
education. However, the road safety battle cannot be won alone.
of view. Trained manpower for safe transport of crash victims
Addressing these challenges will take the collective action
is equally important. Lack of Trauma centers are hampering
of all stakeholders, including the government, international
the treatment of victims of the crashes. Expedited programs

Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Countries Namibia Thailand Iran Sudan Swaziland Venezuela Congo Malawi Dominican Republic Iraq

Table 7.3: Road accident Running

19
development partners, private sector, civil society and the road Based upon the replacement cost method, the national highway
users themselves. As Nepal embraces federalism, it will also be asset value could be estimated to be roughly NRs. 500 billion
essential to coordinate with local governments to ensure road excluding bridges considering the above mentioned unit costs.
safety as a shared priority. With the necessary investments, Referring to Bridge Management System (BMS) available
strong political commitment, coordinated interventions and in DoR website (source: http://bms.softavi.com/dashboard/
collective actions, we can build, upgrade and maintain safer guest_report_bi/), the total number of bridges along Highways
roads in Nepal and save countless lives getting lost in road and Feeder roads (previously known as SRN) is 2022, their
traffic accidents. total length being 94,722 meters. Assuming per meter cost of
a double lane bridge as NRs. 2 million, the replacement cost
The Road Safety Act is prepared and submitted to the parliament of 2022 bridges would be close to NRs. 200 billion. Thus, the
for approval. Once this Act is in place, ministry of transport total highway asset would sum up to be approximately NRs.
as lead agency and Transport minister as chair of Road safety 700 billion. It should be noted that such approximations shall
council will have more responsibility and authority for road not undermine the fact that the calculations based on rigorously
safety. Collaboration with all the stakeholders, including private identified road inventory using appropriate economic/financial
sector actors would be easy and effective. With the formation models are needed.
of Road Safety Council, and allocation of adequate budget
to implement the Road safety action plan, Nepal expects to
8.3 Road Asset Management System (RAMS)
perform better in the field of Road Safety in this decade.
Road Asset management refers to the coordinated series of
activities that monitor and maintain road asset. The effective
8. Road Asset Management System in Nepal road asset management realizes the value of road asset over the
Er. Prem Prakash Khatri, SE. FRSMO, Damak design life span. It demands increased attention, commitment
and resources. In simple words, Road Asset Management is
8.1 Introduction
about knowing road asset value, their specific location, their
An asset refers to the resource with economic value to a present condition or health, the trend of deterioration, processing
person or an organization. An asset is something that provides these information in order to estimate the approximate cost of
beneficial returns. Asset possesses either service value or maintenance, prioritize the schedule of maintenance, identify
financial value or both. The asset provides service to users, the right time to maintain and implement timely maintenance
owners and communities and possesses service value. If an works for continuous service delivery to road users. The
asset requires money to acquire, it possesses financial value. application of latest modern technology such as Geographic
Road infrastructure delivers public service, requires finance to Information System (GIS), Global Positioning System (GPS),
acquire that comes from taxpayers and reduces transportation smart phones, drones, softwares etc. for increasing effectiveness
cost. Thus Road is a Public Asset. A typical double lane hill road and efficiency of Road Asset Management could establish a
in Nepal costs around Nrs. 50 to 60 million per km to acquire robust Road Asset Management System (RAMS).
based upon the current cost estimates of Mid-hill and Madan
Bhandari Road Projects. The intermediate lane BP highway
8.4 Prerequisites of effective RAMS
nearly cost NRs. 200 million per km length. The current 4 lane
under-construction projects along Mahendra highway are going Basically, there are two prerequisites for effective Road Asset
to cost around 150 millions per km. The average unit cost in Management. Firstly, the relevant legislation provisions are
plain areas or Terai of Nepal for similar standards is similar necessary. Realizing the significance of Road Asset preservation
as well. The basic components of hill road are Earthworks, for saving imminent reconstruction costs and catching the
drainage structures, retaining structures, pavement structure train of sustainable development, there should be appropriate
and road furniture. The cost of acquisition depends on choice Road Asset Management Policy and legal provisions for
of design and available resources. This article briefly introduces institutionalization of RAMS. Secondly, the quality management
the Road Asset Management System, its important components and assurance in Road Projects is must. If the quality of design,
and its present status in Nepal. construction and maintenance are up to the mark, the acquired
road asset is easier to manage and maintain until the design life
8.2 Approaches to Road Asset Valuation
span or beyond.
There are basically two approaches on Road Asset Valuation i.e.,
Depreciated book value method and Replacement cost method. 8.5 Components of RAMS
The first method considers the original asset cost reducing it
The several components of RAMS are presented as follows:
by the value that is depreciated over the economic life of the
asset. The latter one considers the estimated cost to replace the 1. Road Asset Inventory System
asset with one that meets current codes and standards. In 2000 The details of road elements such as spatial location, dimensions,
AD, the Road Asset value of Nepal was estimated to be around age of maintenance or acquisition, material types or qualities etc.
NRs. 85 billion (source: www.rbn.org.np). Currently, the total
are recorded. The latest technology using GIS software, GPS
road length of national highways is 11,178 kms. This excludes
technologies, mobile applications etc. are used for efficiency
planned and underconstruction highway of around 3,000 kms.
in data management. The continuous updating system makes
Around 7,000 kms or more than 60% of it is blacktopped. More
the inventory system really effective and useful. The user-
than 1,000 kms or around 10% of total road length is gravel
standard and remaining 3,178 kms or around 30% is earthen. friendly web based information system with GIS interface that
(Source: http://ssrn.aviyaan.com/road_network) is accessible to concerned planners and policy makers helps in
qualitative and informed decision making.

20
2. Condition Monitoring System purposes. The international best practices could be followed
for institutionalizing the system for timely maintenance. This
This involves the periodic monitoring of health of road asset
is one of the most important components of RAMS since the
elements. The data history regarding condition or health of road
effectiveness of the whole system is realized if implementation
elements are useful for planning right treatment options. It is
is sound and effective.
also useful for performance rating and modeling. The condition
monitoring of roads could be done in several ways. The road
pavement condition could be monitored by visual inspection for 7. Climate resiliency, Risk analysis
SDI or with the help of modern equipment for measurement The effective road asset management will require the provisions
of IRI or Pavement Distress Index (PDI), advanced equipment for ability to rebound from the impacts of natural disasters. The
like Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) for pavement probable associated risks such as slope instability and probability
evaluation etc. The other road elements could be monitored of failures, flooding etc. need to be assessed and analyzed well
by visual inspection or using technological tools like drones, along the road. The disaster preparedness is needed in order to
mobile applications, leveling equipment for measuring levels, respond quickly after the disaster and recover quickly.
sensors for measuring vibrations of structures, bridge inspection
vehicles for bridge monitoring etc. 8. Monitoring & Evaluation
This is the inseparable part of RAMS where the implementation
3. Performance Modeling process is closely monitored either live participation in the field
Performance modeling is done for nothing but to project or with the help of advanced information systems. At the end of
or forecast the condition or health of road elements in due implementation, the overall process is evaluated to find out the
course of time utilizing the historic data of the same. It utilizes outcome or impact of implementation. This helps to measure
mathematical tools such as polynomial equations of favorable the overall effectiveness of the system.
degrees in order to project the performance of road elements.
9. Road Users Satisfaction Survey, GRM etc.
4. Economic Models It is the responsibility of government road agency to satisfy the
road users. Road users are the ones who collectively put their
Economic models are required for valuation of road assets
contributions for investment in road infrastructure through the
or estimation of cost of road maintenance and reconstruction government. Road users deserve to demand the level of service
or rehabilitation. The use of software like the HDM- series is they desire to experience. The road users’ satisfaction survey
common by transportation economists. could be done in multiple ways using live primary surveying
or with the use of social media or online Grievance Redress
5. Road Maintenance Planning Mechanism or use of mobile applications etc.
This involves the prioritization of road sections for maintenance
or repair or rehabilitation. This also involves the allocation 8.6 Road Maintenance cost
of available budget after rational prioritization. The rational The road maintenance activities are categorized into Routine,
prioritization is done with the help of data and information Recurrent, Periodic, Specific and Emergency maintenance.
available from inventory system, condition monitoring system Rehabilitation or Reconstruction are opted if the maintenance
and performance modeling. The quality of prioritization activities are not enough to manage the road operation. The cost
decision is the function of quality of data acquired in above of these road maintenance activities are presented in table 8.1
mentioned systems. below. These figures are average figures of actual expenditure
by DoR in recent fiscal years.
6. Institution for timely maintenance or quick response
S.No Type of Approximate Remarks
The Pavement deterioration curve (Fig 8.1) implies that ‘Stitch in Maintenance Cost, NRs.
time saves NINE”. The relevant research publications highlight (per km per year)
that the timely maintenance of road could result in savings 1 Routine 1 lakhs 2 lane
up to 20 times. Realizing the importance of quick response 2 Recurrent 2 lakhs 2 lane
and timely maintenance, the procurement system needs to be
3 Periodic 6 lakhs Nrs. 36 lakhs in
specific with quicker processes than the one for asset building every 6 years
4 Specific Variable, ~ 1 lakhs Specific locations
5 Emergency 20 thousands
Total ~ 10 lakhs
# Construction Cost approximately NRs. 50 – 60 million/
km for 2 lane hill road
Table 8.1: Road Maintenance cost

Assuming the road design life of 15 years, the total maintenance

cost will be NRs. 15 million in 15 years constituting around
30% of construction cost. If maintenance options are ignored,
the same road may have to be re-constructed at least thrice in 15
years incurring more than Nrs. 150 to 180 million. Moreover, the
additional vehicle operation cost at the time of no maintenance
could be 11 to 22 times more than the unit cost expended on
Fig.8.1 Pavement Deterioration curve (source: internet)
road maintenance. (Source: Robinson and Roberts, 1982)
21
8.7 Road Maintenance Vs. Road Repair (IRI) is measured using bump integrators though IRI data are
Road Maintenance and Road Repair (Table 8.2) are often not utilized for planning or prioritization purposes. The road
misunderstood as similar things. However, they carry quite register consisting of road link information such as road link
different meanings. length, road width and age of construction or surfacing etc. are
updated every year in the ARMP software. This is the important
component i.e., Road Maintenance Planning. The modern Road
S.N. Road Maintenance Road Repair
Inventory Management System (RIMS) with GIS interface
1 Road Maintenance are Road repairs are is recently developed by Planning Branch, MIS unit, DOR.
routine activities meant restoration works
However, some technical issues associated with it demand for
to prevent damages and when road gets broken,
prolong the life of road damaged or stops its further upgradation or reconstruction. Owing to the technical
infrastructure. performing desired level issues, it hasn’t been yet linked to the maintenance planning. The
of service. road register and traffic volume survey are parts of a minimum
2 Maintenance is about Road Repair is about ‘Road Inventory System’. The SDI and IRI measurements are
making sure repair never minimizing damages parts of ‘Condition Monitoring’. The rating of road links on
needs to happen. and returning everything the basis of this data is kind of ‘Performance Rating’. The unit
to normal. rates are calculated and entered by individual division offices.
3 For example, clearing For example, Major The need for maintenance volume is identified by field survey
drain and culverts, crack Pothole repairs along and approved norms. Thus the total cost estimate is calculated
sealing, wearing course with replacement of base which is part of a simple ‘Economic Model’. The IARMP
patchworks, slurry seal, course, rehabilitation of presents the total highway maintenance budget demand for next
resealing etc. sections etc. fiscal year. RBN approves Integrated Annual Program (IAP)
Table 8.2: Difference between Road Maintenance and Road Repair and allocates the budget to DoR. The maintenance intervention
works are implemented by Road Division offices throughout the
8.8 Road Asset Management Philosophy country who are responsible for ‘timely maintenance or quick
response’. The Heavy Equipment Divisions (HED) provide
For economic sustainability, the Road Asset Management cost
heavy equipments to Road Division offices for emergency
should be covered well by the savings in vehicle operation cost
maintenance works. The Road Division offices urgently perform
raised due to Road Asset Management and maintenance works.
minor construction works by departmental or direct contracting
RAM cost << (VOC1 - VOC2)
in emergency situations that could be called as a minimum effort
where, VOC1 = Vehicle Operating Cost (VOC) without road
towards Climate resiliency. The ‘Monitoring and Evaluation’
maintenance works
are done by Superintending Engineers of Federal Highway
VOC2 = VOC after road maintenance works
Supervision and Monitoring offices and RBN. There are online
GRM provisions and RBN has developed Mero Sadak app for
8.9 Status of RAMS in Nepal
addressing road users’ grievances. Thus it could be inferred
The above sections already mentioned the different components that the minimum concept of RAMS is being followed by DoR
of RAMS. This section presents how Nepal is managing its but that needs to be upgraded in order to preserve road asset,
highway asset referring to those components. The components maximize service value of road asset and improve service
of RAMS are italicized in the following paragraph. delivery.

In order to arrange and allocate funds for road maintenance, Although DoR is following minimum concepts of RAMS, the
Roads Board Nepal (RBN) was established in 2059 BS implementation part has been evaluated to be weaker in terms
followed by the enactment of Roads Board Act 2058 BS. of both quality and quantity. There are issues reported regarding
As per clause 14 of RBN act 2058, DoR has been preparing quality of materials and quality of workmanship that could
Integrated Annual Road Maintenance Plan (IARMP) every be discussed in separate heading. The scenario of quantity is
year and RBN has been approving it to allocate maintenance presented as follows. In the past 20 years, the scarcity of
budget with respect to available funds. IARMP is nothing but resources has led to low allocation of highway maintenance
the integration of Annual Road Maintenance Plan (ARMP) budget i.e., less than 40 percent of the yearly demand. The
of highways (previously SRN) prepared by road division picture of demand vs allocation of maintenance budget including
offices. They refer to approved norms for estimating probable rehabilitation in past five years is presented in Fig. 8.2 below.
cost for Routine and Recurrent Maintenance. The periodic As presented in fig. 8.2, the allocation in past 5 years were 30%,
maintenance need is rationally identified with the help of traffic 33%, 34%, 32% and 44% respectively. The total allocation was
volume date, age of surfacing, Surface Distress Index (SDI) 34% of total demand summed up in the past 5 years.
and specific requirements. The International Roughness Index

22
 Fig. 8.2 : Scenario of demand and allocation of highway maintenance (including rehab) budget in past five years

The total figure of last five years is also presented because of several years and the allocation lag was confined to demands in
the fact that the road maintenance liability is function of time periodic, specific maintenance and rehabilitation. It should also
and the maintenance backlog has been a serious issue in Nepal be noted that the expenditure in last two fiscal years was further
needing urgent intervention. lowered due to COVID-19 pandemic.

The absorption capacity hasn’t been exciting either. The 8.10 Conclusion and Way Forward
scenario of allocation and expenditure of highway maintenance
In brief, RAMS is needed for maximizing financial and service
budget in the past five years is presented in the table below. The
value of Road Asset. The main objective of RAMS is just not
average figure of five years is shown deliberately instead of the
to protect Road Asset by repairing and rehabilitating it but to
total figure owing to the fact that the budget was not freezed and
emphasize on maintaining it so that the road would sustain
the liability was transferred to the next fiscal year.
until the end of design service life. Although a minimum
concept of RAMS is followed for planning and implementing
Maintenance highway maintenance works, we haven’t been successful in
Absorption
S.No. Fiscal Year Budget Allocation, Expenditure, NRs.
capacity, % establishing fully effective RAMS in Nepal yet. The reasons
NRs. could be greater focus on road asset building, little awareness
1 73-74 (2016/17) 7,427,898,267.00 4,278,929,614.00 57.60 regarding significance of maintenance, legal inadequacies,
allocation deficit, cumulative maintenance backlog, low
2 74-75 (2017/18) 4,986,163,710.00 3,465,769,049.00 69.50 absorption capacity, overloading of traffic, enforcement issues
etc. In a developing country like Nepal, where demand for
3 75-76 (2018/19) 4,731,104,145.00 3,357,922,702.00 70.97 asset building is astronomically higher than the capacity, the
establishment of robust RAMS and quick response mechanism
4 76-77 (2019/20) 6,751,875,080.00 3,504,522,491.00 51.90 is necessary in order to preserve expensive Road Asset, reduce
5 77-78 (2020/21) 13,444,669,000.00 6,687,655,215.00 49.74 cost of vehicle operation and service delivery, save financial
resources for further asset building and ensure sustainable
Average 7,468,342,040.40 4,258,959,814.20 57.02 development. The political, administrative and social awareness
is needed to establish a robust RAMS and strong commitment
Table 8.3 : Budget allocation and actual expenditure for institutionalizing it is needed to implement it.

Considering the average absorption capacity (Table 8.3) of 57% References:

and average allocation of 34% with respect to demand, the actual
highway maintenance intervention is calculated to be 19.4% 1. Managing Infrastructure Asset for Sustainable
[hint: 57% of 34% of demand] with respect to demand presented Development, UNDESA & UNCDF, 2021
in Integrated Annual Road Maintenance Program (IARMP) for 2. Department of Roads, Nepal, www.dor.gov.np
highways. It should be noted that the allocation for routine and
3. Roads Board Nepal, www.rbn.gov.np
recurrent maintenance has been 100% of the demand for past

23
9. Seismic Retrofitting of Babar Mahal (DoR existing building. To evaluate the strength of existing building
Building) elements, NDT, foundation exploration has been done.
Dr. Purushotam Dangol (ERTech) 9.2 Contract Details:
Er. Suraj Malla (ERTech)
(Consultant:A not & ERTech Consultancy Pvt. Ltd. JV) Employer : Central Level Project
Implementation Unit -
Department of Urban
9.1 Introduction: Development and Building
Babar Mahal is one of the many historical buildings that were Construction (CLPIU-
hit by Gorkha Earthquake 2015. Babar Mahal (Fig. 9.1) used to DUDBC)
be one of the Rana palaces in Kathmandu. Building is located Construction Company : Samanantar Nirman Sewa
north of Bagmati river incorporated in an impressive and Pvt. Ltd.
vast array of courtyards and gardens. Palace was under Junga Consulting company : A not & ERTech Consultancy
Bahadur Rana’s Thapathali Durbar but later was separated Pvt. Ltd. JV
and rebuilt in Neo-classical style by Chandra Shumsher Junga Contract Amount : NRs. 86,02,52,754.36 without
Bahadur Rana in BS 1966/1967 and gifted to Babar Shamsher VAT
Junga Bahadur Rana, since then palace was named after him as
Contract Date : 2076-03-25 (July 10 , 2019)
Babar Mahal. Average floor height of 3 storey Babar Mahal is
3.7 m. It occupies 5 courtyards and 113.26 m x 85.27 m of area. Contract Period : 24 months
After the fall of Rana regime, Babar Mahal was occupied and Extended Date of Completion : 2079-06-30
owned by Babar Shamsher Junga Bahadur Rana but later he sold
it to the Government of Nepal. Before the April 2015 Gorkha 9.3 Damage Assessment:
earthquake, Department of Roads, Office of Auditor General of Structure of Babar Mahal was built in Neo-classic style,
Nepal and Nepal Oil Corporation occupied the palace. constructed as brick masonry in mud mortar. Building has 5
courtyards within the premises of Babar Mahal. Complex was
An expert engineer team visited the building site in order to divided into 5 different blocks for damage assessment purposes
make a seismic conditional assessment and retrofit design of the (Fig. 9.2).

Fig. 9.1: Babar Mahal Complex before Earthquake (b) South elevation
(a) West elevation

Fig. 9.2 : (a) Block separation (b) Google image

24
During the site visit after earthquake (Gorkha Earthquake 2015),
various damages were observed such as diagonal cracks in wall,
deterioration of timbers, damage in masonry arch, diagonal and
horizontal cracks, crushing and separation of masonry units etc
shown in fig. 9.3.

Fig. 9. 5 : Typical Analytical model (a) Block A (b) Block C

9.6 Verification of the Analysis and Structural Adequacy:

Fig. 9.3: Typical damage observed: (a) Masonry unit separation, (b) The results of the computer model showed that the existing
Diagonal Cracks of masonry unit.(c) Timber cracks structure was adequate in almost all places for gravity loads
but was highly inadequate to take the code specified lateral
9.4 Non-destructive test (NDT):Non-destructive test (NDT) seismic forces. In some areas, the overstress ratio exceeded the
was perform at the building such as: permissible value. Hence, different retrofitting techniques are
adopted for retrofitting the buildings with separation of blocks
1. In-situ Shear Strength Test introducing the seismic gaps.
2. In-Situ Compressive Strength Test (Single flat jack Test)
3. Pocket Penetrometer Test
9.7 Seismic Retrofit Technique:
4. Compressive Strength Test of Brick
5. Foundation Exploration Basic techniques adopted for retrofitting are listed below.
6. Timber Test (Resistograph) 9.7.1 Introducing Rigid Diaphragm Action of floor:
For improved seismic performance, a rigid diaphragm was
From the test minimum value obtained for masonry are 0.08 required to be put in place at both the floor levels. The diaphragm
MPa (shear strength), 3.39 MPa (Compressive strength). action was proposed to be developed by means of introducing
Mortar compressive strength from pocket penetrometer test diagonal bracing and anchoring to masonry wall by steel angles
was determined to be 1.37 MPa. Brick strength was determined on the underside of the floor level (Fig. 9.6). The brace elements
to be 7.5 MPa from brick test. Timber test was performed to were connected to the steel joists for lateral support.
determine data of the existing timber as shown in fig. 9.4.
9.7.2 Strengthening of Arches
The arches suffered three types of failures: dislocation
of keystone, severe cracking of arches and movement of
supports. Two retrofit details for arch strengthening have been
recommended based on the type of damage. Where there is
movement of support and the arches are internal, a stainless
steel tie with a turnbuckle is proposed. Glass fibre wrapping
is used for strengthening the arch and jack arch floor (Fig. 9.6)

Fig. 9.4 : Typical NDT performed (a) In-situ Shear test, (b) In-situ compressive
test, (c) Pocket penetrometer test, (d) Brick compressive strength test

9.5 Structural Analytical model:

Three dimensional solid models were created for walls and line
element for timber section and shell element for slab using SAP
2000 to represent structure’s spatial distribution of the mass and
stiffness. Default sign convention of local axis for solid element
was accepted as in SAP 2000 for design purpose as shown in
fig. 9.5. Fig. 9.6 : Jack Arch Strengthening with glass fiber
25
9.7.3 Carbon laminate & Glass fibre: through finite element modeling. Study was done in two stages:
Improves structure integrity by providing horizontal seismic i) Damage assessment was carried out to determine damage in
bands on outer side of wall at lintel, sill, in between lintel and every structure element, ii) Analytical assessment after Non-
sill, springing levels etc with Glass fiber polymer sheet with destructive test (NDT) to determine material properties required
carbon laminate (Fig 9.7). for numerical analysis. The significant damage was observed

Fig. 9.7 : Outside wall Strengthening with Carbon Laminate and fiber

9.7.4 Steel Jacketing:

Improves out-of-plane, shear and In-plane flexural ductility in Babar Mahal due to earthquake event that occurred at April
with vertical /horizontal steel plate jacketing are used and wall 25, 2015, and following aftershocks. Observed damages are
and floor are connected by MS angle (Fig. 9.8) compared with numerical simulation results and the different
repair, retrofitting techniques were adopted with justification
9.7.5 Conclusion
from finite element model. Strengthening of foundation is done
This study presents the results of detailed damage assessment by introducing micro piling.
and retrofit techniques adopted for Babar Mahal analyzed

Fig. 9.8 : Inside wall Strengthening with Steel Jacketing inside wall & MS Angle for connection (a) Block A (b) Block C

10 Ready Made Premix (RMP): “A Rapid AD, a team of Road Division Bharatpur lead by author of this
Response Solution for Pot-hole Repair” critical started to produce, store and apply Ready Made Premix
– Krishna Raj Adhikari, SDE, Bridge Branch as a Rapid Response solution for pothole repair (Fig. 10.1).
This is a simple, effective, durable and time saving technique
The major role of the Department of Roads (DoR) is to deliver for road surface pothole and patch repair technique.
service through highway maintenance. There are many types of
maintenance activities on road surface according to the scope
and extent of defects. Among them, recurrent maintenance has 10.1 Benefits
high significance in order to keep roads free of potholes and ● Easy to warm and mix asphalt and aggregates
patches. In current practice, DoR with maintenance divisions
● Packed mix can be stored for long time (upto six months)
and projects are using Hot Mix Premix, Hot mixed Asphalt,
EAM (Emulsion Aggregate Mix) for pot hole repair and patch ● Locally available materials for road works
works. DoR also introduced a cold mixed patch almost 10 years ● Rapid Response solution for patch hole repair
ago, namely “Patch Master”. Considering the importance of
cold patch, DoR, Maintenance Branch, Roads Board Nepal ● Effective for small scale recurrent maintenance
and Road Division Bharatpur and experts agreed for initiating ● Early repair of potholes stops propagation and saves cost of
production of Ready-Made Premix and perform trials. In 2019 future maintenance

26
 ● Weighing machine upto 100 kg capacity
● Hand hammer (Dhurmus)/ Rand Roller (Optional)

10.4 Preparation /Production

● Heating MC 800 to temperature 70°c to 95°c add anti
stripping if necessary
● Drying aggregate 25°c to 65°c
● Mixing Aggregates and bitumen MC 800 well in drum
mixture. Conventional hot mix plant is also useful.
● Assure uniform coating of bitumen around aggregates.
Fig. 10.1 : Management group of Bharat Division
Approximately 100 to 110 bags (40 kg each) Ready made
Premix Can be produced with a 200 litre (one drum) of MC
10.2 Materials (Fig. 10.2) 800 bitumen. Refer Norms for Rate analysis.
● Surface Dry Chips / Aggregates ● Packing in laminated bag when the temperature of mixture
downs below 40°c.
● Medium Cutback Bitumen (MC 800)
● Fill the bag with mix and weight in weighing machine
● Anti-Stripping agent (optional)
(40 kg)
● Plastic Laminated bags / Plastic-Lined Sturdy Bags of
● Sealing it properly, marking batch, date and weight in each
capacity 40 to 50 kg
package.
● Storing or stockpiling in cool, dry and open place and
Sieve Size, mm Percent Passing keeping records.

9.5 100 ● Arranging necessary fire control accessories (eg. fire

extinguisher) in the premises of production and place of
4.75 40-100 store.

2.36 10-40

1.18 0-10

0.075 0-2

Fig. 10.2 : Material storage at plant

10.3 Tools and Equipment

● Asphalt mixture or warm mix set of bitumen and chips
below 100°c
● Temperature reading device (Fig. 10.3)
● Safety gears (Gloves, Helmet, PPE, Mask, boots for worker
and Supervisor)
● Fire safety Extinguisher
● Wire brush, road brush, air blower Fig. 10.3 : Testing at Site
27
10.5 Method of application (Fig. 10.4 and Fig. 10.5) ● Leveling the mix properly and compacting with hand
hammer (dhurmus) or use hand roller. In some cases
● Collecting data and location information of pothole site
supervision vehicle over it.
e.g. Nos., sizes, depth of pothole.
● Sprinkle some sand on the compacted patch so that traffic
● Transport to site (supervision vehicle itself can be used
bitumen of mix do not stick in tyre. [or spread plant leaves
for small amount of repair work). Supervisor and Length
on the patch to achieve the same purpose.]
worker of concerning road section can be mobilized)
● Open for traffic
● Cleaning pothole with road brushes, wire brushes or air
blower and making pothole dry. ● Keep records.
● laying RMP in moisture-free pot hole from bag as per The packed and properly stored RMP (Ready-made Premix)
requirements and size of pothole. (no need of tack coat) can be used within six months of production.

Fig. 10.4 : Photographs of materials preparation at site and laying

Fig. 10.5 : Photographs of materials laying at site

28
11. Accelerating Transport and Trade Connectivity Subcomponent 2(b) – Detailed design, construction, and
in Eastern South Asia (ACCESS) –Nepal Phase 1 construction supervision of a green resilient urban bridge,
Development Cooperation Implementation including the construction of a green climate-resilient
Division (DCID) four-lane bridge (on the EWH) and regeneration of its
surrounding urban environment through green, climate-
11.1 Introduction resilient, and inclusive urban design (to support low-carbon
urban development, enhanced mobility of non-motorized
The Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport,
transport, and enhance the economic potential of the area).
Department of Roads has received financing from the World
Bank, International Development Association (IDA) toward The urban bridge will be built in one of the major urban
the cost of the Accelerating Transport and Trade Connectivity locations identified and approved by the MoPIT under the
in Eastern South Asia (ACCESS) –Nepal Phase 1 (P177902), ongoing bridges program (BIMP-II) along the EWH. Its
to increase the efficiency and resilience of trade and transport location will be finalized based on ongoing pre-feasibility
along selected corridors in Nepal. The Project comprises four studies being conducted on the existing two-lane bridges
components: (1) Digital Systems for Trade; (2) Green and in Butwal and Bharatpur, which are today—in the absence
Resilient Transport and Trade Infrastructure; (3) Institutional of adequate urban development planning—not only a
and Policy Strengthening for Transport and Trade; and (4) bottleneck for trade, but also vulnerable to disasters and
Contingency Emergency Response. climate change, subject to environmental degradation of
riverbanks and watersheds, and unsafe for its users and
The total project cost is US$ 305 million of which US$ 275 nearby communities. Both urban areas are fast-growing
million will be IDA credit and the balance to be financed by the metropolises and important commercial hubs with potential
Government of Nepal (GoN). for tourism and enhanced local economic activity.

11.2 Components of the Project Subcomponent 2(c) – Development and implementation

of a green resilient highway corridor concept and strategy
The ACCESS MPA Phase 1 have mainly four components; they to support the development, approval, and implementation
are of an integrated strategy (and action plan for priority civil
Component 1: Digital Systems for Trade (US$ 6.15 million; works) that balances equitable transportation functionality,
IDA financing of US$ 4.1 million) will support the adoption and climate resilience and sustainability of the highway
implementation of IT-enabled services for trade. corridor at the landscape level

Component 3: Institutional and Policy Strengthening for

Component 2: Green and Resilient Transport and Trade
Transport and Trade (US$ 13 million; IDA financing of
Infrastructure (US$ 285.85 million; IDA financing of
US$ 9.75 million) will support the strengthening of policies,
US$ 261.15 million) will support the development of green,
institutions, and technical capacities
climate-resilient, and inclusive transport and trade-enabling
infrastructure along Nepal’s primary trade corridor connecting Component 4: Contingency Emergency Response (Estimated
Nepal with Bangladesh, India, and Bhutan, namely, the East- Cost US$ 0 million; IDA financing of US$ 0 million). This
West Highway (EWH). component will provide immediate response to an eligible
crisis or emergency, as needed. In the event of an eligible crisis
The project under Department of Roads (DoR) will include the or emergency, the World Bank to re-allocate project funds to
following sub-components: support emergency response and recovery.
Subcomponent 2(a) – Upgrading works and construction
supervision for the Butwal—Gorusinghe— Chandrauta 11.3 Project Status and Activity for FY 079/80
(BGC) road section (69 kilometers) from a two-lane
The negotiation between GoN and WB regarding financing
single carriageway to a climate-resilient four-lane dual
agreement for this project took place in 20 May 2022 at World
carriageway with new market areas, and including safety
Bank Kathmandu Office and Financing Agreement will take
features such as service lanes for lower speed vehicles along
place very soon. The period of this project will be for 7 years.
the road section running through dense urban settlements,
The current status of the project and the activities for this fiscal
rural and forest zones (to significantly improve road safety,
year 079/80 will be as follows;
promote the use of non-motorized transport, and protect
wildlife where needed).

29
 S.N. Components/Sub -Activity Current Situation FY 079/80 Activities

2 Green and Resilient Transport and Trade Infrastructure

2a Butwal — Gorusinghe — Chandrauta The detailed design of Butwal - Gorusinghe section (50Km)
(BGC) road section (69 kilometers) is currently being done by DoR ADB Project Directorate and
Draft Design will be completed by September 2022.
Supervision Consultant ToR is under Preparation Hiring process completed
Selection of Contractors for Improvement Selection of contractor will
in 3 packages be completed
2b Detailed design, construction, and con- Preliminary concept and bridge Feasibility study including
struction supervision of a green resilient type selection done by World preliminary design will be
urban bridge Bank Technical Team completed

Table 11.1: Project status

12. Short Term Restoration of Traffic through

Bhapsi Bridge, Bardibas along EW-Highway.
Er. Sanjay Mishra, SDE, DRO Janakpur.

12.1 Introduction:
Bhapsi Bridge is located on the East-West highway (EWH)
which is the backbone of the national transportation system
of the country. The google coordinate of the Bhapsi Bridge is
26°59'36.68"N, 85°52'57.51"E. Most of the bridges constructed
under USSR support during EWH construction in 1974 AD,
have served the nation since then. At that time more than
60 bridges were constructed with precast concrete sections
(Fig. 12.1). In 2017, Ratu Bridge at E-W highway lying around
2 kms east of Bardibas was damaged due to flooding of a similar
situation. The flood event that occurred in June 2019 washed Fig. 12.2: Bridge after collapse
away two middle spans of Bhapsi Bridge (Fig. 12.2) forcing
people to travel through a 40Km longer alternative of lower The bridge flooded at mid-night causing disruption of highway
standard road. The area is characterized as a flash flood zone service & a number of vehicles were stuck without possibility to
in the rainy season. Hence bridge restoration was targeted to move ahead. A team of DRO engineers inspected the situation
finalize before the rainy season. and visited the site early in the morning, trying to diagnose the
causes and find out immediate alternative options. The waterway
was blocked by transported trees from upstream forest areas
cut on the north-west side promoting excessive scouring of the
middle pier foundation. Immediately after, the technical team
decided to put a Modular Panel Bridge (Fig. 12.3) for traffic
movement. An experienced team was assigned for the task and
the bridge element was brought from emergency stock kept at
DRO Lahan. Finally, the network was restored in a week with
load restriction.

The next level problem began when the modular bridge members
were showing signs of crack and frequent pullout of the nut-
bolts and bracing members. DRO team at that time considered
the case as usual and tightened the bolts of loose member’s
number of times and replaced the minor bracing members. It
Fig. 12.1: Bridge Before collapse was operated in a similar situation till the end of April 2021.
30
 12.3 Construction of new bridge
There were heavy traffic jams during peak hours even after
the installation of a modular bridge and there were frequent
complaints by engineering colleagues and VIP’s traveling
through the bridge regarding reduction in LoS at the national
highway. Province Ministers, DAO, Bardibas Municipality &
DIG office requested to resolve the issue as soon as possible
for security response issue. After instruction from DG DoR,
different options were explored & found it rational to prepare
for new bridge construction. The option of one bridge and two
bridges on either side of the median was discussed in a team.
The constraints were, for that it needs to shift the existing
modular bridge on one side having worthless expense till the
time required to rebuild the bridge i.e., about 2 years. This was
Fig. 12.3: Installed Bailey Bridge after old bridge collapse
the most economic current scenario adopted with compromise
to LoS and load restriction over the bridge. Relocation of the
12.2 Re Diagnosis and Treatment for modular bridge diversion could be included in the new bridge construction
In the beginning of Jan 2021, it was reported that there was a contract.
crack in the bottom chord of the middle modular panel at four
corners around quarter span & was immediately repaired again. The old bridge was constructed with precast sections. The deck
The problem repeated with major cracks on one side and crack of the old bridge had inverted C-Sections. It was good to be
progressed on 3 of 4 corners before the field verification. It was reused with some strengthening techniques like Jacketing or
finally decided to weld the breakage with gusset plates. After using Carbon Fiber or Grouting for exposed reinforcement
detailed examination, the problem was identified to repeat due and minor cracks (Fig.12.4). In fact, there are similar old
to overloaded trucks, especially when they applied brakes on the sections of Barhadi bridge at Dhalkebar camp. The problem
middle span of the bridge. Since the modular bridge was rested was with piers. One new pier was required and others were bent
at caps placed at a certain distance from the damaged edge, the enough requiring proper jacketing to restore its situation. The
bridge deflection was restrained at quarter span by Kerb stones major concern of this option was the possibility of short time
of remaining existing parts. There was a heavy impact on the restoration.
edge of the quarter span. The modular bridge should have been
raised enough to allow deflection. The bottom member of the Serious consultation was carried out with bridge design
middle panel was resting directly on the kerb of the old bridge, consultants, bridge branch team and FRSMO seniors regarding
causing severe repeated impact to break the members. After reuse possibility and foundation issue for immediate economical
understanding the failure mechanism, there were three options solution. The precast members were not suggested being aged
i.e. dismantling remaining old span, raising the entire bridge and having cracks on it. Else if the selected similar sections of
or removal of parts at point of impact to allow deflection. The Barhadi Bridge stored at Dhalkebar camp was recommended to
members were jacked with a hydraulic jack and dismantled use as a replacement of sections requiring major strengthening
all side Kerb blocks touching the bottom chord. Later on the techniques if adopted.The bridge foundation in BMS were Pile
impact sound diminished totally and was finished by tightening but at in-situ situation it was open foundation with nominal
nut-bolts, welding broken members and correction of approach foundation depth. It was the major cause of foundation scouring
to reduce impact. It was observed for a month, the belly bridge during the flood. After discussion in the team it was decided
was performing well and no additional symptoms appeared. to provide an open foundation below calculated scouring depth

Fig.12.4: Some exercise for use of existing precast members and strengthening by Jacketing.

31
with minimum embedment for economy. After exploring all Number of Span :4
information it was recommended to use Standard Drawing of Type of Superstructure : RCC Symply supported
15m intermediate lane as a deck, construction of new piers
Estimated Amount : NRs. 3,99,14,345.95 (Incl. PS & VAT)
with nominal reinforcement details and existing abutment.
Also allowed to use special provisions in the bidding process to Contractor : M/S Sugam Nirman Sewa Pvt. Ltd.,
attract the possible capable bidders with competency to finish Mahendranagar, Dhanusha.
before next flood season. Before actual bidding,the following Contract Amount : NRs. 2,57,85,233.88 (Incl. PS &
exercises were carried out: VAT with VO-1)
Start Date : 2077/07/11
● Exercised in team, shortest possible crash period for the Traffic Open Date for New Bridge : 2078/02/15
project.
● Invited all possible competent and local bidders for open
12.5 Construction Management & Site Issue:
discussion about possibility of completion in this duration.
They were also notified about non-financial consideration The Contractor, set up his camp, managed diversion,
due to crash project duration. disassembled modular bridge, dismantled the old concrete
● Their response was positive, so requested them to not bid elements other than abutment and formally initiated the actual
if they can’t make it happen and spread the information work by the end of Jan 2022. While excavating for foundation,
among the contractor community. no piles were found as indicated in BMS drawing. Also the
● The strict provision was proposed in the bidding document: open foundation was laid just 2.5m below the low bed level.
‘If the contractor wouldn’t complete it before next rainy The abutment was protected by inserting a series of pipes. All
season, they shall re-install the modular bridge at their own three pier foundations were cast in sequence. The contractor
cost’. They were informed about the relocation cost of the brought his own set of equipment, and had good contacts for
modular bridge. RMC concrete. By the mid of Falgun, all piers were completed
● The cost of the project was estimated assuming the normal and abutments were strengthened. Unfortunately, it took a long
construction duration of 2 years. It had been explored that time to allocate a budget. The completed bridge is shown in
it was possible to finish it by next 8 months by rearranging Fig. 12.5.
the parallel activities but did not consider the associated
cost due to lack of proper norms. 12.6 Conclusion
DRO-Janakpur team adds confidence of appraisal from
multispectral well-wisher on success of project within timeline.
12.4 Project Details
Our special appreciation goes for direction on conception
Name of Work : Maintenance of Flood Collapsed and convenience on success to, Director General, Er. Arjun
Bhapsi Bridge along EW Jung Thapa. We should not forget to appraise Mr. Shyam Sah,
Highway, Ch. : 268+270. representing Sugam Nirman Sewa Pvt. Ltd. Many more people
from upper agency and lateral professionals were supporting the
Location : Bardibas, Mahottari. day to day quarry. Lastly, it is learnt that when there is such
Span of the Bridge : 12.50m a schedule crash on a project, must important is budgetary
Length of the Bridge : 50m assurance.

Fig. 12.5: Completed bridge

32
13. Photographs of some major works in FY 2078/79

Completed Rani Nahar-Biratnagar Section (Km 3 to 6)

Karnali River Bridge, Chipleghat, Surkhet

Karnali River Bridge, Kachalighat, Kuine, Surkhet

33
Bheri River Bridge, Khusineghat, Surkhet

Kandra Khola Bridge, Kailali

Sunkoshi River Bridge, Foxingtar

34
Debris flow on Narayanghat-Muglin Road at Mauri Khola Bridge

35
Steel-Wire-Rope-Cable-Barrier (Flexible-Guard-Rails-System) in Narayanghat-Mungling Road

Advisory Board
Chief Advisor : Arjun Jung Thapa, DG
Advisors : Bhimarjun Adhikari, DDG
: Umesh Bindu Shrestha, DDG
: Ram Hari Pokharel, DDG
: Bhuwan Adhikari, DDG
: Naresh Man Shakya, DDG

Editorial Board
Chief Editor : Dr. Bijaya Jaishi, SE, FRSMO, Kathmandu
Editors : Prem Prakash Khatri, SE, FRSMO, Damak
: Laxmi Dutt Bhatta, SDE, DCID
: Sujan Adhikari, SDE, HMIS-ICT Unit
: Saurabh Bajracharya, SDE, QRDC
: Mahendra Majhi, Er., HMIS-ICT Unit

DoR Address: Department of Roads (DoR), Chakupat, Lalitpur, P.No. : 01-5529075

See you again with DoR Newsletter Vol. 30