The BP Highway, which was damaged by last week’s floods, has been fully reopened from Saturday morning, according to the Division Road Office, Bhaktapur. The highway has been made operational by constructing diversions at 19 different locations.
After completing track opening and conducting test runs on Friday evening, authorities confirmed that the entire route is now open for traffic. The reopened section includes areas from Chaukidanda in Namobuddha Municipality-6 to Māmti in Roshi Rural Municipality of Kavrepalanchok District.
Senior Divisional Engineer Suman Yogesh said that diversions were built at multiple damaged sites including Chaukidanda, Katunje-Ghumaune, Charsaybesi, Gimdibesi, Narke, Chiuribas, Bokshikuna, Kaladhunga, Dalabesi, Pipley (four points), and Mamti (two points) to restore full traffic movement.
Altogether, 16 diversions were constructed in Kavrepalanchok and three in the Sindhuli section, enabling the reopening of the highway by Friday evening. In some areas, river channels were diverted to facilitate road construction.
“We tested the opened sections with a few vehicles, identified narrow or weak points, carried out improvements overnight, and were able to resume full traffic operation from Saturday morning,” Yogesh explained.
The Roshi River flood had washed away around four kilometers of road, and construction of the temporary diversions officially began on Tuesday. About two dozen machines worked day and night to complete the emergency restoration.
The floods and landslides had damaged 17 different sections of the highway. The same region had suffered similar destruction last year, leading to temporary diversions being used since then.
On Thursday, Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Kulman Ghising inspected the damaged sites and instructed officials from the Department of Roads to expedite the diversion construction to reopen the highway as soon as possible.
The BP Highway, which serves as a major shortcut route connecting Eastern Nepal with Kathmandu, handles thousands of vehicles daily. Meanwhile, the Division Road Office has also begun the contract process for permanent reconstruction of the damaged sections, divided into four packages.
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