The Kalanki Underpass of 800m is expected to be ready and come into operation within the coming 5 months, according to the project officials. The underpass is currently being built between Khasibazar and Bafal Chowk along the Ring Road in Kathmandu.
The campaign to build Kalanki Underpass solely focuses on easing the traffic congestion in the area. If you’re a daily commuter and have to go through the Kalanki area, you might know the struggle of getting stuck in Kalanki traffic jam. The road situation is chaotic almost all the time and the air pollution is unbearable. So, in order to ease all these traffic and road issues, Kalanki Underpass will somewhat be a great infrastructure in the area.
Niranjan Sharma, an Engineer at the Kathmandu Ring Road Improvement Project (KRRIP) informed that the construction works are in the final stage. He said, “The road will open to the public in mid-July. It will significantly reduce traffic jams in the area.”
The under-construction four-lane Kalanki Underpass is the part of the 10.5-km Kalanki-Koteshwor stretch along the Ring Road. There will be separate service lanes—one each for vehicles moving in each direction—on the upper deck of the underpass.
The Kalanki Underpass project was started back in 2013. However, due to the shortage of construction materials, the devastating earthquake in 2015 and Indian trade blockade that triggered an acute shortage of fuel in the country, the construction of Kalanki Underpass was disrupted.
Kalanki Chowk is the main transit point of Kathmandu Valley and as I mentioned above, the area is notorious for traffic jams. The construction of the underpass has led to more congestion along the route which has added more distresses to the daily commuters.
As per the project officials, the Chinese contractor Shanghai Construction Group is carrying out the road expansion works at a quite good pace. The officials added that over 60 percent of the works on the 10.5-km stretch has been completed. The project was originally scheduled to be completed by 2017, however, it was delayed due to the 2015 earthquake and India’s trade restriction.
With all the hard work being done for Kalanki Underpass to ease the chaotic road situation in the area, let’s hope that the underpass will be open to the public soon.
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