2.3 Nepal Road Network Overview Primary Roads in Nepal Major Road Construction Projects Distance Matrix Road Security Weighbridges and Axle Load Limits Road Class and Surface Conditions Province 1 Province 2 Bagmati Province Gandaki Province Province 5 Karnali Province Sudurpashchim Province Overview Roads are the predominant mode of transport in Nepal. Road network of Nepal is categorized into the strategic road network (SRN), which comprises of highways and feeder roads, and the local road network (LRN), comprising of district roads and Urban roads. Nepal’s road network consists of about 64,500 km of roads. Of these, about 13,500 km belong to the SRN, the core network of national highways and feeder roads connecting district headquarters. (Picture : Nepal Road Standard 2070) The network density is low, at 14 kms per 100 km2 and 0.9 km per 1,000 people. 60% of the road network is concentrated in the lowland (Terai) areas. A Department of Roads (DoR’s) survey shows that 50% of the population of the hill areas still must walk two hours to reach an SRN road. Two of the 77 district headquarters, namely Humla, and Dolpa are yet to be connected to the SRN. Page 1 (Source: Sector Assessment [Summary]: Road Transport) Primary Roads in Nepal S. Rd. Name of Highway Length Node Feature Remarks N. Ref. (km) No. Start Point End Point 1 H01 Mahendra Highway 1027.67 Mechi Bridge, Jhapa Gadda chowki Border, East to West of Country Border Kanchanpur 2 H02 Tribhuvan Highway 159.66 Tribhuvan Statue, Sirsiya Bridge, Birgunj Connects biggest Customs to Capital Tripureshwor Border 3 H03 Arniko Highway 112.83 Maitighar Junction, KTM Friendship Bridge, Connects Chinese border to Capital Kodari Border 4 H04 Prithvi Highway 173.43 Naubise (TRP) Prithvi Chowk, Pokhara Connects Province 3 to Province 4 5 H05 Narayanghat - Mugling 36.16 Pulchowk, Naryanghat Mugling Naryanghat to Mugling Highway (PRM) 6 H06 Dhulikhel Sindhuli 198 Bhittamod border, Dhulikhel (ARM) 135.94 Km. completed, Major route to eastern Bhittamod Highway Jaleshwor part of Country 7 H07 Mechi Highway 268.06 Kechana Border, Taplejung Bhadrapur 8 H08 Koshi Highway 111.46 Rani Border, Biratnagar Hile 9 H09 Sagarmatha Highway 265 Kadmaha, Saptari (MRM) Solusalleri Solukhumbu 53.97 km. completed 10 H010 Siddhartha Highway 181.22 Sunauli Border Prithvi Chowk, Pokhara 11 H011 Rapti Highway 196 Ameliya, Dang (MRM) Musikot, Rukum 168.54 km Completed 12 H012 Ratna Highway 113.08 Jamuniya Border, Bangesimal, Surkhet Nepalgunj 13 H013 Karnali Highway 220 Surkhet, Bangesimal Jumla, Kalikot 113 km Completed 14 H014 Mahakali Highway 320 Mohana Bridge, Darchula 307.76 km Completed Dhangadhi Border 15 H015 Seti Highway 65.96 Syaule, Dadeldhura Samuwagad - In Safe Completed Road 16. H017 Postal Highway 1792 Kechana Kawal Dodhara Alternative road to H01, east to west in Terai, ongoing project 17. KTM-Terai Fast Track Nijgarh, Bara Khokana, Lalitpur Prioritized Mega highway project (Expressway) 18. H018 Pushpa Lal Highway 1,776 Chiyabhanjyang, Jhulalghat, Baitadi Alternative road to H01, east to west in mid- Panchthar hills, ongoing project (Source: List of Strategic Road Network – National Highway Roads) Major Road Construction Projects Kathmandu Terai/Madhesh Expressway The Expressway will be constructed by Nepali Army (NA). The Expressway consists of a dual carriageway with double lane high design speed highway. The overall 76.2 km (proposed) length stretches from Khokana (Lalitpur) to Nijgadh (Bara) interconnecting Kathmandu and Makwanpur district in between. The project has started and is planned to complete by May 2024. (Source: Fast Track Road Project) SASEC Road Connectivity Project The South Asia Sub-Regional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) Road Connectivity Project is building alternative routes between the districts of Sunsari and Saptari to create year-round passable conditions along the East West Highway, especially across the Koshi River. The project is upgrading 73 km of bypass and border roads along the East-West Highway to two lanes and improving 114 km of another strategic roadway. (Source: Nepal: South Asia Sub-regional Economic Cooperation Road Connectivity Project ) Construction of Major Highways Connecting East to West of Country Pushpa Lal (Mid Hill) Highway Project: Pushpalal Highway’s (H18) proposed length 1776 km would be the longest highway of Nepal once completed. 850 km of the 1776 km has been blacktopped. The government has aimed to accomplish the Mid-Hill Highway by the fiscal year 2022 /2023. Page 2 Madan Bhandari Inner Terai Highway: Inner Terai highway, an ongoing project once completed would extend 1200 km from east to west. The highway would run parallel to Mid Hill highway to the North and Mahendra Highway to the south. East-West Postal Highway: The East-West Postal Highway, popularly known as Hulaki Marga, connects 20 districts in the southern Terai belt. The highway extends 975 km from east to west. The project also includes another 817 kms of roads that will connect all Tarai districts. Construction work has started on the road sections in Province 2. The progress has been slow. These projects once completed would relieve pressure on Mahendra Highway by being alternative routes to traverse east to west of the country. Ministry in Charge Contact Names, Address & Email Telephone & Fax Ministry of Physical Infrastructure & Mr. Shiva Hari Sapkota, Deputy Director General /Speaker T: +977-1-5529075 Transport Department of Roads F: +977-1-5529106 Chakupat, Patan Email: [email protected] Web: https://www.dor.gov.np/home Summary of Role and Services DOR is responsible for management of motorized surface transport infrastructure i.e. road transport regarding planning, designing, construction and maintenance activities of Strategic Road Network (SRN). Thus, maintenance of roads is one of the major tasks of Department of Roads. Also, it continuously develops and expands existing SRN to improve existing access to District Headquarters. Ministry in Charge Contact Names, Address & Email Telephone & Fax Ministry of Physical Infrastructure & Ram Prasad Gauli, Info Officer/ Office Secretary T: +-977-1-4493515 Transport Roads Board Nepal F: +-977-1-4493542 N.K. Singh Marga, Minbhawan, Kathmandu Nepal Email: [email protected] Web: rbn.org.np Summary of Role and Services RBN is a self-governing, self-sustaining and organized entity based on Public-Private Partnership [PPP] model. The major function of RBN is to collect, manage and allocate fund for road maintenance to the Road Agencies. Board Requests Annual Road maintenance plan (ARMP) from Road Agencies to consolidate the report into one Integrated Annual Road maintenance plan (IARMP) to better allocate the fund. For more information on government contact details, please see the following link: 4.1 Government Contact List. Distance Matrix Distances from Capital City to Province Capitals (km) Kathmandu Hetauda Janakpur Biratnagar Bhairahawa Pokhara Birendranagar Dhangadhi 82 244 373 261 202 584 656 Kathmandu 82 165 317 194 205 516 588 Hetauda 244 165 201 449 367 678 751 Janakpur 373 317 201 508 519 803 903 BIratnagar 261 194 449 508 179 333 406 Bhairahawa 202 205 367 519 179 478 551 Pokhara 584 516 678 803 333 478 243 BIrendranagar 656 588 751 903 406 551 243 Dhangadhi Travel Time from Capital City to Province Capitals (hours) Kathmandu Hetauda Janakpur Biratnagar Bhairahawa Pokhara Birendranagar Dhangadhi Page 3 3.25 6.75 8.75 7.50 5.50 13.25 14.50 Kathmandu 3.25 3.75 6.50 4.5 5 11.25 12.50 Hetauda 6.75 3.75 4.25 10 8.50 14.75 16 Janakpur 8.75 6.50 4.25 11 11.50 17.75 18.75 BIratnagar 7.50 4.5 10 11 5.50 7.25 8.50 Bhairahawa 5.50 5 8.50 11.50 5.50 11.75 12.75 Pokhara 13.25 11.25 14.75 17.75 7.25 11.75 5.75 BIrendranagar 14.25 12.5 16 18.75 8.5 12.75 5.75 Dhangadhi Road Security The risk posed by the treacherous slope of mountains, the narrow width of the lanes, sharp corners and negligence and inexperience of drivers lead to approximately 4,622 annual traffic fatalities. Nepal’s fatality rate16 per 100K people and 400 per 100k registered vehicle is one of the highest rates in the continent and the world (WHO:2018). Road quality and frequent construction projects partially act as a control mechanism to limit speeding. Motorcycle accidents are frequent. General strikes, or Bandhs, can involve blockage and shutdown of major roads. It is advisable to avoid travel during these strikes. The link provides the live data on fatality on the roads of Nepal WHO 2018: Deaths on the Road.and Global Status Report On Road Safety 2018 Weighbridges and Axle Load Limits The Department of Transport Management (DoTM) is mandated to control vehicle overloading in Nepal. A basic policy of vehicle overloading control has been included in National Transport Policy (2002) by the Government of Nepal, Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport. However, no weighbridges are installed and operated by DoTM at present. The Federation of Truck Transport Entrepreneurs Nepal (FTTEN) is operating fifteen (15) weighbridges in major freight routes. Medium-sized trucks (seven to ten-ton payload) operate over two-lane asphalt roads at relatively low average speeds, in the range of 200 to 400 km per day. The movement of containers on the Nepal roadways is limited due to the terrain and condition of the roads. Most of the trucks used in cross-border movements are 2-3 axle (six or ten wheel) trucks carrying payloads up to 18 MT. Trucks carrying bulk cargo are generally overloaded, causing additional damage to roads. (Source: Road Transport Safety and Axle Load Control