Formation cutting along the nearly 3 kilometre rocky stretch on the Damchu-Chhukha bypass road is now complete. With this, the entire length of the bypass road is now connected.
However, it will require the completion of two bridges at Tanalungchhu and Jangthalumchhu for the road to open to traffic. The works at the Jangthalumchhu Bridge is almost 70 per cent complete, while at Tanalungchhu Bridge, about 60 per cent of the works still remain to be complete.
At the recent Meet the Press session, the government said the Damchu-Chhukha bypass road would be complete by June next year. A team led by the Works and Human Settlement minister visited the bypass road yesterday.
“The vehicles can now pass through this stretch,” said Phuntsho Wangdi, Secretary of the Ministry of Works and Human Settlement.
“The works such as black topping, drain and widening are left and it can be done easily. If they deploy labors, supervisors and machines as required, the work would be complete by June next year.”
He added going by the current progress, the road would be ready by June next year.
“We are just left with final dressing works such as black top and drains,” said Captain Puneet, an Engineer with Project DANTAK. “But if you look at the whole Damchu-Chhukha bypass road, it will be completed once the bridges are through. We are trying our best under the guidance of our chief engineer. We are hopeful that the bridges will be complete by June or July next year”
The construction of the Damchu-Chhukha bypass road began in March 2010. Once complete, it will shorten the distance of the Thimphu-Phuentsogling highway by over nineteen kilometers.
The bypass road project is worth over Nu 2.8bn.
