The east-west double lane road widening works in Trongsa is set for completion before the onset of next monsoon. Officials from the Department of Roads Regional Office in Trongsa say about 60 per cent of the works are complete as of now.
The 100-kilomtetre east-west highway stretch in Trongsa starts from Chuserbu in Trongsa to Nangar in Bumthang.
Of the 14 contractors carrying out the works, only a few are behind schedule. “Especially, those working in Tshangkha, Bjeezam to Trongsa and also in Yotongla,” said Tougay Choedup, Chief Engineer of the DoR Regional Office in Trongsa. “Hopefully, they will catch up with the rest.”
The contractors too are optimistic about completing the works on time. “Last summer, we faced lots of problems due to the heavy rainfall,” said Yogita Gautam, a Project Engineer with Raven Builders Private Ltd.
“There were landslides everywhere because of which we had to re-clear everything that was finished earlier. We have completed the re-clearing works. So, now we will be laying the base course on the 15th of December and hope to finish it within two to three months, which, hopefully, will be followed by blacktopping.”
“The work results are better at this point of time,” shared Jigme Tashi of Druk Lhayul Construction Private Ltd. “During summer, no matter how hard we work, the result remains the same. It is better in winter and we are working hard and expect to complete the works as per schedule.”
Besides issues related to machinery and funding, the other factor that leads to poor performance is contractors handling five works at a time “For example, if one contractor gets three to four works, then his resources are getting stressed,” said Chief Engineer Tougay Choedup.
“The limited resources have to be shared among the projects.”
