The maintenance of Samtse-Phuentshogling highway, which began more than a month ago, is nearing completion. The maintenance is been carried out after the monsoon this year further deteriorated the road condition.
About 30 kilometres of the highway has developed multiple potholes and are in a poor condition. The Department of Roads (DoR) in Samtse deployed their workers to maintain the road. Potholes are filled up and almost all the withered stretches of the road blacktopped again.
The monsoon rains had also washed away parts of the highway, which are being restored. Some portions of the road are also being widened.
The works to maintain the road started after receiving a budget of Nu 46 M recently. Considering the swift progress, the maintenance project is expected to be complete by the end of this month.
Until now, the poor condition of the 58-kilometre highway discouraged people from using the internal route opened last year. Most commuters used the Indian highways to travel to other districts from Samtse to avoid their vehicles from getting damaged.
The highway was first blacktopped more than six years ago. However, no major maintenance was carried out in between due to budget constraint.
