The remaining 55-kilometre stretch of the 155-kilometre Haa-Samtse secondary national highway will be blacktopped by early 2021. Works on the stretch, which is part of Samtse, began in October.
The stretch begins at the tri-junction of Dorokha, Samtse, and Phuentshogling. It goes all the way to Rangtse Nye in Haa district. The Nu 230 M project is carried out in four packages. Two bridges will also be constructed on the stretch.
“The main work is blacktopping. But for that, we have to lay the base course and construct drains at various points. And since this is an old road, the width is not enough so, we have to do widening and construct walls,” said Karma Dorji, the Chief Engineer for the Department of Roads (DoR) in Phuentshogling.
The DoR is yet to award realignment works worth Nu 54 M at Peepli.
“We have called for tender three times now, and yet no one came forward to take up the work. So, now our last attempt is to make a limited enquiry, which the ministry is carrying out,” he said.
However, seven kilometres of the stretch falls inside Haa district and Samtse being a high-risk district has presented a tricky situation to carry out the works.
“One contractor is looking after the road from Namchu till Rangtsenye. We didn’t have low-risk and high-risk before. More than half of his work is in the low-risk area which is seven kilometres in low-risk and eight kilometres in high-risk areas,” he added.
Works on the Samtse end will be carried out first. The DoR is looking at quarantining workers before works on the Haa side begin.
Meanwhile, 70 kilometres road from Jenkanang under Samar Gewog in Haa till Rangtse Nye has been blacktopped since last year.
Sherub Dorji
