Prithvi Highway’s Galaudi section to close overnight for repairs to damaged section

Traffic on the Galaudi section of the Prithvi Highway will be suspended overnight at Galaudi in ward 5 of Gajuri Rural Municipality of Dhading district to allow repairs to a subsided section of the road.

The District Administration Office in Dhading said in a public notice on Monday that the road would remain closed from 11pm Monday to 5am Tuesday.

The road subsided on Friday. After cutting into the hillside, authorities reopened the route to two-way traffic on Sunday evening. However, further repairs are needed to make the stretch safe, said Suresh Paudel, a senior divisional engineer at the Department of Roads’ Development Cooperation Implementation Division.

“Traffic volume on this stretch is extremely high because of Dashain,” he said. “If we cannot repair the road now and it rains, vehicles could get stuck in the mud. That is why we are carrying out repairs now so the road can remain operational.”

The damage affects a 70-metre stretch of the highway. According to the Department of Roads, the problem stems from erosion by the Trishuli river after the Bhotekoshi floods on August 26, which weakened the road section.

More than 15,000 vehicles travel along the Prithvi Highway each day on average.