Skip to main content

Nepalese bridge issues

In Nepal a 159m long suspension bridge spanning the Trishuli River has collapsed, killing two and injuring 17 while five people are posted as missing. Meanwhile in neighbouring India, an old wooden bridge spanning the Rangit River has collapsed killing 32, injuring 70 and leaving 35 missing. A significant portion of those killed, injured or missing are Nepali speaking tea workers.
May 4, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
In Nepal a 159m long suspension bridge spanning the Trishuli River has collapsed, killing two and injuring 17 while five people are posted as missing. Meanwhile in neighbouring India, an old wooden bridge spanning the Rangit River has collapsed killing 32, injuring 70 and leaving 35 missing. A significant portion of those killed, injured or missing are Nepali speaking tea workers.

The suspension bridge over the Trishuli River was built 18 years ago and connected Bhumlichowk in Gorkha district and Fishling of Chitwan district, close to the Prithivi Highway.

The Indian bridge that collapsed was considerably older and may have dated back before India gained its independence according to sources. The structure was located some 80km from Darjeeling and connected Bijanbari with Chungthung providing a key route for the local tea industry.

On a more positive note, Nepal’s Ministry for Physical Planning and Works has inaugurated work to a bridge over Kamala River. This bridge will connect the Siraha and Dhanusa district headquarters and forms part of the Postal Highway network.

The pre-stressed girder bridge will measure 450m long by 7.5m wide and will be completed within the end of 2014, reducing the current journey distance from Siraha – Janakpur. The country’s new Postal Highways will boost development of the Terai Region and are being prioritised. Work to a further 53 bridges will also form part of the Postal Highway system and some funding will be provided by India.

Related Content

  • The Lessons of the Genoa bridge collapse
    April 23, 2019
    The partial collapse of the Polcevera viaduct, better known as the Morandi Bridge, has prompted debate regarding the technical and administrative aspects of maintaining road infrastructures. We discussed it with the engineer Gabriele Camomilla, former Director of Research and Maintenance of the Società Autostrade, who coordinated the only major structural intervention performed on the bridge, carried out in the early 1990s
  • Mexican bridge celebration
    March 22, 2012
    Mexico’s president Felipe Calderon has inaugurated the new Baluarte Bridge, which crosses the Baluarte River in the Sierra Madre mountain range in the north of the country. This 1.12km long bridge is 403m high at its central point over the steeply sloping ravine it spans, making it the highest cable-stayed structure in the world.
  • Nepal's new pedestrian bridges
    March 22, 2012
    Improved pedestrian safety and smoother traffic flow will result from work being carried out by Nepal’s Department of Roads. The plan will see the construction of 15 pedestrian bridges along the Tinkune-Suryabinayak section of the Araniko Highway.