Once infamous for its traffic bottleneck, Gwarko is finally moving toward smoother commutes. The intersection frequently suffered heavy congestion as vehicles from Imadol-Satdobato and Koteshwor converge there. But with the Gwarko flyover (overpass) in Lalitpur now in its final phase of construction, officials expect major traffic relief soon.

The Gwarko flyover—Nepal’s first of its kind—is nearly ready for vehicle movement. The contractor has committed to completing all remaining work and handing it over to the Department of Roads within this month.

Deep Barahi, Director of the Quality Research and Development Centre under the department, said the contractor will finish and hand over the flyover by the end of Jestha (mid-June), as long as heavy rain doesn’t interfere. “Once we receive the handover, we’ll meet, make a final decision, and open the flyover to traffic immediately,” Barahi said. “We’ve seen construction progressing at a rapid pace.”

Barahi said the contractor has already completed more than 85 percent of the flyover construction. The company blacktopped the road on the Koteshwor side and plans to do the same on the Satdobato side next week. It is currently preparing for that work.

He added that Ashish Samanantar Relegate Company, the contractor, is now finishing the final tasks needed to make the flyover ready for vehicles. These tasks include installing traffic lights, painting, road marking, and building proper drainage.

Since December 24 (Poush 9), the company has paid a daily penalty of Rs 85,000 for failing to meet the project deadline. The Department of Roads (DoR) had set December 23 (Poush 8) as the final deadline. After missing it, the company has been incurring a fine of 0.05 percent per day, which will continue for up to 200 days.

The contractor must complete the work within 200 days. If the contractor misses this deadline, the law allows the authority to cancel the contract. During these 200 days, the contractor must pay up to 10 percent of the total penalty. Project officials say the contractor sped up the work significantly after the daily penalty began.

While the department imposes a daily penalty of Rs 85,000 on the contractor, the government amended the Public Procurement Regulations for the 14th time to permit deadline extensions for unfinished projects.

The 13th amendment allowed one final extension to the project deadline, and if the contractor still failed to complete the work within that extended period, the project could continue for 200 days under daily penalties. However, Barahi said the contractor has not applied for any extension since the 14th amendment. "Since the 14th amendment, the contractor has not requested an extension and continues working under the daily penalty," Barahi added.

The government signed the contract with the contractor company to construct the Gwarko overpass on Falgun 12, 2078 (February 24, 2022). They awarded the contract for Rs 176.88 million and initially set the deadline to complete the work by Falgun 11, 2080 (February 23, 2024).

However, the contractor company missed the deadline, citing various reasons. The government then extended the project deadline. They extended it a second time, setting the completion date as Poush 8, 2081 (December 23, 2024). The contractor again failed to finish the work by this deadline. Since the second extension was the final one, the contractor has continued working while paying daily penalties for the delay.

During construction, the project team demolished and rebuilt about 40 meters of the panel wall on the Satdobato side, starting from the foundation. According to project officials, the wall completely collapsed when the panel was interconnected, forcing them to tear down the entire damaged section.

The contractor company first removed the previously placed soil and then refilled the area with new soil when they demolished the panel wall. Engineers from the Quality Center spotted a gap in the panel wall on the Satdobato side and ordered the company to demolish 40 meters of the wall.

Director Barahi said, "This was a new experiment for us, so some errors occurred during the work. We have now fully corrected those errors. We have continuously monitored and supervised the Gwarko overpass from the beginning."

The project has installed panels along 320 meters on the Koteshwor side and 180 meters on the Satdobato side. It has also completed the construction of a 35-meter-long, four-lane bridge.