1.

History of Transportation
➢ First motorable road was constructed in Kathmandu valley in 1924
➢ In 1950, the road length of country was 376 km
➢ Road construction has been given priority since beginning of planned
development in 1956
➢ Linking of Kathmandu with southern border was done in 1953 with
Indian assistance and was opened for traffic in 1956
➢ Government of China constructed Kathmandu-Kodari ( Northern
Border) road in 1966
History of road in Nepal can be divided into 3 parts
1. During rana regime
➢ Construction and maintenance of road in valley were
carried out
➢ Survey for connecting Kathmandu and Hetauda
➢ Single lane macadam Bhimphedi-Amlekhgunj stone/brick
paved all weather road and Butwal-Vhairahawa roads were
constructed
➢ No blacktopped road in country
2. Between 2007 BS and 2027 BS
➢ In 2013 BS, Tribhuwan Rajpath was constructed on
assistance of Indian army connecting Kathmandu to Bhainse
➢ In 2012 BS, 77 km Hetauda-Narayangadh was started and
finished by 2015 BS which was all weather 2 lane gravel
road
➢ King Mahendra Built East West Higway Committee in 2020
BS
➢ Earthen track along the length of country was constructed
from 2018to 2026 BS
➢ Kodari Highway was undertaken
➢ Long term road development plan was formulated in 2024
BS
 3. After 2027 BS ( Formulation,continuation of road
development strategy )
➢ From 2027 BS to 2032 BS road development strategy was
made
➢ From 2032 to 2038 BS Strategic Road Network was
developed
➢ Feeder road project was carried out from 2038 BS to 2044
BS
➢ Construction and maintenance of SRN in 2048-49 BS
➢ Initiation of transportation policy, Bardibas-Sindhuli Road
Project was taken up from 2054-2056 BS
➢ 20 year master plan in 2056-2058 BS
➢ Feasibility of North-South Fast Track
➢ Widening of Araniko Highway ( Koteshwor Bhaktapur
section)
2. Present Scenario of Transportation

District headquarter not connected to national highway :-

Simikot,Humla
Strategic Road Network
Total Length: - 13,477 km
Blacktopped: - 6,979 km
Graveled: - 2,277 km
Earthen: - 4,192 km
National Highways
Numbers: - 80
Total Length: - 14,943 km
Blacktopped: - 6,000 km
Graveled: - 1,150 km
Earthen: - 2,000 km
Track remaining to be opened: - 2,000 km
Quality of Strategic RoadNetwork
Good: - 43%
Average: - 42%
Bad: - 15% Source: - 15th 5 year plan
 Road Expansion by Federal Government (In Km)
Details 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 Total
Black 11798 12173 12803 13707 14695 559 15254
Topped
Graveled 6287 6460 6822 7231 8594 657 9251
Road
Earthen 9411 9675 9492 9150 9590 252 9842
Road
Total 27496 28308 29117 30088 32879 1468 34347
Source: - Economic Survey 2019/20

Details of local Roads by Provinces (In Km)

Province Earthen Graveled Blacktopped Total Area(%) Road
Density(Per
Km)
1 9126 2502 703 12331 20.08 0.48
2 2696 2831 344 5871 9.56 0.61
Bagmati 11498 2722 1205 15425 25.12 0.76
Gandaki 9370 1351 577 11298 18.40 0.53
5 5293 2793 845 8931 14.55 0.40
Karnali 2453 193 79 2725 4.44 0.10
Sudurpaschim 3471 1146 197 4814 7.84 0.25
Total 43907 13537 3950 61395 100 0.42
Source: - Economic Survey 2019/20
 Local Road Expansion By Geographical Region

Geographical Province Local Road Total Percentage

Sector Road (km) (km) Road(km)
Mountain 2109 6320 8429 13.73
Hill 9853 23721 33574 54.69
Terai 5080 14312 19391 31.58
Total 17042 44353 61395 100
Source: - Economic Survey 2019/20
Vehicles registered till end of Falgun 2076 :- 38,23,107

Vehicle Percentage
Motorcycle 78.8
Car/Jeep/Van 7.1
Others 14.1 Source: - Economic Survey 2019/20

Air Transportation
➢ 86% work of Gautam Buddha Regional International Airport has
finished
➢ 56% work of Pokhara Regional International Airport has finished
➢ Illam and Gulmi domestic airport are ready and are going for test
flights.
➢ Airport are being made in Argakhachi and Okhaldhunga.
➢ Nijgadh International Airport is halted due to environmental issues.

Railway Transportation
➢ Out of 70 Km of Janakpur-Jayanagar-Bardibas Railway 56 km has
been constructed.
➢ Under a national pride project Mechi-Mahakali Electric train,
construction of 29.1 Km track bed our of total 30 Km of Bardibas-
Lalbandi (Section of Bardibas- Nijgad) has completed.
Description Till 2018/19 2019/20 Total till March
2020
Railway (KM) 40 16 56
Track Bed (KM) 25.6 3.5 29.1
Source: - Economic Survey 2019/20
➢ Feasibility study of Kathmandu-Kerung and Birgunj-Kathmandu
railway have completed.

National Pride Road Projects

Project Blacktopped Gravelled Bridges Track Bed Others
Madhya Pahadi 802 146 67(129) Completed ---
Lokmarga (1879
km)
Hulaki Rajmarga 270 325 85(NA) Completed ----
(1792.4 km)
Kaligandaki - 69 5 (NA) Completed -----
Corridor ( (Double
North South lane)
Highway) (435
km)
Karnali Corridor ---- ---- ----- 133 km Road
(280 km) expansion in
14 km section
Koshi Corridor ( ----- 57.7 km ----- 153 km Expansion in
162 km) 12 km section
Madan Bhandari 65km --- 14 (NA) ------ -------
Highway (Dharan
(1200km) Hetauda
Section)
Seti Lokmarga(66 2.5 km --- ----- 34 km --------
km)
Source: - Economic Survey 2019/20
❖ Sections joining East west highway to main trade center and Indian territory
➢ Rani – Biratnagar – Itahari – Dharan section 5 km blacktopped
➢ Jatahi-Janakpur-Dhalkebar section 6.6 km blacktopped
➢ Birgunj – Pathlaiya section 3.5 km blacktopped
➢ Behaliya – Butwal section 0.65 km blacktopped
➢ Mohana- Attariya section 4.5 km blacktopped
❖ Kathmandu-Terai Expressway (Fast Track) is aimed to complete by the end
of 2024 AD.

3. Target as per 15th Plan (2076/77-2081/82)

➢ People having access to roads in 30 min walk will be increased from

82% to 95%.
➢ Out of 14,913 km National Highway, 7500 km will be upgraded to
higher standard and 13,474 km will be blacktopped.
➢ 1078 km of East West Highway, Fast track and some others highway
will be made of minimum 4 lanes.
➢ Madhya Pahadi Lokmarga, Hulaki Rajmarga, North-South Highway
(Koshi, Kaligandaki, Karnali corridor) will be completed to minimum
of 2 lane.
➢ 400 bridges in national highways and 1200 bridges in local level roads
will be constructed.
➢ Simikot, Headquarter of Humla will have access to road network
connecting to national highway.
➢ District Headquarters of Manang, Mustang, Mugu, Dolpa and Humla
will be connected and the roads will be blacktopped.
 1. Check for road classification based on NRRS (2071) and NURS
(2076) and other relevant documents concerning to road
classification and make a critical comment on that.
Nepal Road Standard (2070)
Comment
➢ Only 3 highways are meeting Asian Highway Standard and I think flexibility
provided in the Standard is the main reason why nowadays highways are
being upgraded.

Nepal Rural Road Standard (2071)

NRRS (2071) is a standard developed in order to classify and design geometric
standards for motorable roads and bridges in Local Road Network (LRN). Latest
revision has accommodated motorable bridge classification, carriageway and
footpath (Kerbs) in Local Road Network making it compatible for national
practices.
On the basis of NRRS, Rural Roads has been classified as
1. District Road (Core Network)
➢ Joining a VDC Headquarters office or nearest economic area to
district headquarters through neighboring district headquarters or
Strategic Road Network
2. Village Road
➢ Smaller roads not falling under District Road
➢ Includes Agriculture Road
Comment
➢ It is recommended to use single lane road in low traffic area but hilly road
and their alignment is sometimes difficult to design under such condition.
➢ For village road in Terai area, proper provision for low speed vehicles like
bullock cart and so on isn’t well defined.
 Nepal Urban Road Standard (2076)
NURS (2076) is a standard developed focusing on volume and composition of
traffic along with pedestrian and non-motorized vehicle with requirements for
urban services
On the basis of NURS, Urban Roads has been classified as
1. Arterial Roads (Path)
➢ For traffic usually on a continuous route
➢ Principle Network for traffic flow
➢ Facilitates travel between intra-urban or semi-urban areas
connecting them to Central Business District (Area)
➢ Parking, loading and unloading are restricted
➢ Spaced at less than 1.5 km in highly developed business area and at 8
km or more in sparsely developed area
➢ Crossings of pedestrians are allowed at intersection or designated
places

2. Sub-arterial roads (Sadak)

➢ Lower level of traffic mobility than arterial roads
➢ Acts as a connector between collector or local roads and arterial
roads
➢ Parking, loading and unloading are either restricted or regulated
➢ Spacing varies from 0.5 km in CBD to 3.5-5 km in suburban area
➢ Crossings of pedestrians are allowed at intersection or designated
places

3. Collector road (Marg)

➢ Collecting and distributing traffic to and from local roads
➢ Providing access to arterial or sub-arterial road
➢ Full access is allowed for users

4. Local road (Upamarg)

➢ Intended for access to residence, business or other properties
 ➢ Doesn’t carry large volume of traffic
➢ Traffic carried either originates or terminates along its length

Comment
➢ Includes major elements of geometric design of urban roads but layout
at junction and their design parameters are not available.
➢ In the developing city like Kathmandu, concept of flyovers are being
talked but this standard does not include such alternatives.
➢ Doesn’t covers express way and highway section in urban area