Nominal repair budget death knell for bridges

KATHMANDU, July 31 - Despite the stress in the budget on construction of new bridges, the paltry allocation for maintenance and repairs for more than 90 percent of bridges on the verge of collapse shows sheer neglect on the part of the state, say officials.

The government has allocated only Rs. 30 million for maintenance of more than 1,500 old bridges across the country in the budget, while a total Rs. 1.35 billion has been allocated for construction of new bridges this year.

About 1,350 bridges along the East-West Highway are more than 25 years old. They could cave in any time for want of basic maintenance and repairs.

Senior Divisional Engineer Kirtyanand Thakur, who heads the Bridge Unit at the Department of Roads, Ministry of Physical Planning and Works (MoPPWs), on Thursday said, “The allocated budget is not enough to carry even ‘minor’ maintenance and repairs on the bridges, let alone look after major problems.”

About Rs. 200 million is needed just for minor repairs that need to be carried out annually for the prolonged life of any bridge, he said. According to Thakur, the present budget is only enough for emergency maintenance of some bridges listed as ‘in critical state’. However, the amount will not suffice if the foundation of a bridge rated vulnerable has to be changed.

Most bridges suffer due to bearing corrosion, malfunctioning of expansion joints and river training. The bearing of all bridges constructed more than 25 years ago need replacement.

Each year, the list of new bridges to be constructed increases, while the government’s neglect for old infrastructure continues due to political pressures to construct new bridges in areas where leaders who call the shots are popular, said an official preferring anonymity.

“Some projects are even included in the budget for construction without any detailed project study,” he said.

Political leaders of respective areas want to show their work by constructing new infrastructure as they are visible, while maintenance and repair of old infrastructure get least priority,” he added

According to DoR, there are 205 new bridges under construction for this year. “The DoR will not be able to construct more than 30 bridges this year,” said Thakur. Meanwhile, construction of more than 100 bridges from the previous year’s list are pending. In other countries, about two percent of the total cost for bridge construction is spent on maintenance and repairs in most countries.

DoR states that bridges costing more than Rs. 48 billion fall under the department and a single bridge needs Rs. 500,000 for maintenance and repairs annually.

However, every year, the government allocates only Rs. 20 to 30 million for all work related to road and bridge maintenance and repairs.