Kathmandu's Traffic Woes and Koteshwor-Jadibuti Flyover & Tunnel Way

Kathmandu faces severe traffic issues due to the growing number of vehicles, insufficient road expansion, disorganized parking, poor road conditions, and lax traffic laws. Traffic is particularly slow between 9:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., causing delays of up to 2-3 hours. A well-developed infrastructure is necessary for effective traffic management. As a result, Nepal's first 800-meter underpass at Kalanki began operations in August 2018. To further continue the idea, the Nepalese government plans to construct a flyover and tunnel in the Koteshwor-Jadibuti area to address the heavy traffic congestion in that area. 

This Koteshwor-Jadibuti section is one of the worst traffic-affected road sections in Kathmandu. The government had assigned the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to do a detailed study and develop a solution to address this issue. While the government announced this plan in the policy and program for the fiscal year 2074/75 BS (2017-2018 AD), it didn't move forward until now. JICA, in November 2019, presented a preliminary study, based on which the final report is submitted now. After a survey conducted by JICA, the project can now advance.

JICA's study presented three technical options, ultimately leading the government to choose the construction of a flyover and underpass in Koteshwor. The first option was a 1.3-kilometer flyover connecting Ring Road from the Tinkune side to Bal Kumari at an estimated cost of 9 billion Nepali rupees. The second option involved building a dual-lane tunnel road of about 1.2 kilometers in length across Koteshwor Chok at a cost of approximately 24 billion rupees. The chosen third option comprises a flyover in Jadibuti and Tinkune Chowk and a dual-lane underpass connecting Tinkune and Jadibuti, including Koteshwor Chowk, estimated to cost 24 billion Rupees. This selection was deemed most effective by JICA for alleviating traffic congestion on Ring Road with minimal interruptions.

Dr. Vijay Kumar Jaisi, Chief of the Development Assistance Division under the Department of Road shared that a flyover would extend from Manohara Bridge to the Pepsi-Cola intersection, and an underpass of about 600 meters would be built from Jadibuti to Munibhairav Temple in Tinkune. This underpass will bypass the Runway signal light at Tribhuwan International Airport without affecting the runway. It will then connect the flyover to the underpass at the temple and reach the Bagmati River bridge. The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal has also approved this plan with certain conditions.

The Nepalese government has collaborated on multiple projects with JICA, including the Nagdhunga tunnel project – the first of its kind in Nepal. Although they had disagreements over the Suryabinayak-Dhulikhel road expansion project, officials have since fostered a trustful environment with JICA and continue to work together on future infrastructure developments like the Koteshwor Flyover and Tunnel Road. Dr. Jaisi mentioned that they are nearing completion of the Nagdhunga Tunnel and look forward to addressing the Koteshwor-Jadibuti section with some sort of loan arrangement from the Japanese government.