Crews Race to Clear Landslides as Floods Sever Vital Nepal Road Links
Road authorities across Nepal are deploying crews to clear dozens of landslide-blocked highways, as major routes connecting Kathmandu and border trade with China face severe disruption.
Authorities across Nepal are scrambling to clear debris and reopen dozens of highways blocked by monsoon-triggered landslides and floods, though vital arteries including the BP Highway and trade routes to China face prolonged disruptions.
According to the Department of Roads, technical crews have been mobilised across more than two dozen obstructed corridors as rains begin to recede. Department Director General Dr. Bijay Jaishi told Onlinekhabar that while many sections will reopen quickly, the BP Highway linking Kathmandu to eastern Nepal will take considerable time to fix. Floodwaters washed away several diversions and road stretches in Kavre's Roshi Rural Municipality—including at Kaldhunga, Dalabesi, Mamti, and Piple—as well as in Sindhuli's Sunkoshi Rural Municipality.
Key arterial corridors serving the Kathmandu Valley have seen partial resumptions following emergency clearance efforts. On the Narayangadh–Muglin highway, traffic is restricted to a single lane after a 70-metre section subsided at Simaltal, Nagarik News reported. The Road Division Office in Bharatpur urged drivers to follow strict lane discipline and proceed with caution. A day earlier, Artha Sarokar reported complete obstruction along both the Narayangadh–Muglin route and the Prithvi Highway, citing Chitwan District Traffic Police Chief Anil Thapa, who highlighted a massive landslide at Namsi Khola alongside debris blocking two sections of the Prithvi Highway.
Meanwhile, one-way vehicular movement resumed on the Prithvi Highway at Chalise in Dhading's Gajuri Rural Municipality-2, according to Annapurna Post. Guru Prasad Adhikari, head of the eastern section of the Nagdhunga–Naubise–Muglin Road Project, told the outlet that excavators cleared boulders and mud from the carriageway, though he cautioned that loose rocks continue to fall intermittently as teams work toward full clearance.
The widespread disruption has also severed overland commerce between Nepal and China. Onlinekhabar reported that torrential runoff swept away the approach to a motorable bridge connecting Pokharebagar and Nauli Bazar along the Beni–Jomsom–Korala corridor, halting transit through the Korala border crossing. Because the Rasuwagadhi route remains closed from earlier August floods and China has halted one-way inbound cargo through Tatopani despite the Araniko Highway remaining open, overland bilateral trade is effectively stalled. Jaishi noted that the bridge structure itself is intact, estimating that workers could restore the approach within 24 hours once repair works start.
Physical Infrastructure and Transport Ministry Secretary Gopal Prasad Sigdel informed parliament's Infrastructure Development Committee that road division teams remain deployed nationwide, according to Onlinekhabar. Significant washouts and blockages also persist across the Kaligandaki corridor, the Mid-Hill Highway, and numerous regional suspension bridges.