Work on new Behsud bridge to begin in March

 JALALABAD (PAN River, a vital link connecting eastern Nangarhar province with neighbouring Kunar and Nuristan, have been completed and work on the project would be launched in March, an official said on Wednesday.

Nangarhar Public Works Director Rassoul Gul Faqir told Pajhwok Afghan News during an interview that a survey for the bridge was underway and it would take another month to complete.

His comments come a month later public works minister during a visit to Jalalabad, the provincial capital, announced that the new bridge’s construction would be launched within a month.

To be built east of the old bridge, Faqir said the new structure would be eight metres wide and 350 metres lengthy and that its construction would be followed by complete renovation of the old bridge.

The director rejected rumours as baseless that some powerful individuals who owned shops and houses along the river would try to create hurdles.

He said id=”mce_marker”2 million had been allocated to Nangarhar for the construction of several bridges included the Jandarma bridge located in front of the provincial police headquarters and the Form Hadi bridge.

The 50-year-old Behsud bridge, a kilometre northeast of Jalalabad, is one of the country’s largest. It connects 22 districts in Nangarhar, Kunar and Nuristan.

Two years ago, a suicide bomber attacked an American convoy passing over it, causing damages to parts of the structure. Residents fear the bridge could collapse if not repaired soon.

The public works director also the government had approved a sum of $9 million to complete the second lane of the Torkham-Jalalabad road that had been left incomplete by a Pakistani construction firm, Frontier Works Organization (FWO), three and a half years ago.

Faqir said construction of the second lane would be started next solar year that begins March 22.

He said repair works on the Jalalabad-Torkham highway damaged at several locations due to heavy vehicles would begin next month.

The first phase of construction of the Hesarak bypass has been completed, said Faqir, who added id=”mce_marker”00 million were set aside for the road and id=”mce_marker”3 million of the total amount would be used on the scheme during next solar year.

“This road begins from Hesarak and stretches to Jalalabad city. The bypass road will help ease the flow of heavy vehicles,” he said, concluding construction work on a number of retaining walls was underway in the province.

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