This list of bridges of Nepal draws up an inventory of the remarkable bridges of Nepal, as well by their dimensional characteristics, as by their architectural or historical interest.
In 2015, Nepal had a total road network of 80,078 kilometres (49,758mi) of which 53,143 kilometres (33,022mi) are local rural roads, of these, only 1,697 kilometres (1,054mi) has been black-topped.[1] Modern roads are few and mostly concentrated on the Terai plain, the area stretching along the border with India and which accounts for nearly half of the country's population. In 2020, there is only one railway line of 59 kilometers, also located near India and the capital Kathmandu has no railway connection.[2] The population is essentially rural in this region at the foot of the Himalayas, but the steep reliefs are a brake on the development of the local populations who are already among the poorest in the world.
Yaks on a suspension bridge near Namche Bazaar at the foothills of the Himalayas.Tigram Suspension Bridge ( length: 98m) which connects India and Nepal. View from Nepali side
Until the 1950s, the whole country with the exception of the Terai was provided only with trails for a large part of the territory, some essential trade routes had been established since the beginning of the 20th century, despite the isolation of the Nepal. Louis Harper introduced the first modern suspension footbridges to Nepal in the late 1890s, he had improved the system in the United Kingdom from wooden pylons to steel lattice pylons, they were pre-fabricated in Scotland and shipped to site for assembly. At least 4 bridges of this type remain in service in Nepal today.[3] This system was unfortunately not effective and failed to meet significant demand.
All these constraints led the government to create the Suspension Bridges Division in 1964 (replaced by the Trail Bridge Section in 2001) which studied with Swiss engineers a model of durable, easy-to-build simple suspension bridge, adapted to the Nepalese relief and therefore to large spans ranging from 120 to 350 metres (390 to 1,150ft), and a whole first generation of trail bridges was born on the main axes, with up to 30 bridges built per year. Under an increasingly strong demand, a second generation of bridges had developed with economic and environmental stakes, these bridges are optimized to be built with local materials and carried out by a local workforce in order to extend this system across the country. They will nevertheless have shorter spans than the first generation bridges, in the order of 40 to 120 meters.
By 2004, more than 3000 suspension bridges have thus been built on the Nepalese landscape including 2230 bridges through Swiss support with an overall length of more than 180 kilometres (110mi).[4] Two types of bridges have been built: 580 long-span trail bridges with lengths ranging from 120 to 350 metres (390 to 1,150ft) on the main trails under the responsibility of the Department of Local Infrastructure Development and Agricultural Roads and 1650 short-span community bridges up to 120 metres (390ft) in length, built by the communities themselves under the responsibility of User Committees.[5] In September 2015, a total of 6000 completed trail bridges has been celebrated.[6]
But the needs are still numerous and signs of weakness are beginning to appear, it is estimated that 200 the number of bridges require heavy work, even replacement (statistics mid-2004). Some footbridges are built on great heights in order to fight against flooding during the monsoon, 14 bridges were destroyed during the glacial break-up of Digcho in the Sagarmatha area in 1985. This phenomenon, also called jökulhlaup, is caused by the rupture of a glacier and causes sudden and devastating floods. The devastated bridges were later rebuilt on higher levels.
Among the notables bridges of Nepal, we can mention the Dodhara Chandani Bridge which has the originality of being composed of 4 successive suspension bridges with three spans, and a total of 8 large steel truss pylons, which spans nearly 1,500 meters.[7] Its four main spans have very large arrows and each is held by lateral support cables. The bridge is designed as a pedestrian bridge, but bicycles and motorcycles can use the bridge as well. There is enough room so that motorcycles can pass even if they are fully loaded. All traffic travels on the left-hand side, as everywhere else in Nepal.
The bridges presented here are initially sorted by date of commissioning, they thus retrace part of the history of transport in Nepal and the various developments that led to the structures that can be seen today.
Nepal's largest road bridge, the Karnali Bridge, was designed by Steinman, Boynton, Gronquist & Birdsall of USA, constructed by Kawasaki Heavy Industries of Japan[13] and funded by the World Bank.[14] It is part of the country's largest highway, the Mahendra Highway H01, which crosses the Terai region from east to west and over Nepal's longest and widest river, the Ghaghara (also called Karnali) which ends in the Ganges. The Karnali Bridge is the only road bridge with a span of more than 300 meters in Nepal, the H01 highway like the other highways in the country, avoids major obstacles as much as possible, such as the many rivers resulting from melting snow of the Himalayas and overly mountainous areas which would require much more expensive infrastructure. The very underdeveloped railway network is an additional reason for the scarcity of major bridges other than footbridges in Nepal. This table presents the structures with spans greater than 100 metres (330ft) (non-exhaustive list).
↑ According to the sources, the span would be between 490 and 520 metres (1,610 and 1,710ft)[24][25] and the height between 200 and 228 metres (656 and 748ft).
↑ The given height varies between 117 and 155 metres (384 and 509ft).[26][27]
↑ Also known as Badagaun-Kaiyan Trail Bridge, the height is reported between 117 and 157 metres (384 and 515ft).[30][31]
↑ According to the sources, the height would be between 117 and 135 metres (384 and 443ft).[32][33]
↑ "New Bridges Move Mountain People". Agenda. Vol.1 & 2. Press and Publications Division, Office of Public Affairs, Agency for International Development. 1978. p.15.
↑ Dave Reed; James McConnachie (2015-07-01). "The western terai- the far west". The Rough Guide to Nepal. Rough Guides UK. pp.276–277. ISBN978-0-241-23810-3.
↑ "पर्वतमा लामा र अग्ला पुल बनाउने होड"[A bid to build a long and high bridge in the mountains]. Ghatanarabichar.com (in Nepali). Retrieved December 12, 2022.
Nepal measures about 880 kilometers (547 mi) along its Himalayan axis by 150 to 250 kilometers across. It has an area of 147,516 km2 (56,956 sq mi).
Lalitpur Metropolitan City is a Metropolitan city and fourth most populous city of Nepal with 299,843 inhabitants living in 49,044 households per the 2021 census. It is located in the south-central part of Kathmandu Valley, a large valley in the high plateaus in central Nepal, at an altitude of 1,400 metres.
The Kathmandu Valley, also known as the Nepal Valley or Nepa Valley, National Capital Area, is a bowl-shaped valley located in the Himalayan mountains of Nepal. It lies at the crossroads of ancient civilizations of the Indian subcontinent and the broader Asian continent, and has at least 130 important monuments, including several pilgrimage sites for Hindus and Buddhists. There are seven World Heritage Sites within the valley.
Dhangadhi is a sub-metropolitan city and the district headquarters of Kailali District in Sudurpashchim Province of Nepal. It shares a border with Uttar Pradesh, India in the south, Godawari and Gauriganga Municipality in the North, Kailari Rural Municipality in the east and Kanchanpur District in the west. Dhangadhi is a sub-metropolis divided into 19 wards. It has a population of about 147,181 and thus is the 10th biggest city of Nepal. It has an area of 261.75 km2 (101.06 sq mi). It is one of the major cities of Far - West Province of Nepal along with Mahendranagar.
Achham is a district located in Sudurpashchim province of Nepal. It is one of the nine districts of the province. The district, with Mangalsen as its district headquarters, covers an area of 1,692 km2 and has a population (2011) of 257,477.
Kathmandu District is a district located in Kathmandu Valley, Bagmati Province of Nepal. It is one of the 77 districts of Nepal, covers an area of 413.69 km2 (159.73 sq mi), and is the most densely populated district of Nepal with 1,081,845 inhabitants in 2001, 1,744,240 in 2011 and 2,017,532 in 2021. The administrative headquarters of Kathmandu district is located in Kathmandu. The city has 21 post offices which handle mail from across the country and beyond, with Kathmandu DPO having 44,600 as its postal code for international mail delivery services like UPS or DHL Couriers etc.
Rukum District was a "hill" and "mountain" district some 280 km (170 mi) west of Kathmandu partially belonging to Lumbini Province and partially to Karnali Province before split into two districts Western Rukum and Eastern Rukum after the state's reconstruction of administrative divisions in 2017. Rukum covers an area of 2,877 km2 (1,111 sq mi) with population of 207,290 in 2011 Nepal census. Musikot was the district's administrative center.
Surkhet District is a district in Karnali Province of mid-western Nepal. Surkhet is one of the ten districts of Karnali located about 600 kilometres (373 mi) west of the national capital Kathmandu. The district's area is 2,489 square kilometres (961 sq mi). It had 288,527 population in 2001 and 350,804 in 2011 which male comprised 169,461 and female 181,381. Its district headquarters, Birendranagar, is the capital of Karnali Province. It is serving as a business hub and document center for Karnali province. According to population, development, road links, landforms, climate, many peoples are migrating here. After becoming province capital developmental activities are boosted and are in peak level. All the governmental works are carried here. Birendranagar is beautiful valley surrounded by hills having moderate climate.
Baglung is a municipality in Gandaki Province, in western Nepal, 275 km (171 mi) west of Kathmandu. It is the administrative headquarters of Baglung District. Baglung serves as the major center for business, finance, education, service and healthcare for the people of mid-Kali Gandaki valley that encompass Beni, Jaljala, Baglung, Kushma, Kathekhola, Galkot, Phalewas and Jaimuni local bodies. The city is located at the cross-section of Kaligandaki corridor highway and midhill highway that transverse Nepal in north–south and east–west directions respectively.
Mahendranagar, officially known as Bhimdattanagar, is a municipality in Kanchanpur District of Sudurpashchim Province, Nepal. The city and the municipality were named Mahendranagar in honour of the late King Mahendra of Nepal. After becoming a republic in 2008, the Mahendranagar municipality name was changed to Bhimdatta municipality in honour of the revolutionary farmer leader Bhimdatta Panta. It is surrounded by Bedkot Municipality in the east, Dadeldhura District in the north, Shuklaphanta National Park in the south and Uttarakhand, India in the west.
Mahendra Highway, also called East-West Highway, runs across the Terai geographical region of Nepal, from Mechinagar in the east to Bhim Datta in the west, cutting across the entire width of the country. It is the longest highway in Nepal and was constructed by cooperation of various countries. The highway is named after King Mahendra Shah.
The Tharu or Tharuhat languages are any of the Indo-Aryan languages spoken by the Tharu people of the Terai region in Nepal, and neighboring regions of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in India.
Musikot is a municipality and the district headquarter of Western Rukum District in Karnali Province of Nepal that was established as Musikot Khalanga on 2 December 2014 by merging the two former Village development committees Musikot and Khalanga. From 2014 until 2018, Musikot was called Musikot Khalanga and until 2017 served as the district headquarter of Rukum District. It lies on the bank of Sani Bheri River. It borders with Eastern Rukum in the east, Sanibheri rural municipality in the west, Banfikot rural municipality in the north and Tribeni rural municipality and Rolpa district in the south.
The Sino-Nepal Friendship Bridge is a bridge spanning the Sun Kosi river, linking Kodari in Sindhulpalchok District, Nepal, and Zhangmu, China.
Satya Mohan Joshi was a Nepalese writer and scholar. Joshi is known for his research on the history and culture of Nepal. He also served as the chancellor of the Nepal Bhasa Academy.
The Dodhara Chandani Bridge, commonly known as Mahakali Bridge is a suspension bridge for pedestrians and at this point only about 1452.5 m long over Mahakali River in the far west of Nepal.
Former administrative units of Nepal are administrative divisions during Kingdom of Nepal. In 2008 Nepal was proclaimed a federal republic and old administrative units restricted after adoption of new constitution on 20 September 2015.
Western Rukum a part of Karnali Province, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal. Musikot is the headquarter of the district.
Gandaki Golden Bridge is a suspended footbridge with a span of 567m. It connects the Kusma Municipality of Parbat district at Aduwabari with Baglung Municipality 1 bangechour of Baglung District in Nepal. The bridge is over the Kaligandaki river. The height of bridge is 122 m from the river level. It became the second longest bridge of its kind in May 2022 after the opening of Sky Bridge 721 in Czech Republic, prior to that it was the world's longest foot bridge.
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