Staff reporter  

Commuters on the Gelephu-Zhemgang highway need not worry about the block at Ossey in summer.

The road often remains blocked at Ossey, 27km from Gelephu towards Zhemgang due to frequent massive landslides in the monsoon.

A new 4.22km Ossey bypass road has been constructed with the financial support of India with Nu 128 million. The construction began in July 2018.

The project entailed formation cutting of the entire stretch, preparation of a granular sub-base, construction of side drains, cross drainages, permanent structures, slope protection works, road safety markings, and the crash barrier installation.




The new bypass road will provide an alternate route from the entire landslide prone zone and was constructed by the Department of Roads (DoR) regional office, Sarpang.

The DoR carried out the formation cutting. Other works, including the blacktopping, were done by the Eight Builders Private Ltd based in Gelephu.

The bypass is also expected to foster connectivity of Sarpang with Zhemgang, Trongsa and Bumthang. Moreover, the Gelephu-Trongsa national highway is a critical arterial road connecting central parts of the country with Gelephu, an important port of commerce with India.