Road: Haa dzongkhag will be better connected and distance shortened with a new proposal to take a bifurcation towards Haa from the ongoing Damchu-Chukha bypass.

Prime Minister Thsering Tobgay informed the people of Eusu and Sammar, on Friday, about the government’s plan to construct the 13.1km road that cross the Wangchu (river) and connect to the present Haa road from Wanakha and Susuna.  A long bridge will be constructed at the river.  The people of Eusu and Sammar will not have to travel to Chuzom to go to Haa.

The road will be constructed by DANTAK.

A national secondary highway from Jenkana (Haa) to Samtse is already being constructed. Once connected, people from lower Haa will no longer have to travel till Phuentsholing for shopping. The highway, which is in various construction stages, will benefit the people of Sombaykha and nearby gewogs.

The highway is being constructed from two sides, one from Jenkana in Haa, and the other from Samtse, passing through some gewog centre roads (GCR) in the two dzongkhags.

The road from Jenkana passes through Tergo-la, the highest pass in the region, and goes until Khameyna village, some 65km from Jenkana.  From there, the road diverts towards Sombaykha and connects with the road coming from Samtse.

As of now about 620m of the 15km road towards Sombaykha has been cleared from Khameyna junction.

Survey engineer Tan Tshering said that, with only two rocky cliffs measuring 160m and 120m near Yangtsena to be cleared, the road would soon reach Amochu bridge point.

A bridge will be constructed 160m below the present suspension bridge.

Road construction from both Haa and Samtse is being undertaken by the department of roads (DoR).

Phuntsholing’s DoR project engineer, Kado Drukpa, said that, since there was already a highway between Samtse and Dorokha, the department has completed base course work of about 14km between Dorokha and Namchu.

The present GCR between Dorokha and Denchukha in Samtse was constructed in the 2012-13 financial year with Nu 48 million support from small development project (SDP).

Kado Drukpa said that, since the road from Dorokha to Dehchukha is constructed as GCR, the width of the road would have to be expanded once the road from Sombaykha connects as a national secondary highway.

DoR’s Phuentsholing division’s project manager, Kinzang Dorji, who supervises the construction of road from Namchu to Sombaykha, said about a 12km widening work has been completed so far.  The government has sanctioned Nu 14.41M for the construction.

Officials from the GHN Commission said the project was estimated to cost Nu 1.9 billion.

The secretary of works and human settlement ministry, Dasho Sonam Tenzin, said although there would be snow at Tergo-la most of the time, the road would be stable once blacktopping was completed.

By Tashi Tenzin, Haa