DAMAULI: The construction of a new motorable bridge over the Trishuli River -- with Abukhaireni of Tanahun and Muglin of Chitwan in its two sides -- has started with authorities currently working on its foundation.

Bedav Prasad Sapkota, an engineer involved in the project, informed that about 50 people are working on a daily basis to build the foundation pillars for the bridge.

It has been learnt that the Government of Nepal and Asian Development Bank would provide Rs 98.5 million for the construction of arch type bridge.

The bridge along the Prithvi Highway would be 160-metre long.

Proprietor of Chitwan-based Elite Adventure Lohani JB, Gopilal Sharma, said the construction will be finished in two and a half years.

The new bridge is being built as an alternative to the old one, which was constructed four decades ago and is currently in a sorry state, according to Bel Bahadur Bhujel, the chief of Tanahun-based Western Road Division Office-1.