𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝘆 𝗔𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗲 𝗥𝗼𝗮𝗱 (𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘉𝘩𝘶𝘵𝘢𝘯 𝘛𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮 𝘑𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘑𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘢 𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘨𝘦)

Of late, our goodwill to connect and improve mobility in the Northern part of the City, in particular, has caused great inconveniences for the residents of Thimphu. We can only imagine the hardships and problems this has caused to the members of our community. 𝗪𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝘀𝗲 for being the cause of your discomfort and extend our deep appreciation to everyone for bearing with us.

In June 2021, we revisited the scope of the project and also gave ourselves a new deadline of the 𝗘𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿. And we can assure you that our team is working with a great sense of urgency to complete the Four Lane Road by the new deadline. With over 120 labourers toiling unceasingly into the late evening, we are happy to share that around 85 per cent of the work is complete.

Connecting Northern Thimphu to the urban core is enshrined in the Thimphu Structural Plan but this was shelved because of the slow development in the North. However, last year, this Four Lane Road Development Project, worth Nu 301 Million, was taken up to ease the growing traffic and to capitalise on the window of opportunity presented to us by the pandemic. This project was designed with the vision to use only locally sourced materials and more importantly, as a way to offer job opportunities to our citizens who have been affected by the pandemic. We are happy to share that the project has employed more than 700 Bhutanese and 18 different contractors.

Taking up a project of this gravity, in a year disrupted by the pandemic and restrictions, however, wasn’t without challenges. Requesting the right of way due to the sheer number of organisations stretched along the road; the realignment of numerous water, sewer and service lines which cost us time and money; and the subsequent lockdowns both within and outside the country -- to which over 90 ideal days for earthwork were lost -- greatly affected the progress. To catch up, we powered through during the monsoon season and also resorted to locally available alternative materials after the materials ordered from India failed to reach even in six months because of lockdowns.

Despite these challenges, we are now in the final stages of completing the project and we hope to restore normalcy on the roads as soon as possible. We have learned a lot from this project and we will make sure to incorporate them as well as your feedback to carry out our future projects with minimum disruptions in your daily lives.