Bridge Over the River Karnali

Just as topping Nepal’s Mount Everest requires great stamina from mountain climbers, building the Karnali River Bridge in a remote region of western Nepal required six years of hard work by engineers, contractors and construction crews, to overcome several unique and difficult challenges. The asymmetric, single-tower, cable-stayed bridge is the longest of its type in the world and represents a unique international collaboration. For engineering consultant Steinman Boynton Gronquist & Birdsall, New York, the bridge’s designer and construction supervisor, and contractor Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd., Japan, half the battle was getting to the remote jungle construction site at the foothills of the towering Himalaya Mountains. The other major obstacle to construction was an unforgiving Mother Nature in Nepal. The notorious monsoon season would shut down operations for up to four months each year. The bridge site is 500 km from the capital city of Kathmandu, and 100 km from the closest airport facilities in Nepalganj, the largest city in western Nepal.