Japanese consulting firm Nippon Koei has nearly finalised a study on an alternative road leading out of Kathmandu Valley which would avoid the Thankot bottleneck and cut commuting time by half.

The proposed road will link Sitapaila in the Valley with Dharke in Dhading district, avoiding the Naubise-Thankot stretch, one of Nepal's busiest roadways. The Naubise-Thankot road was upgraded three years ago to support 3,000 vehicles daily, but over 2,800 cars, buses and trucks already use it every day, and the number is growing by 7.5 percent each year.

Another study by the Department of Roads says that the annual average daily traffic at Thankot and Kalanki points was as high as 5,990 and 14,300 vehicles per day. The 25.4 km link from Sitpaila will take 34 months to complete, cost Rs 4 billion to build and another Rs 654 million to compensate landowners along the alignment.