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Transport in Bhutan
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==Road== [[Image:Bhutan highways labeled location map.png|thumb|alt=See caption|Highways of Bhutan<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bhutantrustfund.bt/parks-of-bhutan |title=Parks of Bhutan |work=Bhutan Trust Fund for Environmental Conservation online |publisher=Bhutan Trust Fund |access-date=2011-07-26 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110702041330/http://www.bhutantrustfund.bt/parks-of-bhutan |archive-date=2011-07-02 }}</ref>]] Bhutan had a total of {{convert|8050|km|abbr=on}} of roads in 2003, {{convert|4991|km|abbr=on}} of which were paved and {{convert|3059|km|abbr=on}} unpaved.<ref name=FB2011>{{CIA World Factbook |article=Bhutan |accessdate=2011-07-25}}</ref> Because of the lack of paved roads, travel in Bhutan was by foot or on mule- or horseback until 1961; the {{convert|205|km|mi|adj=on}} trip from the Indian border to [[Thimphu]] took six days. Road construction began in earnest during the First Development Plan (1961–66). The first {{convert|175|km|mi|adj=mid|-long}} paved road was completed in 1962. A branch road later linked Paro with the Phuntsholing–Thimphu road, and a jeep track linked [[Thimphu]] and [[Phuntsholing]] with [[Jaigaon]], [[West Bengal]]. Travel time by motor vehicle from the border to Thimphu shrank to six hours. About 30,000 Indian and Nepalese labourers were imported to build the road with Indian aid when India was bolstering its defence against a potential Chinese invasion. Bhutan also provided labour for the construction work. Another road was built to connect [[Trashigang]] with [[Tawang]], [[Arunachal Pradesh]].<ref name=cs>{{Country study |country=Bhutan |abbr=bt |editor=Savada, Andrea Matles |date=1991 |section=Roads |author=Worden, Robert L. |pd=yes}}</ref> [[File:Dragon painting side of pick up truck.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Small dump truck with a dragon painted on the side|Dump truck in Bhutan]] About {{convert|1500|km|mi}} of roads were built by the mid-1970s, largely with manual labour. There was a {{convert|2280|km|mi|adj=on}} road network in 1989; at least {{convert|1761|km|mi}} were paved with [[Asphalt concrete|asphalt]], and {{convert|1393|km|mi}} were classified as national highways. Despite the construction of paved roads linking the principal towns in the south, mountainous terrain elsewhere makes travel difficult even from one valley to the next. Most roads run in river valleys. As part of the Sixth Development Plan (1987–92), the Department of Public Works (in cooperation with the Indian Border Roads Organization) made plans to construct and upgrade {{convert|1000|km|mi}} of roads and to extend the road network through Bhutan's five major river valleys by 1992. Driveable roads were not the only important development; as part of the Fifth Development Plan, Bhutan also needed an estimated {{convert|2500|km|mi}} of [[Bridle path|mule tracks]] to connect the country's 4,500 settlements.<ref name=cs/> The country's primary road is the East-West Highway (known locally as the [[Lateral Road]]), which began construction in 1962. The road begins in [[Phuentsholing]] on the southwestern [[India|Indian border]] and ends in [[Trashigang]] in the far east, with spurs to other major centres such as [[Paro, Bhutan|Paro]], [[Thimphu]], and [[Punakha]]. The {{convert|2.5|m|ft|adj=mid|-wide}} Lateral Road must support traffic in both directions, since the cost of cutting a wider road through the middle [[Himalayas]] would be prohibitive. Safety barriers, road markings, and signage are sparse. Traffic is slow, typically about {{convert|15|km/h|abbr=on}}, to minimise head-on collisions. Road accidents are still frequent and, because of the steep topography, typically horrific. Most of the route between [[Paro Airport]] and [[Thimphu]] has been improved as a two-lane road. [[File:Bhutan post bus.jpg|thumb|alt=Small bus with luggage on top|[[Postbus]] running between [[Thimphu]] and [[Phuntsholing]]]] The Lateral Road traverses a number of high passes, including Tremo La and Do Chu La. The highest pass on the road is at [[Chapcha Gewog|Chapcha]]; the second-highest pass is at [[Trumshing La]], in central Bhutan, at an altitude of over {{convert|3800|m|abbr=on}}.<ref name=BO1>{{cite web |url=http://www.bhutanobserver.bt/lo-and-behold-snow-and-cold/ |first=Sonam |last=Pelden |title=Lo and Behold Snow and Cold |publisher=[[Bhutan Observer]] online |date=2008-01-25 |access-date=2011-08-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111023190809/http://www.bhutanobserver.bt/lo-and-behold-snow-and-cold/ |archive-date=2011-10-23 }}</ref> Main roads in western and eastern Bhutan are maintained by Dantak, a task force of India's [[Border Roads Organisation]]. Roads in the rest of the country are maintained by the [[Politics of Bhutan|Bhutanese government's]] Department of Roads. Much of the country's geology is unstable and there are frequent [[Fault (geology)#Slip, heave, throw|slips]] and [[landslide]]s, aggravated by the summer [[monsoon]] and winter snowstorms and [[frost heave|frost heaving]]. Teams of Indian labourers are housed at work camps in the mountain passes to clear blocked roads. Conditions in the camps are poor, with workers breaking rocks into [[gravel]] on a [[Piece work|piece-rate basis]] when not clearing the roads. An international aid project is underway to stabilise the worst sections of the road. A major [[Japan]]ese aid project aims to replace most of the narrow, single-track bridges with two-way [[Girder bridge|girder spans]] capable of carrying heavier traffic. Most freight is moved on eight-ton {{convert|300|hp|kW|0|abbr=on}} [[Tata Motors|Tata]] trucks, which are often overloaded. There is a network of passenger buses, and the most common vehicle in government and private use is the four-wheel-drive pickup truck. A national driver-licensing system includes a [[driving test]]. Government drivers are trained at the Samthang Vocational Training Institute's driving school (formerly the National Driving Training Institute). The roads have [[traffic light]]s; although a stoplight in Thimphu was dismantled, there are reportedly plans to reinstall it.
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