This road will soon bypass the hill Bahun Danda.

       

On day 2 of our trek we heard constant blasting. This stretch will probably be open in 2007.

In many areas the road bypasses guest houses and tea houses that were very popular.

This old trail bridge near Kalaponi has had all the wood flooring removed

A vehicle bridge on the new road

Here the old trail has been virtually destroyed by rubble from the road construction higher up the slope

Here the road was built over the old trail

In some areas the work is almost completed

Still some significant rock to be removed

Lots more work to be done here.

Road crew at work with pick axes and pry bars

Those little dots are a construction crew prying out rocks and rolling them down the steep hillside

I missed a turn in the detour around this one and had climbed about 800-1000 feet up a steep path before I ran into a Nepalese that told me I was on the wrong trail.

More manual laborers

Amazingly enough, this guy is boring blasting holes in the rock by hand

How many days does it take slamming a metal shaft into rock to make a decent hole for blasting?

Close to Totaponi they are making some progress here.