Enhancing the Safety of Nepal's Mountain Roads recognised with Royal Award

14 December 2020

World Bank Global Road Safety Facility (GRSF) – Enhancing the Safety of Nepal's Mountain Roads has been recognised with a Prince Michael International Road Safety Award.

Mountainous roads in Western Nepal present high risk, with many multiple fatality crashes occurring each year through vehicles going off the road and plunging down steep cliffs. The project installed over 7km of lifesaving roadside barriers on cliffside roads in Western Nepal, as well as building footpaths where pedestrians walked on the roads, with GRSF funding provided by UK Aid, and implementation managed by the World Bank employing and up-skilling many local people.

This project addressed both risks by selecting the highest risk locations for treatment and installing roadside barriers (guardrail) and footpaths. Many thousands of lives are being saved, as well as many more thousands of serious injuries. GRSF (funded by UK Aid) has committed over US$6million to save the lives of road users (drivers, passengers, and pedestrians) on mountainous roads in Nepal. The instillation of roadside barriers and footpaths on roads were completed in July 2019, allowing time to experience the level of change and provide an evaluation.