Kathmandu, Sept. 4 -- The Department of Roads (DoR) has begun widening a new track around a landslide on the Prithvi Highway in an effort to restore traffic along a key route linking Kathmandu with the country's western districts.

The department said excavators were working from both ends of the landslide site at Krishnabhir, with about 50 metres of the temporary track opened so far.

Sajana Adhikari, chief of the Malekhu-Muglin road section, said the new route was being built above the landslide area to allow vehicles to pass.

The initial track is only wide enough for excavators, the department said in a statement on Facebook. Workers cut and removed trees from the area on Thursday to prepare for the construction.

The Ministry of Phys...