Bhutan had virtually no motorable roads until the 1960s, when India helped build the first highways connecting Thimphu to the Indian border. The country's dramatic mountain terrain has made road construction one of the most challenging infrastructure projects in the Himalayas.
Overview
Until the early 1960s, Bhutan had no motorable roads. All travel was on foot or by horse along narrow mountain trails — a journey from Thimphu to Phuentsholing on the Indian border took a week on foot.[4] The construction of roads transformed Bhutan's economy and society more profoundly than perhaps any other single development initiative.[3]
First Roads (1960s)
Under the First Five-Year Plan (1961-66), India's Border Roads Organisation (BRO) began constructing Bhutan's first highways. The Phuentsholing-Thimphu road (176 km) was the first major link, connecting the capital to the Indian border and transforming a week-long trek into a day's drive.
The Lateral Road
The Lateral Road (National Highway 1) running east-west across the country was the most ambitious project, eventually connecting Phuentsholing in the west to Trashigang in the east. Built through some of the most rugged terrain on Earth, the road crosses multiple passes above 3,000m.
Challenges
Bhutan's road network remains vulnerable to monsoon landslides, which can block roads for days or weeks. Maintaining mountain roads in Bhutan is a constant and expensive challenge. Despite this, roads have been the single greatest driver of modernization, enabling access to schools, hospitals, and markets for once-isolated communities.
References
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