The bridge forms an important link between Old Baneshwore, the Tribhuwan International Airport and Kathmandu Medical College Teaching Hospital, and was built in 1965 by NCCN, a contractor owned by the Nepalese government.

Engineers at the Department of Roads have blamed the government for failing to control land encroachment near the river and excessive sand extraction in the river. This is thought to have caused one of the piers to subside by some 500mm in the incident, earlier this month.

Authorities claim that the bridge will take up to three months to repair, and could take more than two years to build a new one. The bridge unit of the Department of Roads has formed a technical committee which will conduct a investigation and begin feasibility studies for the reconstruction of the crossing.