The Thimphu-Wangdue road is classified as the primary national highway in Bhutan. Except for an undefined weak zone near the portal at Nabisa, the 10.5 km-long road tunnel road Yusipang in Thimphu to Nabesa in Wangdue Phodrang (Bhutan) has been found feasible. If the tunnel is constructed, the proposed two-lane road would reduce the two-and-a-half-hour travel to less than half an hour.

In November the Department of Geology and Mines (DGM) under the economic affairs ministry will start to bore holes to examine the weak zone in Nahi area, Wangdue, where the tunnel ends. Experts from the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI) and DGM selected the location at the beginning of September. The tunnel survey is a joint project between NGI and DGM carried out with EUR237 million funding from Norwegian agency for development (NORAD). DGM has sought additional funding of EUR65 million from NORAD to conduct the borehole investigations, which include surface geophysics and geological mapping. 

The department is in the final stage of preparing a detailed report with NGI, including cost estimations, for the tunnel. If the budget comes through, the study will be complete by end of this year. 42/14.