New Road Offers Gateway to Optimism

New Road
Originally uploaded by Sydney Weasel.

By Combined Forces Command - Afghanistan
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – The U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, started a $16 million road project that extends from the center of the Panjshir Valley and will eventually connect the valley to southern markets in Charikar and Kabul . Construction on the 47-kilometer paved road began last June and is scheduled for completion by the end of this year.

To supplement the USAID project, the Coalition is using its Commander’s Emergency Reconstruction Program, or CERP, funding to extend the road approximately 20 additional kilometers down the main valley floor at a cost of $2.8 million.

While the physical remoteness of the Panjshir Valley has created a secure, tight-knit society, its ancient seclusion has also served as an economic hindrance; that is, until now. {click on image for details}