By Stephen Kaufman
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- In December 2002, the road connecting the Afghan capital Kabul with the country's second largest city, Kandahar, was marred with broken sections of bombed out concrete and destroyed bridges, and was laden with land mines. The hazardous 482-kilometer journey took two days to complete, and a taxi ride between the two cities cost 1000 afghanis.

Over the past year, with approximately $190 million in funding from the U.S. government, the New Jersey-based Louis Berger Group employed approximately 2000 Afghans and 500 Turks and Indians to resurface a 389-kilometer segment of the road with a layer of asphalt ten centimeters thick and seven meters wide. Essential drainage work was completed, and stripes were painted to delineate two lanes.

In addition, Japan has paid for the resurfacing of a 50-kilometer segment of the road. Forty-three kilometers of the road were sound and required no resurfacing.

At a December 16 dedication ceremony in Durrani for the completion of the first phase of construction, Afghan President Hamid Karzai described the occasion as "one of the best days of our lives."

"We are rebuilding Afghanistan, bringing back to us what we all desired," he said.

The road reconstruction has now enabled Afghans to travel between the two cities in less than five hours. Approximately 35 percent of Afghanistan's 20 million people live within 50 kilometers of the restored road, and now have vastly improved access to health care, employment, education, and local markets. Taxi fares between Kabul and Kandahar have also dropped to 300 afghanis.

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Andrew Natsios, speaking at the dedication ceremony, said a young Afghan boy had told him, "Not only my parents, but all the villagers are happy with the new road because we can get sick people to the clinic faster."

He said a local farmer had told him his children could now get to school more easily and he was better able to take his produce to sell at local markets.

The USAID administrator reminded his audience that the achievement came at the heavy price of nine killed and 16 injured by Taliban supporters as they worked, guarded the road, or cleared landmines along its path. Another three workers were kidnapped, including two Indian citizens who are still held by the Taliban.

Natsios called attention to a memorial plaque to the victims on the edge of the road and offered prayers for the injured and kidnapping victims. He also recognized demining experts from the United Nations and the Afghan Ministry of Interior's highway patrol for their roles in increasing the security of the road.

U.S. Special Envoy and Ambassador to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad said the completion of the first phase of the road reconstruction before the end of 2003 was the fulfillment of a promise made by President Bush to President Karzai in 2002.

However, he said the opening of the Kabul-Kandahar road "is not the end of our work -- it is just the beginning."

"The rebuilding of the roads of Afghanistan will help restore its place as the crossroads of regional trade," said Khalilzad. "And it will continue to connect the people of the north with the people of the south and those of the east with those of the west."

He encouraged other governments and organizations funding road construction, including Japan, Saudi Arabia, Italy, the World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank, to build "as fast as possible," and enable economic growth in the country to "be unleashed."

According to a December 16 USAID press release, the United States has given more than $1.7 billion in aid to Afghanistan since 2001 and the U.S. Congress recently appropriated an additional $1.2 billion to accelerate reconstruction efforts.

Khalilzad said the United States is helping to train 10,000 Afghan National Army troops per year, plus 20,000 policemen, and several thousand border and highway officers.

"To help Afghan families educate and care for their children, we will build and rehabilitate over 1,000 schools and 400 clinics," he said.

Many representatives of the Loya Jirga (Grand Assembly) who are currently meeting in Kabul to debate and vote on the country's new constitution, also attended the dedication ceremony.

Khalilzad paid tribute to the visiting delegates, saying "They know that the hope of the Afghan people and the eyes of the world are focused on them. They can place Afghanistan firmly on the path toward a moderate and democratic government that provides security and respects the human rights of all Afghans."