A total length of roads in Tajikistan being on the balance sheet of the Ministry of Transport (MoT) is about 15,000 kilometers, including more than 3,300 kilometers of roads of international importance, more than 2,100 kilometers of roads of republican significance and about 9,000 kilometers of local roads.
There are five main tunnels, namely Istiqlol tunnel, better known among the population as the Anzob Tunnel with a length of 5.253 kilometers, the Shahriston Tunnel – 5,253 km, Dousti Tunnel – 1,047km (these three tunnels are along the highway connecting Dushanbe and the northern province of Sughd), Khatlon Tunnel, better known among the population as the Chormaghzak Tunnel – 4.450 km and Ozodi Tunnel, better known among the population as the Shar-Shar- Tunnel – 2,223 km (both tunnels are along the highway connecting Dushanbe and the southern city of Kulob) with a total length of about 23 kilometers and twenty-nine avalanche galleries with a total length of 4.627 km operating along the country’s highways.
ИЗОБРАЖЕНИЕ Road in GBAO; photo / Asia-Plus
The tunnels have shortened the driving time between Dushanbe and Sughd province and between Dushanbe and the city of Kulob.
It is to be noted that many highway and tunnel construction projects have been implemented with support from donor countries and international financial institutions. Major projects include rehabilitation of the Dushanbe – Chanak (Uzbek border), Dushanbe – Kulma (Chinese border), and Bokhtar – Panji Poyon (Afghan border) highways, and construction of tunnels under the mountain passes of Anzob, Shahriston, Chormaghzak and Shar-Shar.
As far as the Dushanbe-Khujand-Chanak (Uzbekistan border) highway connecting Dushanbe and northern Tajikistan is concerned, the Branch of Innovative Road Solutions (IRS) LTD in Tajikistan operates the toll on this 358-kilometer highway.
ИЗОБРАЖЕНИЕ Preparation of Dushanbe-Chanak highway for winter; photo /IRS
An official source within IRS’s Branch says they have taken measures to make the highway ready for the winter period.
As far as the Dushanbe-Kulob-Khorog-Murgab-Kulma (China border) highway is concerned, this highway with a total length of more than 1,000 kilometers remains most problematic in the country.
In the territory of the Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO), only the stretch from Zighar village in Darvoz district to Qalai Khumb, the administrative center of the Darvoz district. While most of the mountainous passes the Pamir Highway stretches through are unpaved and untended. The highway is frequently closed in the winter months because of the avalanches and other prohibitive driving conditions.
According to data from a MoT, rehabilitation of the stretch of the Dushanbe-Kulob-Khorog-Murgab-Kulma from Qalai Khumb to the administrative border of Rushan district began in June this year. China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) is engaged in rehabilitation of this stretch of the highway. China has awarded US$230 million grant for this project.
Meanwhile, the Rushan-Khorog-Kulma road, which is the key section of the highway and the only overland route between Tajikistan and China, has not been overhauled since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
ИЗОБРАЖЕНИЕ
According to the preliminary evaluations of the MoT, US$200 million are needed for rehabilitation of the 163 kilometer road from the beginning of the Rushan district to GBAO’s capital, Khorog, and US$567 million are needed for rehabilitation of the 395-kilometer road from Khorog to Kulma.
According to data from the Mot, a total length of roads in GBAO is more than 2,700 kilometers, including about 1,300 kilometers of road of international importance, 385 kilometers of road of republican significance and about 1,100 kilometers of local roads.
The Dushanbe-Kulob-Khorog-Kulma-Karokurum highway may reference Asian Highway 66 (AH66) as well as parts of the famous Pamir Highway. AH66 runs from Dushanbe to Xinjiang, crossing the border at Kulma Pass and connecting to the Karakoram highway that runs north-south from China into Pakistan.
It is to be noted that the Dushanbe-Khorog highway was built in 1940 in a record three and a half months. Until 1940, it was possible to get from Khorog to Dushanbe only after driving 732 kilometers to Osh (Kyrgyzstan) by carriage road, and then 1551 kilometers by rail.
