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Bridging the Gaps on Highway 1

  • Published
  • By Army 1st Lt. Tomas Rofkahr
  • CTF Castle Public Affairs
BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan --  Members of the Australian Reconstruction Task Force and Task Force Castle's 420th Engineer Brigade completed the emplacement of two Mabey Johnson bridges near Andar and Moqur in eastern Afghanistan. Insurgent attacks during the summer left the bridges in each location impassible to both civilian and military traffic, forcing Afghans and Coalition forces to use single-lane bypasses. 

Work progressed quickly once the Australian and American combat engineers arrived on site. In just over two days, the first bridge in Andar was quickly erected and forces moved on to Moqur, where they emplaced the second bridge. 

The stretch of Highway 1, or Kandahar to Kabul road, that the engineers worked on, is a paved route originally built in the 1960's that joins the two major Afghan cities. The 300-mile stretch that the bridges are located on was refurbished in 2002 and 2003 as part of President Bush's Afghanistan Road Initiative. According to USAID, the work was credited with reducing the transit time between Kandahar and Kabul by half. 

In recent months, Highway 1 has become a focal point for insurgent activity. Both Taliban fighters and common bandits are targeting supply convoys and merchant traffic up and down the route. The bridge attacks were the latest in the Taliban's efforts to impede Afghanistan's reconstruction and stability. 

The bridge attacks are a serious concern, but not a serious engineering problem to solve. 

"Each section of the bridge is called a bay and is about 10 feet long," said Capt. James Reid, Task Force Castle's assistant operations officer. "We were able to do a 10 bay bridge in two days." 

Reid, an Arkansas native, has seen a great deal in his 20 years of military service, with multiple tours in Iraq and now building bridges in Afghanistan. 

"I'm excited to be involved in this," said Reid. "It's helping everybody, it's helping Afghanistan, it's helping the Coalition forces and it's just a win-win for everyone."