The Kabul-Herat highway, hosting hundreds of small and large passenger vehicles daily, ranks among the busiest roads nationwide. Presently, its reconstruction’s sluggish progress extends travel time for both passengers and drivers. Travelers note that while the Kabul-Herat highway was once traversable in 15 hours, it now requires approximately 23 to 24 hours to complete.
During years of conflict and clashes between the Taliban and the previous government, the Kabul-Herat highway was heavily mined and severely damaged by the Taliban. Due to explosives planted by the Taliban, all bridges and culverts on this route were destroyed. However, after gaining control of Afghanistan, the Taliban have reconstructed this highway.
In July this year, the Taliban signed contracts for the reconstruction of the Kabul-Herat highway with seven companies. Initially, the group claimed that the reconstruction work, covering 480 kilometers of road, 46 bridges, and 1,716 culverts, would be completed at the earliest opportunity.
Some citizens of the country who travel on this highway report that the reconstruction process is progressing very slowly. The distance that they used to cover in about 15 hours now requires approximately 23 to 24 hours.
Sayed Ali, a resident of Herat province, is one of the frequent travelers along the Kabul-Herat highway. He states that currently, passengers are forced to use adjacent roads created by drivers due to the deteriorating condition of the main highway. According to him, this situation has made the Kabul-Herat route long and difficult for travelers. Speaking to the Hasht-e Subh Daily, the Herat resident says, “The road is in very bad shape. From Ghazni to Kabul, we didn’t even travel for five minutes on an asphalted road, all were rough and unasphalted. Each driver has created a path beside the main road, just a dirt strip. Cars maneuver through the dirt and move forward. The distance and the dirt road cause a lot of discomfort for passengers.”
Sayed Ali adds, “Previously, our journey from Herat to Kabul took 14 to 16 hours, but now it takes 23 to 24 hours. It’s unbelievable how much the road’s deterioration has affected us, weary and tired our bodies to the extent that when we reach our destination, we have to rest for a very long time.”
Meanwhile, drivers traveling along the Kabul-Herat highway also complain about the slow pace of its reconstruction. They say that due to the road’s poor condition, their vehicles suffer damage after each trip. These drivers believe that the Taliban should have systematically divided the construction of this highway and started the reconstruction of one section after completing another. However, they have not considered the people’s problems.
Ali Ahmad, who has been a passenger bus driver from Herat to Kabul for years, says, “These people [the Taliban] have very interesting and senseless activities. Even if they do good work, it has to inconvenience people. They have deliberately destroyed roads, bridges, and culverts from Arghandi and Maidan Shahr City, the center of Maidan Wardak province to Ghazni, and claim that they are reconstructing them; meaning we are forced to travel an extra 400 kilometers. This work could have been divided into parts to facilitate citizens. Once one part was completed, they could have started the next.”
The passenger bus driver adds, “Now we have to travel 400 kilometers on unpaved roads. Every vehicle suffers damages at once. Before road construction, fuel consumption and damages were less, but now fuel consumption has increased, and every few trips, we have to change the vehicle tires. In short, vehicle expenses have almost doubled because there is now at least a 9-hour difference in distance travel since the road construction began.”
Drivers and those traveling along the Kabul-Herat highway are urging Taliban authorities to expedite the reconstruction process of this highway to reduce the commuting challenges along this route.