Construction is continuing on more than 75 kilometres of the second Kabul-Jalalabad highway, according to project officials and the Ministry of Public Works. The alternative route is intended to ease pressure on the existing mountain road and provide another connection between the capital and eastern Afghanistan.
The route begins in Bagrami and passes through Khak Jabar and Surobi in Kabul province before continuing through Hesarak, Sherzad, Khogyani and Surkh Rod in Nangarhar. Several sections are being built at the same time.
Officials say the sections now under construction are expected to take about three more years to complete. Mountainous terrain, extensive cutting through rock and the risk of flooding in some areas are among the engineering challenges. The road is expected to carry passenger and freight traffic once completed.