On 4 August 2008, IRP staff performed emergency repair work to the damaged road at Gerdi Seri, stabilizing and widening the badly eroded roadbed until more permanent repairs can be undertaken. The work is part of a USAID funded project, implemented through IRP, to build an all weather paved asphalt road approximately 103 kilometers in length from Gardez to Khost in Eastern Afghanistan. Upon completion, this road will be a natural extension of the 122 kilometer Kabul to Gardez Road and will provide a western-standard road all the way from the capital, Kabul, into the heart of the Khost province.

The damage was caused by water flowing across the road from a large drainage area in the hills. Compounding the damage was the presence of a u-shaped rock formation lying underneath the road which was filled in during the original construction of the road, making the road more susceptible to erosion. The area which eroded was approximately 20 meters wide, 25 meters long, and two to five meters deep.

A temporary solution was to place gabions (stone-filled baskets) to protect the remaining roadway from further erosion until permanent works could be implemented. However, the placement of gabions was hindered, and ultimately failed, due to the 60-70 degree slope on the bedrock. The leveled shelf prepared for the gabion foundation slipped during the filling of the gabion basket, and without rock breaking equipment, the foundation could not be adequately leveled to hold the gabion.

After the failure of the gabion foundation, IRP implemented a secondary plan which involved removing an approximately two-meter-wide section from a ruined house next to the washout to allow a wider roadway. Sand and gravel were excavated nearby and hauled to the site via dump trucks. Approximately 180 cubic meters (30 truck loads) were dumped and compacted using the bucket of the excavator. Time constraints and security concerns limited the amount that could be filled, but several hundred cubic meters comfortably fit inside the washout.

It took three dump trucks, one excavator, and ten laborers to complete the task. Due to bad weather, the military was unable to accompany IRP staff to the jobsite, making security entirely IRP’s responsibility.

Between widening the road and placing the embankment, several meters of width were gained. When it rains again in Gerdi Seri, the erosion will continue. However, the work performed by IRP should buy enough time to keep the road open until permanent reconstruction works are completed in the spring.