Afghanistan–Uzbekistan Friendship Bridge

An Afghan Border Police officer standing on the Afghan side of the Afghanistan–Uzbekistan Friendship Bridge.

The Afghanistan–Uzbekistan Friendship Bridge is a road and rail bridge across the river Amu Darya, connecting the town of Hairatan in the northern Balkh province of Afghanistan with Termez in Uzbekistan.[1] The bridge was built by the Soviet Union and opened in 1982[2] to supply its troops in Afghanistan.

Overview

It is the only fixed link across the Uzbek–Afghan border, the nearest bridge across the Amu Darya being a pipeline bridge at Kelif, some 120 kilometers (74.5 mi) to the west, crossing the Turkmen-Afghan border.

The bridge was closed in May 1997 when the Taliban forces attacked the city of Mazar-i-Sharif, and Uzbekistan feared a spreading of the disturbances to their own country. It reopened on December 9, 2001.[3] Work began in January 2010 to extend the railway to Mazar-i-Sharif.[4] which was completed in November of the same year.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Hairatan and the Friendship Bridge".
  2. ↑ "USSR-Afghan link". Modern Railways. August 1982. p. 342.
  3. ↑ "Breakthrough in Afghan aid effort". BBC News. 2001-12-09.
  4. ↑ "Construction of Afghan railway launched". Railway Gazette International. 2010-01-27.

External links

Media related to Afghanistan–Uzbekistan Friendship Bridge at Wikimedia Commons

Coordinates: 37°13′40″N 67°25′42″E / 37.2278°N 67.4282°E / 37.2278; 67.4282


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