Representatives of international organizations have visited the Tajik toll road to get acquainted with operation of it during winter period.  The trip has reportedly been organized by the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Transport.   

At the initiative of Tajikistan’s Ministries of Foreign Affair and Transport, representatives of the European Union Delegation to Tajikistan, the Swiss Office for Cooperation, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)’s Office in Tajikistan, the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN)’s Office in Tajikistan, the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe and the IMF Office in Tajikistan yesterday visited the Dushanbe-Khujand highway. 

The Branch of Innovative Road Solutions (IRS) in Tajikistan, which operates the toll on this highway, says the main purpose of the visit for them was to get acquainted with operation of the highway during the winter period.  

Representatives of international organizations, in particular, visited the avalanche-prone areas and got acquainted with work of the IRS specialists, according to the IRS Branch press center.

The IRS specialists reportedly told them what is being done to avoid the closure of the highway during the winter period.  “The IRS specialists, in particular, noted that it is necessary to build avalanche galleries in such areas,” said Daler Mirganov, a spokesman for the IRS Branch in Tajikistan.  “To-date, 24 such galleries have been built and it is necessary to build 55 other avalanche defense works.”  

An avalanche gallery, snow shed or snow bridge is a type of rigid snow-supporting structure for avalanche control (avalanche defense) or to maintain passage in areas where snow removal becomes almost impossible.  They can be made of steel, prestressed concrete frames, or timber.  These structures can be fully enclosed, like an artificial tunnel, or consist of lattice-like elements.  They are typically of robust construction considering the environments they must survive in.

Recall, the Ministry of Transport on September 27, 2017 presented a number of projects for construction of avalanche defense works on the most hazardous sections of mountain roads at a meeting of the National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction.