# [TM] Turkmenistan | road infrastructure



## Buddy Holly (Sep 24, 2008)

Verso said:


> W00t! Fully-lit 8-lane freeway for Ashgabat? Looks awesome! Is that isolated complex on the right a mosque?


Looks like it from afar, but it could also be a smaller oil facility.


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## Kuvvaci (Jan 1, 2005)

nice pic


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

According to a Turkmenistan and a Spanish source, the construction of a motorway between the airport of Turkmenbashi and the Avaza tourist region on the Caspian Sea has started. It won't be a very long motorway, approximately 20 kilometers.

http://spanish.ruvr.ru/2011/07/12/53101841.html
http://www.turkmenistan.gov.tm/_en/?idr=1&id=110711b


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## Verso (Jun 5, 2006)

Almost 3 years since the last post? This will probably be another 8-lane motorway.


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

New roads U/C in Ashgabat. Now visible on update Google Earth imagery.

1. Ashgabat eastern bypass









2. New road in the southwest









3. New cloverleaf on the ring road


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## Nima-Farid (Jul 13, 2010)

^^ any updates?


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## sumer urmiyeli (Oct 2, 2011)

Good progress but I think Highways in Türkmenistan will better year to year.


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## Satyricon84 (Feb 3, 2009)

From Türkmenbaşy to border with Uzbekistan


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## Satyricon84 (Feb 3, 2009)




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## Nima-Farid (Jul 13, 2010)

A sign towards the border


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## NFZANMNIM (Jul 6, 2012)

:deadthread:


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## Satyricon84 (Feb 3, 2009)

Road building between Turkmenbashi and Ashgabat


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## NFZANMNIM (Jul 6, 2012)

Satyricon84 said:


> Road building between Turkmenbashi and Ashgabat


Excelent View. Seems the road is going to nowhere...


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## panteon (Oct 20, 2012)

interesting country :cheers:


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## NFZANMNIM (Jul 6, 2012)

panteon said:


> interesting country :cheers:


Indeed it is...


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## changluo (Jul 7, 2012)

border of Uzbekistan/Turkmenistan, looking from Uzbek side


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## changluo (Jul 7, 2012)

my car is waiting for Turkmen border soldiers who are having lunch and sunflower seeds


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## changluo (Jul 7, 2012)

M37 - desert highway


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## changluo (Jul 7, 2012)

Turkmenabat city


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## changluo (Jul 7, 2012)

Turkmenabat city


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## changluo (Jul 7, 2012)

Satyricon84 said:


> Let me know if you come again to Italy by car, I can't miss again a chinese plate. I've already missed Indonesia few months ago


Sure but you may need to wait for a few years:lol:


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## NFZANMNIM (Jul 6, 2012)

changluo said:


> arriving at border


Do you have any pictures from Iran? If yes, post it here in Iran's thread.


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

*M37*

A new six-lane M37 was built in 2012 near the city of Balkanabat in western Turkmenistan. It begins southeast of Balkanabat (as far as Google Earth imagery tells) and stretches to the city of Dzhebel. It's a new alignment, but no grade-separation except for a railway crossing. It's about 30 kilometers long.


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

New interchanges in northern Ashgabat.


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

There is a new bypass under construction around the eastern city of Türkmenabat. There does not seem to be any construction of a bridge across the Amu-Darya River yet.


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

*Ashgabat*

New infrastructure in southern Ashgabat. They opened this in the last 18 months or so. I wonder what it will all serve, there's mostly undeveloped steppe.




















Also, this area in western Ashgabat saw some new roads over the last couple of years.

2004:









2013:


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## NFZANMNIM (Jul 6, 2012)

My suggestion for a Mashhad-Esghabad (Ashgabat) Freeway








Blue: Current Route: 230 Km - 2:53 travel time
Red: suggested Freeway - 186 Km - 1:40 travel time


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## Wolfgang16 (Jun 13, 2013)

There is already an expressway from Mashhad to Quchan, the rest is mountainous area.

From my point of view it would be nice to have a good connection from the M37 (from Samarkand) to Sabzevar (in the lower left corner) where the expressway to Teheran begins.

Sabzevar is the the most distant (or the furthest easterly) location you can drive to from Europe by using predominantly expressways!


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## NFZANMNIM (Jul 6, 2012)

Connection to Mashhad connects the city with an industrial and consumer centre and from Mashhad to Tehran, the expressway is planned to be upgraded to freeway standards all the way and also Mashhad is the gateway fro Turkmenistan towards south to Chabahar, which is the closest port to international waters. and it would act as a shortcut to Harat in Afghanistan.


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

*Ashgabat*


Ashgabat by OwenJacob, on Flickr


The road south by releasethedogs, on Flickr


Aşgabat (Turkmenistan) - Highway by Danielzolli, on Flickr


Turkmenistan, towards Ashgabat. Empty 4 by 4 lanes highway. by Harry -[ The Travel ]- Marmot, on Flickr


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## italystf (Aug 2, 2011)

Weird for a such poor and sparsely populated country to have such impressive infrastructures. It looks like North Korea.


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## Kanadzie (Jan 3, 2014)

italystf said:


> Weird for a such poor and sparsely populated country to have such impressive infrastructures. It looks like North Korea.


There are many similarities, like the old dictator of Turkmenistan legally changing the names of the months of the year to the names of his family :lol::nuts: But, there is gas and oil in the country!


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## Verso (Jun 5, 2006)

ChrisZwolle said:


> Aşgabat (Turkmenistan) - Highway by Danielzolli, on Flickr


Serdar Yoly?


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## NFZANMNIM (Jul 6, 2012)

^^ Huh? :lol:
Serdar Yoly is Sardar Road, meaning the General's Road


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## NFZANMNIM (Jul 6, 2012)

Also, Freeways in Ashkabat?  Nice, need to locate that and upgrade the road to freeway to motorway status on google maps


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## moderntm (Apr 14, 2014)

Ashgabat, Turkmenistan


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## moderntm (Apr 14, 2014)

Video of Ashgabat road infrastructure


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## verreme (May 16, 2012)

Wow. That is just obscene. Turkmenistan has a GDP per capita lower than Bulgaria or Belarus, yet they waste all they have building that megalomaniac nonsense. Only North Korea comes close to that madness.


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## moderntm (Apr 14, 2014)

verreme said:


> Wow. That is just obscene. Turkmenistan has a GDP per capita lower than Bulgaria or Belarus, yet they waste all they have building that megalomaniac nonsense. Only North Korea comes close to that madness.


Silly comparison. Do not mix politics with construction. Do not count else's moneys. Be envious silence.


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## moderntm (Apr 14, 2014)

Ahal Province:



























































































Ashgabat:





































Awaza, Balkan Province:


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## sponge_bob (Aug 11, 2013)

Most of the population of Turkmenistan are strung out in a Nw/Se line from the Caspian sea at Turkmenbashi to Mary with Ashgebat in the middle. 

That is a 1100km backbone that connects almost everywhere of any importance in Turkmenistan. 

I believe only around 100km of that 1100km is full Motorway grade although some is expressway grade 2+2 and some is non access controlled 2+2. 

Can someone give accurate statistics please.Thanks.


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## verreme (May 16, 2012)

moderntm said:


> Silly comparison. Do not mix politics with construction. Do not count else's moneys. Be envious silence.


Envy? These roads would be considered a waste even in Europe's richest countries, which are way wealthier than Turkmenistan. If they built something like that in my country, I wouldn't be the first protesting against it in the streets. Not even the richest country in the world _needs_ that luxury more than top-notch education or health care.


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## moderntm (Apr 14, 2014)




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## moderntm (Apr 14, 2014)

Reconstruction of roads, streets and highways by turkish company  Nata Holding.


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## moderntm (Apr 14, 2014)

Presentation of NATA Inşaat.









Map of Ashgabat






























































































































Subways









Road signs


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## moderntm (Apr 14, 2014)

Ashgabat:







































































































































































































Awaza:



























Photo: Vozrozhdenie Russia


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## moderntm (Apr 14, 2014)

Ashgabat:







































































































































































































Awaza:



























Photo: Vozrozhdenie Russia


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## moderntm (Apr 14, 2014)




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## moderntm (Apr 14, 2014)

Автор https://vk.com/dp_graphy



























https://vk.com/moderntm


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## moderntm (Apr 14, 2014)

https://vk.com/moderntm


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## SRC_100 (May 21, 2014)

^^
Asian Las Vegas...


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## ETSman (May 2, 2012)

...


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## bigic (Aug 29, 2014)

Don't hotlink!


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## moderntm (Apr 14, 2014)

Fantastic Ashgabat. Turkmenistan.
Sergey Dolya


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## Autoputevi kao hobi (Jan 8, 2014)

This looks very rich.


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## Blazar (Aug 24, 2008)

I want to relocate there !!!


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

Kitsch and showoff central. Interesting nonetheless. I don't think many post-Soviet cities look this neat and maintained.


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## verreme (May 16, 2012)

Blazar said:


> I want to relocate there !!!


I don't. Turkmenistan has the 3rd worst press freedom conditions in the world, according to Reporters Without Borders' 2014 Press Freedom Index. There's no actual freedom of religion or expression, and any opposition to the Government may be punished with life imprisonement.

At least living conditions are now better than with president Niyazov, who banned everything he didn't like and renamed even the months of the calendar.

More information on this beautiful and modern country where no dirt is to be seen on the pristine streets of its capital city:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_Turkmenistan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_religion_in_Turkmenistan

Of course, these articles are written by envious Westerners who do not understand Turkmen enlightment.


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## italystf (Aug 2, 2011)

Ashgabat looks like a very fake and unnatural place, built just for propaganda. Something like Astana or Pyongyang.


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## lazaroskyr (Jan 2, 2014)

Megalomaniac ugliness.


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## NFZANMNIM (Jul 6, 2012)

^^ All 3 of them are impractically built and are not sustainable without the flow of governmental money (Abu Dhabi's oil money in case of Dubai, Government's Gas money for Ashgabat, and government's usual budget for pyongyang)
But to be fair, it looks more like Pyongyang, just look at the satellite imageries.


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## SRC_100 (May 21, 2014)

moderntm said:


> Our city looks like Dubai !!!


I suppose you have never been in Dubai, if you would have been then you would not write such a nonsense


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## moderntm (Apr 14, 2014)

I am sure that NONE of you was in Ashgabat and Turkmenistan as a whole.


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## čarli1 (Feb 4, 2013)

moderntm said:


> I am sure that NONE of you was in Ashgabat and Turkmenistan as a whole.


And you were never in Dubai or Pyongyang:banana:


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## NFZANMNIM (Jul 6, 2012)

what's so special about dubai, and so not-special about pyongyang anyways? why does a city have to look like one and not look like the other for it to be a good city?


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## definitivo (Nov 21, 2013)

moderntm said:


> I am sure that NONE of you was in Ashgabat and Turkmenistan as a whole.



...don't be sure......I was...long time ago ( 1993 )...and Dubai 2005. 2009, 2012...Pyongyang - till now NO...


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## Verso (Jun 5, 2006)

moderntm said:


>


ROFL :lol:


Btw, the only post I've made about Turkmenistan is this one. It's probably more realistic than what moderntm shows us here.


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## moderntm (Apr 14, 2014)

čarli;119747047 said:


> And you were never in Dubai or Pyongyang:banana:


I was in Dubai, we buy almost all the cars there. And take as an example the construction there.


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## RV (Oct 23, 2007)

So 20 rich people cars in the whole city. Great. Even no old Ladas. I suppose nobody has been in Ashgabat because it is practically impossible to get a travel permission, and "guides" follow you everywhere in a limo showing this empty giant monument aka the center of Ashgabat.


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## NFZANMNIM (Jul 6, 2012)

Enough with the useless talk and let's get back on the topic of Roads
A Yoloten-Andikhoy Road seems to be much needed as it cuts the distance from Northern Afghanistan to Mary and Ashghabat

The length would be approximately 250 km









This would shorten the distance from 930 km (Road going through Kushk-Herat-Maymana)


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## moderntm (Apr 14, 2014)

Reconstruction of Ashgabat roads. http://abatshekil.com/folio/развязки-и-дороги-города-ашхабада/


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## SRC_100 (May 21, 2014)

^^
Simcity or what? :nuts:


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## Verso (Jun 5, 2006)

I think I saw the same pictures five times.


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## Autoputevi kao hobi (Jan 8, 2014)

The perfect world.


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## sponge_bob (Aug 11, 2013)

SRC_100 said:


> ^^
> Simcity or what? :nuts:


Simcity Special Dictatorship Extension Pack 2015 even.


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

What would this be? Just outside Ashgabat.


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## stickedy (Mar 8, 2011)

Race circuit?


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## NFZANMNIM (Jul 6, 2012)

Aliens?


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## Kanadzie (Jan 3, 2014)

is a doodle from the Ruhnama


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## ForteTwo (Feb 27, 2010)

*SSC Chess*

^^Knight to M37 checkmate


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## moderntm (Apr 14, 2014)

Its a symbol of 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games.


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## moderntm (Apr 14, 2014)

Ashgabat — Turkmenbashi highway project.


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)




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## moderntm (Apr 14, 2014)

Kopetdag Highway by Polimeks










Chandybil aHighway by Polimeks


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## JuaanAcosta (Sep 28, 2014)

On North Korea level.


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## definitivo (Nov 21, 2013)

...so many lines for dozen cars ?!?


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## sponge_bob (Aug 11, 2013)

The great dear leader demanded mooOre. pictures of the same 10km of road and tacky statues out near the main airport that we see all the time in this thread.

Otherwise public flogging. 

Any other road...public flogging.


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## Losbp (Nov 20, 2012)

moderntm said:


>


They seem to adopt both Turkish and Russian road sign style...


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## moderntm (Apr 14, 2014)




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## moderntm (Apr 14, 2014)

Roundabouts


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## Corvinus (Dec 8, 2010)

Losbp said:


> They seem to adopt both Turkish and Russian road sign style...


Yes, bit like Angola uses a mix pf Portuguese and South African sign styles.

Those are some great roads around Ashgabat, but all the attempted "decoration" is rather ugly and very kitschy. Just save the money spent on it and use it for road construction in the countryside :cheers:


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## kostas97 (Jan 19, 2014)

When is construction of the Turkmenbasy-Asgabat motorway going to start?
And how about its characteristics?


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## moderntm (Apr 14, 2014)

Construction of the Turkmenbasy-Asgabat started 1 year ago near new International Passenger Bus Terminal of Ashgabat © TURKMENISTAN.RU


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## kostas97 (Jan 19, 2014)

moderntm said:


> Construction of the Turkmenbasy-Asgabat started 1 year ago near new International Passenger Bus Terminal of Ashgabat © TURKMENISTAN.RU


And how about the progress, the cost and the timeline?


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## brahimweldl7aja (Nov 18, 2010)

I like that they are planting many trees


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## keironcs (Jan 14, 2011)

Nice country I would like visit all Central Asia countries soon..


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## sponge_bob (Aug 11, 2013)

keironcs said:


> Nice country I would like visit all Central Asia countries soon..


Read this very carefully first. 

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/turkmenistan/entry-requirements


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## kostas97 (Jan 19, 2014)

sponge_bob said:


> Timeline ??? The great dear basher leader personally announced it so that means it is complete already.
> 
> 6 lanes end to end and completely grade separated. Never mind what those Google satellite photos tell you. They mean nothing.


Oh, I see what you're trying to say.....thanks for the info fellow!


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## NFZANMNIM (Jul 6, 2012)

Ashgabat's new developments seem to be too pedestrian-unfriendly, sparce, segragated zones for different functions and wide streets. Life's gonna be real hard without a car...


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## pyramidxx (Jul 17, 2010)

interesting country,as I can see girls don't wear hijabs as muslim girls in Europe!!


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## sotonsi (Feb 6, 2007)

What does this have to do with roads?

When Turkmenistan's leader starts building roads that spell out his favourite horses' names or whatever, then this sort of stuff is on topic.


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## moderntm (Apr 14, 2014)

Reconstructed 1916 Street (Former Annanov street)
Google maps: 37.920851, 58.423631


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## RV (Oct 23, 2007)

Why do you destroy history and change street names? AND the Second Beloved Leader is building the city as it seems mostly by his own ideas and street names. The point is that these roads seem to be signs of power, not needed infrastructure for real. Can some Turkmen explain me do you really like this Turkmenbashy-Ruhnama-stuff and giant spending for buildings where no-one can afford to live?? Like Pjongjang in the 70s or Moscow under Stalin.


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## moderntm (Apr 14, 2014)

I like that names of cities and streets was renamed from Russian to Turkmen. The capital of the United States is named after whom? Why Turkmens do not have the right to call the town or street in honor of the our Dear Leaders? In New York some streets called "First Avenue" or "Fifth Avenue". In Ashgabat, the central square named the St. 2000, the rest of the streets got larger or smaller four-digit numerical names. The names of the central avenues is saved.


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## RV (Oct 23, 2007)

Yeah, but someone who is still living and in office and not a democrat and someone after whom one some one "just like to" name a city (Turkmenbashy, "Leader of all Turkmens")
is another thing that guys that lived 350 years ago (Washington, his surname).


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## NFZANMNIM (Jul 6, 2012)

Uh, wasn't D.C. named Washington in 1991, by the 3 commissioners in charge, while George Washington was still in office? And also, it was G. Washington who was given full right to choose the location of the new capital district.


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## [atomic] (Oct 12, 2013)

1791. And that was over 200 years ago.


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## moderntm (Apr 14, 2014)

The capital of the United States, named in honor of a living president. Turkmens also called secondary (not capital and not populous) Turkmenistan city in honor of the father of Turkmenistan independence. "Turkmenbashi" translated also like "beggining of Turkmens", considering that the city "eastern gate" to Turkmenistan, the name is the symbolic. 

I don't understand why it so bothers you. If you look in your countries, you also have the citys named in honor of someone historic person...


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## NFZANMNIM (Jul 6, 2012)

The difference is that Turkmenbashi has a long history under different names (Qizil-Su the original turkmen name, red water, Krasnovodsk) while Washington D.C. was a completely new settlement.


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## Tenjac (Jul 3, 2014)

Houston is named after Sam Houston who was also in office as the president of Texas in 1837. (when the city was found) so it seems to me that it is common practice in the USA to name the cities after living presidents.


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## moderntm (Apr 14, 2014)

New pedestrian crossing.


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## moderntm (Apr 14, 2014)




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## Marcosebas (Aug 2, 2011)

Why it looks so empty?? There are no cars, people neither.


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## niskogradnja (Feb 8, 2010)

moderntm said:


> New pedestrian crossing.


Where are the pedestrians? Can anyone post pics of normal parts of the country?


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## moderntm (Apr 14, 2014)

This is overhead pedestrian bridge.


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## moderntm (Apr 14, 2014)

New streets of Ashgabat
153923859

Winter in Ashgabat streets.


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## sponge_bob (Aug 11, 2013)

sponge_bob said:


> This project. . Has anything happened with it and are there photos ????
> 
> http://www.inros-lackner.com/en/pro...road_infrastructure/new_motorway_turkmenistan


Nobody answered in 4 months. Bumping.


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## moderntm (Apr 14, 2014)

Reconstructed Nurmuhammet Andalib Street in Ashgabat:


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## moderntm (Apr 14, 2014)

Toll road in Turkmenistan project.


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## Corvinus (Dec 8, 2010)

^^ Money for 2 x 4 lane expressways, but none for a grade-separated intersection?


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## sponge_bob (Aug 11, 2013)

ChrisZwolle said:


> This one was built north of M37 and it is partially visible on satellite imagery. Construction began in January 2019 and the first stage from Ashgabat to Tejen was inaugurated today. The Tejen - Mary segment is scheduled for 2022 and the Mary - Türkmenabat segment is scheduled for 2023.


The road is rather clear on Sentinel. This is the eastern end at Tejen. Not much happens east of here so I doubt the road will actually continue to Mary for some time.









Sentinel-hub Playground


Sentinel-2 L1C imagery taken on October 18, 2021




apps.sentinel-hub.com





The western end of the road is north, rather than west, of Ashgebat with a smidge of something visible west of there too.









Sentinel-hub Playground


Sentinel-2 L1C imagery taken on October 18, 2021




apps.sentinel-hub.com


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

sponge_bob said:


> The western end of the road is north, rather than west, of Ashgebat with a smidge of something visible west of there too.


I think this is the western terminus of the segment opened to traffic today. But it continues west to M37 near the town of Yarajy.


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

I found some signage of the new motorway. It looks like a Turkish design. They even indicate M37, that's the first time I've seen a road number on the signs in Turkmenistan, it seemed that these were not signed anywhere in the country.


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## PovilD (Dec 26, 2011)

15 former Soviet republics slowly start to move away from traditional Soviet font and layout 
For a long time, almost everybody kept the same font, even Estonia at one point. Now it seems more and more countries finding their own font.

First being Latvia and Estonia, recently Ukraine, and now Turkmenistan


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## Corvinus (Dec 8, 2010)

Unfortunately, neither source states what the speed limit on this road will be. Guess 120 km/h at best?


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## NFZANMNIM (Jul 6, 2012)

This is what I managed to trace from Sentinel imagery. The opened segments, the visible under construction segments, and the 4 Connector roads, to Anew, Yashlyk, Iranian border "Gümruk", and Kaka (not poo ).

Theres a few interesting looking interchanges along this highway too


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## NFZANMNIM (Jul 6, 2012)

A few additonal pictures of the newly opened Motorway that I found:

From This Link



























This is one of the interchanges , I think specifically the one for Artyk/Iran Border













































"Forward Forward Only Forward, My beloved Country, Turkmenistan"


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

Interesting that they sign Dasoguz, which is not in the direction of this motorway at all. It's a city in northern Turkmenistan.


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## PovilD (Dec 26, 2011)

I have always found Soviet font weird on Turkmen projects. I think they made good/interesting decision on changing font, and Turkish(-influenced) font fits better for local character. I wonder if this will influence Azerbaijan too which is geographically between Turkmenistan and Turkey.

The problem with uppercase Soviet font creates feeling that space between letters changes chaotically, making font not so good as it could be. GOST font could have DIN font spacing or something very close to that, and it could be ok font.


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

sponge_bob said:


> Not much happens east of here so I doubt the road will actually continue to Mary for some time.


Sentinel Imagery shows some construction between Tejen and M37 west of Mary. But nothing around Mary. However the desert section of Mary - Türkmenabat is visible, it first runs south of M37, then north of it, closely paralleling M37 until the outskirts of Türkmenabat. No bypass of Türkmenabat is visible on the satellite imagery.

It's interesting that they built this motorway as it is partially simultaneously constructed with the dualling of M37 between Ashgabat and Mary. 

Not many drivers will use these roads, as Turkmenistan has a low population that is potentially less than half the official figure of 6 million. 

Some sources indicate a very steep population decline in Turkmenistan: https://www.rferl.org/a/turkmenistan-population-decline-exodus/31355045.html


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## NFZANMNIM (Jul 6, 2012)

Do we know if this Motorway project is part of Belt and Road or not? Don't think so, but it could possibly be


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

I doesn't seem like a BRI project. It's being built by 'Turkmen Awtoban': https://turkmenawtoban.com/en/


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## verreme (May 16, 2012)

^^ Turkmenistan is experiencing a strong recession. State workers reportedly can't withdraw their salaries from ATMs, hospitals are out of supplies and there's strong inflation. Basic goods are scarce and the country is taking an Eastern Bloc approach to the population decline (systematically denying exit visas). You could say that the situation is akin to Venezuela's, safe for the gun violence problem which does not exist in TM. Like in Venezuela, a cleptocracy that holds a firm grip over the country's resources is to blame for the sorry state of the economy.

This sumptuous motorway puzzles me. Turkmenistan has a centrally-planned economy where all resources are concentrated in very few hands and thus it's easy to allocate huge amounts of cash for new cities or roads. However even with central management of the budget I still can't see how they could afford this. No foreign investor would step a foot in TM. They clearly paid Turkish companies which is logical since they have a big expertise on road construction and they're close too. However I wonder what they paid them in. The local currency is closed and almost worthless. And they're running short of hard currency, too.


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

The black market exchange rate is apparently 30 manat to a dollar, while the official exchange rate is 3.50 manat to a dollar.






Turkmenistan: Hands across the water


A Turkmen conglomerate charged with midwifing market reforms is an increasingly important pork-distribution mechanism for nurturing new generations of cronies. Our weekly briefing.




eurasianet.org





It was reported in 2019 that almost 2 million people have left Turkmenistan:









If you don't like the results of the first census, order a second one.


Sources close to the Turkmen government claim that nearly 1.9 million people have left the authoritarian country in the past decade amid increasing financial hardship and a lack of personal freedoms.




www.rferl.org





This means there is a true population collapse in Turkmenistan, perhaps the most extensive population decline for any country except in war. All this infrastructure will serve no purpose if there are so few people. Turkmenistan is quite a large country but its density is very low. And its population is poor so not many people will use this toll road.

There are also reports of rampant inflation, shortages of food, closure of all hospitals outside of Ashgabat, canceled pensions due to some kind of unspecified deficit. Things are definitely not rosy despite the massive oil and gas reserves.


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## Shenkey (Mar 19, 2009)

verreme said:


> ^^ Turkmenistan is experiencing a strong recession. State workers reportedly can't withdraw their salaries from ATMs, hospitals are out of supplies and there's strong inflation. Basic goods are scarce and the country is taking an Eastern Bloc approach to the population decline (systematically denying exit visas). You could say that the situation is akin to Venezuela's, safe for the gun violence problem which does not exist in TM. Like in Venezuela, a cleptocracy that holds a firm grip over the country's resources is to blame for the sorry state of the economy.
> 
> This sumptuous motorway puzzles me. Turkmenistan has a centrally-planned economy where all resources are concentrated in very few hands and thus it's easy to allocate huge amounts of cash for new cities or roads. However even with central management of the budget I still can't see how they could afford this. No foreign investor would step a foot in TM. They clearly paid Turkish companies which is logical since they have a big expertise on road construction and they're close too. However I wonder what they paid them in. The local currency is closed and almost worthless. And they're running short of hard currency, too.


Don't they connect to Turk Stream gas pipeline?
They could pay in gas IOU like Venezuela did to China.

What is going on in the country to cause this? I knew their dear Leader like to play the guitar, sing and build marble cities, but that he actually has gas money to pay for it.


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## verreme (May 16, 2012)

^^ What is happening is that the Dear Leader and his friends stole everything the country's rich oil and gas resources produce and now there's nothing left, exactly like in Venezuela. Even isolated-to-starvation countries like North Korea or Cuba have much better resource management and their economies are kept running, albeit at idle, against all odds.


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

The government is also bulldozing neighborhoods for aesthetic reasons, while not replacing those homes:






Satellites confirm Turkmenistan is not rebuilding homes it destroyed


A showpiece capital has come at a terrible cost to Turkmenistan’s people, this satellite imagery from @earthrisemedia details




eurasianet.org





So these people become homeless. Though there may be an excess stock of houses, the government has built many lavish buildings while the regular population has left by the millions, presumably leaving empty homes behind. 

If 2 million people have left, this means that 30% of the population has left in only a decade. The birth rate is low and mortality rate is high. This is why some demographers project a real population of 2.7 million instead of 6.2 million. That's really something. Such low population cannot sustain a physical economy of this size. 

It makes you wonder if Turkmenistan will also follow a Venezuela scenario where lack of investment in oil & gas production leads to lower production and thus lower government revenues. 

Will this country even exist in a few decades time?


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## verreme (May 16, 2012)

^^ I guess that like in Venezuela the Government is making sure that the army and police forces control the supply system so that they and their families are well-fed and happy to protect the leaders. I wouldn't expect any foreign intervention since Russia seems to be happy about TM being what it is (basically a buffer country geopolitically speaking) and no open enemies of Russia are nearby. There are no accounts of Turkmenistan's neighbours being hostile to it either. If the ruling class keeps all the resources to themselves and their safety is ensured by well-fed security forces, the country will still run even if the population starves little by little, just look at North Korea.

Most of Turkmenistan's neighbours would not be too happy about a potential destabilization of the region that could potentially lead to a US intervention, as they are either openly hostile to the West (Iran, Russia) or openly hostile to help anyone but their own interests (Turkey).


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## sponge_bob (Aug 11, 2013)

I have no idea who built this section of motorway but it was announced as a 4+4 when construction commenced.  






Turkmenistan’s latest megaproject: A road to the future or white elephant grift?


The Turkmen government’s newest megaproject looks like another swindle




eurasianet.org


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## NFZANMNIM (Jul 6, 2012)

President (for-life) of Turkmenistan drove a tractor-trailer along the newly opened motorway lol


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

Another article touching on the motorway opening in Turkmenistan:






Turkmenistan: Situation normal all trucked up


Arbitrary collective punishment, breadlines before dawn, and a resurgence of diplomacy. This and more in our weekly Turkmenistan briefing.




eurasianet.org





_The official reason for Berdymukhamedov being on the road was the inauguration of the roughly 225-kilometer Ashgabat-Tejen section of the planned, north-to-south, Ashgabat-Turkmenabat highway, which is to span 640 kilometers in total and cost $2.3 billion to complete.

This may be one in the eye for the naysayers. Vienna-based Chronicles of Turkmenistan had reported in March that work on the highway had been suspended due to a lack of funding. The outlet said at the time that workers had not been paid for two or three months. This was a bad omen for the first major infrastructure project that was purportedly to be executed from beginning to end without foreign inputs. Cashflows seem to have improved since then. State media now predicts the whole highway will be finished by December 2023._


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## ok2 (May 12, 2009)

PovilD said:


> 15 former Soviet republics slowly start to move away from traditional Soviet font and layout
> For a long time, almost everybody kept the same font, even Estonia at one point. Now it seems more and more countries finding their own font.
> 
> First being Latvia and Estonia, recently Ukraine, and now Turkmenistan


Was there anything wrong with the Soviet font and layout? What was the reason for the change?


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## ok2 (May 12, 2009)

NFZANMNIM said:


> President (for-life) of Turkmenistan drove a tractor-trailer along the newly opened motorway lol
> 
> View attachment 2298626
> 
> ...


I think the government also bought him a Bugatti Veyron so he can drive around. I happen to have a friend from Turkmenistan living in NY who said that the vast majority of the population misses the old Soviet times. Ironically, according to him, they had more freedom of expression and fairness back then under USSR than now.


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## Woonsocket54 (May 7, 2005)

Obviously in a few decades this territory will be taken over by another state (probably Uzbekistan or Iran, which both border Turkmenistan and have large and growing populations and may have resource shortages in the future), and this highway will be very useful for transporting Uzbeks and Iranians across their country's newly annexed land.

Gurbanguly is 64 and unlike the previous president-for-life he doesn't smoke cigarettes, so I could see him governing for another 30 years, but by the end of his reign there will be no one left in Turkmenistan to defend him from the inevitable anschluß, which may even turn out to be bloodless given the remains of the Turkmenistan army will be too hungry to do anything except fly the white flag. And the country's policy of neutrality means it is highly unlikely that another country will send armed forces to protect Turkmenistan sovereignty, and also it's hard to imagine in what universe the UN Security Council will get involved.


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## PovilD (Dec 26, 2011)

ok2 said:


> Was there anything wrong with the Soviet font and layout? What was the reason for the change?


You made me think  I kinda not like that font, especially if spacing is bad (like too wide between letters).

As for Turkmenistan. I just kinda find Turkish font more fitting for Turkmenistan than Russian. It's just my feeling, idk.

Now I noticed, big trick are other elements than fonts, like arrows and frames. These make signs look better.


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

Lots of trucks lined up for the Ashgabat - Turkmenabat motorway project.


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## da_scotty (Nov 4, 2008)

Turkmenistan Freedom Convoy be like?


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## PovilD (Dec 26, 2011)

da_scotty said:


> Turkmenistan Freedom Convoy be like?


They have mandatory vaccine for it and infectious diseases (names if I understand correctly) are forbidden.

Not joking.


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## sponge_bob (Aug 11, 2013)

The President ...for life...just ordered a presidential election where, to everybody's shock and surprise, he is not running. But his son is running instead. 









Berdymukhammedov's Son Nominated As Turkmenistan's Presidential Campaign Kicks Off


The son of Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov has been nominated as a presidential candidate hours after the Central Election Commission launched the first stage of the country's campaign in an early presidential election.




www.rferl.org


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## Kubilay.mplf (22 h ago)

Hello everyone, pretty new here, tried the Ashgabat - Tejen motorway, it's great as there is no speed limit 😎


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## VITORIA MAN (Jan 31, 2013)

THE motorway of Turkmenistan by Axel, en Flickr


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## Corvinus (Dec 8, 2010)

Kubilay.mplf said:


> it's great as there is no speed limit 😎


Is that true? Not that I doubt if you were actually there in person, but any publicly available source for it would be welcome, which I could use in discussions relating to blanket speed limits elsewhere


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