# [AFG] Roads in Afghanistan



## Uppsala (Feb 26, 2010)

Do anyone here know if there is any motorways in Afghanistan? Or do they have something similar to motorways like highways or dual carriageways? Maybe Kabul have a motorway?

How do the roads in Afghanistan look like?


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## keber (Nov 8, 2006)

Looking at Google Earth and Panoramio pictures there are no motorways in Afghanistan, there are some dual carriageways (or more like streets) in Kabul.

Like this:


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## Tin_Can (Jun 17, 2009)

Kabul-Gardez highway U/C in 2005:









Highway 1 or A01 (Jalalabad-Kabul-Kandahar-Delaram-Herat-Islam Qala-Mazar) This is here is just outside Kabul:









One more photo of Highway 1 (too large to be linked here):
http://www.defence.gov.au/opEx/global/opslipper/images/gallery/2008/0826/20080814adf8239682_0551.jpg

Probably priority roads are links to neighbouring countries and are developed in order to ease Nato supply lines.

Btw,this blog (Travels in Afghanistan) has good selection of photos from 1974-1975. Obviously,only fraction of those roads have survived,but it's still a interesting to see previous road network there.

Example (Kabul 1975):


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## Nima-Farid (Jul 13, 2010)

Some photos


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## Nima-Farid (Jul 13, 2010)

Qonduz Road sign.


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## Nima-Farid (Jul 13, 2010)

Afghanistan


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## Nima-Farid (Jul 13, 2010)

A bridge (FAyzabad Badakhshan)


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## Nima-Farid (Jul 13, 2010)

toll booth, torkham, Pak border


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## Nima-Farid (Jul 13, 2010)

Mazar Sharif western Entrance


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## NFZANMNIM (Jul 6, 2012)

road sign


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## NFZANMNIM (Jul 6, 2012)




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## Palance (Mar 23, 2005)

Am I right when I say that people in Iran and Afghanistan understand each other (Farsi/Dari )?


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## NFZANMNIM (Jul 6, 2012)

Yes you are right. The difference between Farsi and Dari is like the difference between British and American English. And also Tajik language, which only uses cyrilic alphabet.


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## -Pino- (Aug 12, 2007)

The road signs look a bit like the Iranian ones too.


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## NFZANMNIM (Jul 6, 2012)

yeah the font is similar too.
for example:
















However the color they use for normal roads is different from Iran's which is green.


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## NFZANMNIM (Jul 6, 2012)

Harat-Islam Qal'a-Iran (AH1) Road


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## wildthing121675 (Jan 15, 2013)

VERY interesting thread! I've often wondered about Afghanistan roads and highways over the past few years wondering what was over there... as a curiosity cause of having friends who served there during the Afghanistan war. 

Always nice to learn about roadways in other countries... 

wildthing


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## iMiros (Aug 21, 2009)

Where the ends 2x2 highway that goes from Kabul to Jalalabad?- A1 highway. (Old satellite map it suddenly cuts in Google Maps)


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## NFZANMNIM (Jul 6, 2012)

Iran restarted constructing "Qala Kah Road" connecting Farah to Iranian South Khorasan
120 km long project, 54 km of which already completed
It will be the 3rd Iran-Afghanistan road link after Harat-Taybad and Delaram-Zaranj-Zabol (AH71)
Source


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## ReginaMills (Sep 17, 2015)

url]http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/national/05-Jan-2016/pakistan-to-build-peshawar-kabul-motorway[/url]



ISLAMABAD - Government is planning to build a motorway from Peshawar city to the Afghan capital Kabul.

The four-lane road via Jalalabad and Torkham covers 265 kilometers and the land acquisition process will be initiated after the finalisation of the alignment, according to a report by an English daily newspaper.

The motorway project will not only improve connectivity between the two neighboring countries and Central Asian states but would also bring economic prosperity in the adjacent areas, the report said citing an identified official from Pakistan’s National Highway Authority.

The motorway would be divided into three parts, 50 km long Peshawar-Torkham, 76km Torkham-Jalalabad and 139 km Jalalabad-Kabul sections, based on the report.


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## NFZANMNIM (Jul 6, 2012)

so, as we all know, there's been a regime change in Afghanistan as we know. probably the most notable event to report on such a page


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

Maybe we'll finally get to see good satellite imagery in Google Earth. Much of Afghanistan has very low resolution or outdated satellite images, also making it difficult to research the Afghan road network from outside.


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## Stuu (Feb 7, 2007)

ChrisZwolle said:


> Maybe we'll finally get to see good satellite imagery in Google Earth. Much of Afghanistan has very low resolution or outdated satellite images, also making it difficult to research the Afghan road network from outside.


The higher resolution imagery on Google Maps etc is from aerial photos rather than satellites - I would be surprised if commercial aerial photography is planned anytime soon!


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

Most of the imagery in Google Earth is from satellites, including fairly high resolution ones. Afghanistan has a noticeably lower resolution imagery than neighboring countries, including ones that would surely not allow aerial photography (like Iran). 

Google Earth acquires its satellite imagery mostly from Maxar Technologies, which has a subsidiary called DigitalGlobe. They have satellites which have a resolution of up to 50 cm per pixel. This is used for the vast majority of the imagery in Google Earth, as aerial photography is far more expensive and often limited to major cities and not updated as frequently.


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

Here's an example of the road from Quetta to Kandahar. The Pakistan side has fairly decent resolution imagery from 2020, the Afghan side is 'censored' with very low resolution imagery, probably from 2000 or before.










There are some pockets of higher resolution imagery in Afghanistan, though even most of that is quite old (often more than 10 years).


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

Another example is Tarinkot in Uruzgan province. The satellite image was taken in 2002 and has relatively high resolution (for Afghanistan standards). It shows a 'city' of only a couple of streets. Yet this city is listed as having a population of 72,000 and having an airport. The satellite image looks more like a village and an airport is not visible.










However if you zoom out enough, the imagery switches to the base imagery that is used across the world. This imagery was taken in 2020. It suddenly shows a much larger urban area, about 4 or 5 kilometers across, with the airport visible. 










The low resolution or outdated imagery is of course for U.S. or ISAF security reasons, Iraq also has / had this, as well as Israel.


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## Stuu (Feb 7, 2007)

ChrisZwolle said:


> Most of the imagery in Google Earth is from satellites, including fairly high resolution ones. Afghanistan has a noticeably lower resolution imagery than neighboring countries, including ones that would surely not allow aerial photography (like Iran).
> 
> Google Earth acquires its satellite imagery mostly from Maxar Technologies, which has a subsidiary called DigitalGlobe. They have satellites which have a resolution of up to 50 cm per pixel. This is used for the vast majority of the imagery in Google Earth, as aerial photography is far more expensive and often limited to major cities and not updated as frequently.


Ok, thanks for the explanation


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## sponge_bob (Aug 11, 2013)

If you look at google maps you will not see military facilities built since 2001, EG Camp Bastion in Helmand which was the largest UK base in Af is not there save at long zoom and it disappears after. 

Airfields are frozen in time bar Kabul airport which seems up to date on Google. Bagram airbase north of Kabul only has one runway on Google where a second one was built and opened many years ago. Openstreetmap is pretty accurate all the same as there is a large variety of imagery available to the editors.


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## NFZANMNIM (Jul 6, 2012)

sponge_bob said:


> If you look at google maps you will not see military facilities built since 2001, EG Camp Bastion in Helmand which was the largest UK base in Af is not there save at long zoom and it disappears after.
> 
> Airfields are frozen in time bar Kabul airport which seems up to date on Google. Bagram airbase north of Kabul only has one runway on Google where a second one was built and opened many years ago. Openstreetmap is pretty accurate all the same as there is a large variety of imagery available to the editors.


Was gonna suggest this

If you go to the "edit" tab of OSM, there's fairly recent satellite imagery on Afghanistan, including (my personal interest) the Iran - Herat Railway line (which opened to Ghurian like 2 years ago)


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## NFZANMNIM (Jul 6, 2012)

Taliban-led Kabul municipality has started installing new street name signage, Specifically in the city's district 5
(note on the 3rd pic, the top right of the poster, the Talib coat of arms)

The signage is tri-lingual. Pashtu and English on one side, Persian (Dari) and English on the other.


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## NFZANMNIM (Jul 6, 2012)

Also, going thru Kabul municipality social media, quite a phenomenon

A lot, and by that I mean, >80% of their new content is "A good muslim does ...", "a good muslim doesnt do ....", bla bla

a lot of this type of lingo, with the most common theme being urban hygiene and aesthetic

bunch of examples 

1. "faith has seventy something branches, and one of those branches is picking up and throwing out of sight of objects that irritate people"










2. It is mandatory for Muslims to respect and care about their neighbor's rights and boundaries











3. Also an interesting bit... whatever the purpose of this post is supposed to be. "internally displaced people have damaged Shahr-i Naw Park"












NFZANMNIM said:


> Taliban-led Kabul municipality has started installing new street name signage, Specifically in the city's district 5
> (note on the 3rd pic, the top right of the poster, the Talib coat of arms)
> 
> The signage is tri-lingual. Pashtu and English on one side, Persian (Dari) and English on the other.
> ...


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## NFZANMNIM (Jul 6, 2012)

It appears that Facebook has deleted the Taliban-controlled Kabul Municipality account from Facebook and Instagram LMAO


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