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Matin bridge will connect village to Pech Road PDF Print E-mail
Written by By Army Sgt. Brandon Aird   
Friday, 18 January 2008
KUNAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan - The village of Matin is nestled on a rocky mountain at the base of Hindu Kush Mountain Range in eastern Afghanistan. The village and crop fields are shaped by hand -- meticulously cut out of the mountain side.  But the people living there are hampered from interacting with surrounding villages because the road leading to Matin washed away in a flash flood nearly six months ago.  Villagers must use a cable and a hand crank to cross the 30-foot-wide Pech River on the valley floor. The Pech River Road, a newly constructed paved road, is on the opposite side of the river. “The people of Matin are isolated,” said Lt. Cdr. Alan G. Moore, chief engineer for the Kunar Province Reconstruction Team. Kunar Province Governor Sayed Fazlullah Wahidi is working with Kunar PRT to help link Matin with the rest of Kunar Province. The Unique Builders Construction Company is building a jingle truck capable bridge linking Matin with the Pech River Road, Moore said. The construction is part of the Pech River Road Project -- a $7.5 million project funded through the Kunar PRT. Wahidi, along with members of the Kunar PRT, Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police participated in the bridge ground breaking ceremony Jan. 6.  Wahidi asked the village elders of Matin to support the ANA and ANP during the ceremony. “You village elders have to think about the future of Afghanistan,” Wahidi said during his speech. “Better security will bring more construction.” “Make them (ANA and ANP) your brothers so we can be rid of the enemy,” Wahidi said. “We can’t continue to fight. We’ve been fighting for 30 years. I can’t do this alone -- I need your help.” After Wahidi’s speech, the governor used a shovel to break the ground for the new bridge. “The bridge should be done by the end of February,” Moore explained. When the new bridge is completed it will open up Matin for new projects to improve health care, schools and government facilities. 

Able Company, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne), continue to patrol the area side-by-side with ANA and ANP to bring security to the Pech River Road and surrounding areas.

2008-01-18-bridge1.jpgKunar Province Governor Sayed Fazlullah Wahidi cuts the ribbon during the Matin Bridge ground breaking ceremony Jan. 6 in Kunar Province, Afghanistan. The new bridge will link the isolated village to the Pech River Road. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Brandon Aird)

2008-01-18-bridge2.jpgArmy Staff Sgt. David M. Barberet, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne), scans the ridge line during the Matin Bridge ground breaking ceremony Jan. 6 in Kunar Province, Afghanistan. The new bridge will link the isolated village to the Pech River Road. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Brandon Aird) 
 
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