Operation CAUSEWAY : Canada's military engineers close the gap between Zharey and Panjwayii

By Charmion Chaplin-Thomas, CEFCOM Public Affairs
Photos by MCpl Bruno Turcotte, JTF-Afg Roto 4

The Arghandab River rises in Afghanistan’s mountainous heart and flows southwest through Kandahar Province into Helmand, where it meets the Helmand River south of Lashkar Gah. The river and the little creeks that feed it are the primary source of water in a desperately arid region, so the Arghandab system is easy to spot on the map: look for the highway — there’s only one — and the band of towns and villages extending west from Kandahar City. Where the river doesn’t go, neither do the people.

The Arghandab shrinks almost to vanishing point in summer, but in winter and spring it floods the table-flat plain. At the village of Pashmul, where it meets the side road that connects Zharey District on the north bank with the Panjwayii District to the south, the river splits into three channels. At the height of the flood season, water spills out of these channels and swells the river to about 500 metres in places, running as deep as 1.5 metres at speeds up to 5 metres per second. The crossing is a simple ford during the dry months, but during the wet months most travellers must make a 40-minute diversion to cross the Arghandab at the nearest bridge, in the outskirts of Kandahar City.

An all-season crossing over the Arghandab at Pashmul was first proposed by the military engineers of Joint Task Force Afghanistan during Roto 3 of Operation ATHENA. With the two new Canadian forward operating bases in Zharey and Panjwayii came a sharp increase in military traffic on the road through Pashmul. When the river flooded, the 40-minute diversion to the bridge meant unacceptable delays and exposure to roadside bombs and other threats. But a bridge at Pashmul was out of the question.

“The fighting in the area made building a bridge too dangerous,” said Major Eric Fortin, officer commanding 51 Construction Squadron on Roto 4 of Op ATHENA. “Also, it is very expensive, and military bridge-laying equipment was not available.” Instead, Maj Fortin and the 51 Construction Squadron project team proposed an effective all-season crossing they could build quickly using local materials and labour: a causeway.

What is a causeway? According to Maj Fortin, “C’est le mariage entre une jetée et un pont,” — a cross between a breakwater and a bridge. The Pashmul causeway, a 51 Construction Squadron project managed by Maj Fortin, consists of 175 sections of concrete culvert laid side by side across the three river channels and topped with a gravel road. Priced at $700,000, it is one of Canada’s largest infrastructure development projects to date in Afghanistan.

Maj Fortin and the project management team at 51 Construction Squadron started work on Operation CAUSEWAY as soon as they arrived in Afghanistan. After identifying a causeway as the most feasible solution to the problem at Pashmul, the primary task was obtaining the approval and support of local and provincial leaders. This was achieved with help from BGen Guy Laroche, commander of Joint Task Force Afghanistan, who presented the causeway proposal to Governor Asadullah Khalid of Kandahar Province, and the Civil-Military Cooperation personnel of the Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team, who held shuras to discuss it with community leaders and the police chiefs of Zharey and Panjwayii districts.

Production began with the manufacture of the culvert sections, designed by Scott Hill of SNC-Lavalin, a member of 51 Construction Squadron deployed in Afghanistan on the Canadian Forces Contractor Augmentation Program, and cast of steel-reinforced concrete by Humaun Aziz Construction of Kandahar City. Contracting processes and quality control were handled by Elia Miller of Defence Construction Canada, another member of Maj Fortin’s management team.

Site preparation at Pashmul began on October 16, and a week later more than 50 Afghan labourers and heavy equipment operators were at work. The initial phase of construction included a bypass route to take local traffic around the site, and chicanes, bunkers and checkpoints on the banks to control access to the causeway. Soon the crews were levelling the river bottom to prepare it to receive the culvert sections, and by late November the project had reached its half-way point, right on schedule.

With help from the CIMIC teams at the KPRT, the Afghan labourers were recruited from the various tribes of Zharey and Panjwayii — an equal number from each district. On the job, they work in tribally balanced teams, each led by a Canadian soldier accompanied by an interpreter. For hauling rock and helping the crane operators place the eight-tonne culvert sections on the riverbed they earn $6 per day, the standard local wage for general labourers on construction jobs. The Afghan heavy equipment operators work under the supervision of Sergeant Stéphane Dupont and soldiers from 51 Construction Squadron.

On the administrative side, site manager Master Warrant Officer André Pinard is supported by Sergeant Émanuel Chouinard, who handles the contracts with Afghan workers and suppliers.

Site security is provided by the 1^st Brigade of the Afghan National Army’s 205 Corps, based in Kandahar City. A Taliban rocket landed in the river nearby during the first week of construction, but the site has not been attacked. “Without the Afghan troops it would be very dangerous,” said Maj Fortin. “They are very effective.”

The causeway is expected to open to traffic in mid-December.