Engineers complete secure route through Panther's Claw territory

The route has been constructed, often with the engineers under insurgent attack, to make it far more secure to supply patrol bases in the region, built following last year's Operation PANTHER'S CLAW, as well as allowing for greater stability and more reconstruction to take place for the local people.

Three new patrol bases were built by The Light Dragoons Battle Group following Operation PANTHER'S CLAW. And these have now been linked by Route Trident.

Before the route was built it took 36 hours to travel to the furthest of the new bases on the existing Babaji Road. Route Trident means the journey now takes 30 minutes.

The need for Route Trident was clear. Two British soldiers were killed and seventeen injured last year when the vehicles they were travelling in as part of a resupply convoy were blown up by IEDs planted on the highly dangerous existing road.

All subsequent resupplying of the patrol bases was done both by support helicopters carrying underslung loads and air despatch from Hercules transport planes, putting an enormous strain on the logistic system in theatre. And the soldiers of Number 1 Company, Coldstream Guards, resident in one of the patrol bases, literally had to fight to collect these loads late into the night.

28 Engineer Regiment deployed to Afghanistan in October 2009. For the first time since the conflict in Dhofar, their task was to build a road through contested battlespace. The method of construction was not in itself complex, but the overall operation certainly had its own set of challenges.

The Construction Supervision Cell from 64 Headquarters and Support Squadron was tasked to conduct a detailed reconnaissance, survey and design of the route, which is 8km long and 6.5m wide.

Key to the success of the project was achieving the build within a tight timeline, to a stringent budget, and, whilst involving the local population in its construction, all under the constant threat from insurgents.

A limiting factor was the cost of crushed aggregate being at a premium and so the design team set out to minimise its use and so reduce the overall costs.

Following the reconnaissance, the design team, led by Major Adam Foley, conducted trials in Camp Bastion utilising a material filled with locally-won desert fill to create a semi-rigid slab and firm sub-base for the aggregate wearing course.

The trials were a success and resulted in a quarter of the amount of aggregate being required which made the road a third of the cost of that of a normal unbound aggregate road.

The Support Troop of 23 Amphibious Engineer Squadron, commanded by Lieutenant Helen Ladd, began construction of the road in mid-December 2009 in the heart of the village of Gholam Dastagir Kalay and quickly passed through the adjoining village of Hajji Jamal Kalay before heading off through agricultural and desert areas in Malgir.

Although the going improved in the desert, the threat from insurgents increased and the Support Troop found themselves the target of small arms and rocket-propelled grenade attacks on an all too frequent basis.

Fortunately, troops from the 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards Battle Group, together with their Afghan National Army partners, provided the necessary protection and repelled the insurgent threat to the construction team. Added to this were the countless improvised explosive devices that were found and cleared by Army bomb disposal experts.

Taking a total of three months to complete, the road was the main effort of the Coldstream Guards Battle Group. It offered an age-old Roman answer - building a road provides a secure route for your military to travel, the people can trade, and wealth can come into the region.

Captain Dick Gale, Royal Engineers, deployed to Afghanistan specifically to manage the project. He led a team of specialist road builders which included Major Adam Foley, Major Brian Johnston, Lieutenant Helen Ladd, and a team of dedicated and industrious Sappers.

The construction team was complemented throughout by Afghan plant operators and many locally employed labourers, who all worked under the direction of Lieutenent Ladd.

The most technically challenging part of the build was entrusted to Major Foley. He had to ensure that the 300-metre-wide crossing of the Suf Mandah Wadi went without a hitch.

Known to the team as the 'Shawaddy Wadi', it crosses two main irrigation canals feeding the agricultural irrigation system. Making a mistake was not an option. The local population rely on the maintenance of the flow of water down the wadi for the irrigation of their crops which are their only means of income.

Overseeing the construction was Staff Sergeant 'Bernie' Winter, the regimental military plant foreman. A man for detail, he closely supervised the construction of two large box culverts and a floating road. The end result was a floating road crossing exceptionally waterlogged ground, previously impassable to vehicles.

The majority of the planning and route reconnaissance was conducted on foot, with the engineers fully armed and taking precautions such as camouflaging their survey equipment to prevent extra attention being paid to them.

Particular attention was paid to the proposed route at this stage. It was vital to ensure that the patrol bases along the route could see down its course, thereby preventing insurgent interference.

This revolutionary project, the first of its kind within Afghanistan, has spawned a whole new approach to road construction. The specialist materials were brought in from as far afield as Quetta, Kandahar and the UK.

From this stable base a cap of high quality wearing course aggregate is overlaid. This type of construction reduces the cost per metre of road by approximately two thirds when compared with normal road building methods.

On 10 March 2010 the first resupply convoy passed down Route Trident into Patrol Base 4, unhindered by IEDs and ambushes. Rather than 36 hours to move along this route as before, the journey time is now less than 30 minutes.

Number 1 Company Coldstream Guards are now resupplied by road, freeing up valuable helicopters to support operations elsewhere.

The effect Route Trident is having on the local population along its length is already quite astounding. Over 70 locally recruited civilians were involved in building 6km of road and the construction of seventeen culverts.

In the short time since its construction began, shops and markets have sprung up along its route and even a doctor's surgery and school are being built. There are now plans to extend the road into the area secured by 11 Light Brigade during Op MOSHTARAK.

Captain Gale said:

"Today marks the end of a large-scale engineering project, the first of its kind. All Sappers who have worked on the project hope that it will bring enhanced security to both our own troops and local people in this part of Afghanistan."

Lieutenant Colonel Toby Gray, Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards, has been deeply entrenched with the project and is delighted to see it come to fruition. He said:

"Where once there was an IED-infested dirt track there is now a line of communication which will stimulate trade and save lives."