雪山腳下有條“中國路”

馬曉成 李東旭 關(guān)建武

“雄鷹都飛不過去的雪山，是世界的盡頭。”對于生活在吉爾吉斯斯坦賈拉拉巴德州的農(nóng)民薩爾庫拉科夫來說，在過去很長一段時間，目之所及，可能就是他主要生活的世界。

吉爾吉斯斯坦是一個內(nèi)陸國家，山脈幾乎橫亙整個國土。從薩爾庫拉科夫家望去，遠處是納倫河和終年不化的雪山，近處是有牛羊在自由奔跑的草原，在初到這里的外人眼中，這是一幅怡人的風景畫，但對于薩爾庫拉科夫和許多生活在這片山區(qū)的人們來說，周圍有著難以逾越的天塹。

吉爾吉斯斯坦首都比什凱克和南部的賈拉拉巴德、奧什是這個地形狹長國家的重要經(jīng)濟區(qū)。然而，連通這幾個城市的公路年久失修，狹窄的道路不過十來米寬，道路難行，物流不暢，直接阻礙了當?shù)亟?jīng)濟發(fā)展。

84歲的吉爾吉斯斯坦道路交通部下屬勘察設(shè)計院副院長阿利別加施維利說，吉爾吉斯斯坦需要一條這樣的路，“它不僅能連接北部和南部經(jīng)濟區(qū)，更可以成為對接中國、塔吉克斯坦、哈薩克斯坦和俄羅斯的通道，成為推動吉經(jīng)濟發(fā)展的動力”，“這對我們國家太重要了”。

在中國進出口銀行優(yōu)惠貸款的幫助下，吉爾吉斯斯坦啟動了北南第二條公路（簡稱“北南公路”）建設(shè)項目。中國路橋工程有限公司（簡稱“中國路橋”）取得了該項目一、二期工程的建設(shè)權(quán)，從2014年開始陸續(xù)承建了超過250公里的北南公路項目。

“修路人這一生可能注定走不了平坦的好路。在二期項目中，有81公里處于高山無人區(qū)，沒有可以利用的舊道、便道。在最開始勘測的時候，馬都上不去，我們幾個人只能趕著幾頭驢，背上干糧扎到深山里，沒有手機信號，一兩個月不見人煙。”中國路橋吉爾吉斯斯坦北南公路二期六標項目經(jīng)理蔡煜說。

相對于無人區(qū)的寂寞，惡劣的地質(zhì)條件更考驗著施工人員。根據(jù)設(shè)計，北南公路一大部分工程都是沿著奔騰的納倫河修建，為了日后水利工程考慮，許多路段設(shè)計在半山腰上。納倫河口附近就是一處施工難點，二期八標項目經(jīng)理張海嘯向記者介紹道，“你看這些巨石一片一片壓在一起，可水一沖就軟了，很危險。最開始的時候我們都是從山頂上吊著安全繩到半山腰施工。”

“施工條件太惡劣了，作為控制性工程的隧道施工點海拔3000多米，5月份工地上還在下雪。一到雨季，納倫河水就漲起來，開工以來僅便橋就沖走過三座。”中國路橋吉爾吉斯斯坦辦事處總經(jīng)理助理金哲說。

幾年來，中國路橋工作人員克服地震帶、高寒、巖體整體性差等不利因素，硬是在崇山峻嶺間，將公路一點點鑿了出來。金哲說：“2021年公路一、二期工程建成后，將刷新吉爾吉斯斯坦多個公路建設(shè)紀錄：最長的連續(xù)梁橋、獨立后建設(shè)的最長公路隧道、一次性建成最長的公路項目等。”

如今，北南公路修到了薩爾庫拉科夫家門口，他也在農(nóng)忙之余成了中國路橋的一名司機。一些當?shù)匕傩找财炔患按s著小車，到賈拉拉巴德等大城市做起了小買賣，這條公路被當?shù)匕傩沼H切地稱為“中國路”。

賈拉拉巴德州托古茲托羅區(qū)行政長官科若紹夫說，“中國路”將為生活在這里的百姓打開一扇大門。

“‘中國路’不僅改變了我的生活，也將改變這里人們的生活，我希望我的孩子可以順暢地走出深山，走到更遠的地方。”薩爾庫拉科夫說，他相信，雪山將不再是世界的盡頭。

“The world ends at the snow mountains that even an eagle cannot fly over.” For Sarkulakov， a farmer living in Jalal-Abad Region， Kyrgyzstan， for a long time， the areas as far as his eyes can reach have been the boundaries of his world.

Kyrgyzstan is a landlocked country， with mountains covering almost the whole territory. Standing at the house of Sarkulakov， you can see Naryn River and perennial snow-capped mountains far away and scampering cattle and sheep in the grassland nearby. In the eyes of newcomers， it is a pleasant scroll of landscape. Yet for Sarkulakov and others who live in the mountain areas， they are surrounded by insurmountable chasms.

Bishkek， capital of Kyrgyzstan， and Jalalabad and Osh in the south are major economic zones of the elongated country. However， highways connecting the major cities are in bad shape. The narrow roads are only scores of meters’ width， impassable for vehicle. The logistics difficulty has hindered local economic development.

According to 84-year-old Alibegashvili， Deputy Director of the survey and design institute affiliated to the Kyrgyz Ministry of Transport and Roads， the country badly needs such a road that can “connect economic zones in the north and south， lead to China， Tajikistan， Kazakhstan and Russia， and drive the economic growth of Kyrgyzstan，” and is “ very important for our country”.

Thanks to the concessional loan offered by the Export-Import Bank of China， Kyrghyzstan launched the project of the second North-South Road. China Road & Bridge Corporation （CRBC） won the bids to construct the Phase I and II of the project. Since 2014， CRBC has undertaken the construction of over 250km of the North-South Road.

“Road menders may be fated to lead a hard life. For the construction of Phase II， a section of 81km is basically within a high-altitude and depopulated zone， with no usable old paths or makeshift road. At the beginning of survey， even a horse cannot climb to the mountain. We had to ride several donkeys and carry solid food to remote mountains， where there were no mobile phone signals， nor a trace of human habitat for one or two months，” said Cai Yu， Project Manager of Section 6 of Phase II of the North-South Road of CRBC.

Compared with solitude in depopulated zone， construction personnel were tested more harshly by the severe geological conditions. According to design， a large part of the north-south road is built along the torrential Naryn River， and for the purpose of later water conservancy projects， many sections were built in hillside. There was a point with construction difficulty near to the estuary of Naryn River， “Look at the huge rocks one upon another， they become soft once being washed. That is very dangerous. At the beginning， we were hoisted and reached to hillside from mountain top to construct the road， ” said Zhang Haixiao， Project Manager of Section 8 of Phase II.

“The construction conditions were too harsh. As a dominant project， the tunnel construction site has an altitude of over 3，000 meters， where it snowed in May. In rainy season， the Naryn River flooded， washing away three makeshift bridges since the construction began，” said Jin Zhe， Assistant General Manager of the Kyrgyzstan Office of CRBC.

Over the years， workers of CRBC have managed to overcome unfavorable factors like earthquake belt， coldness， and poor rock integrity， and carved out a road amid the steep mountains. “When Phase I and II finish in 2021， several new records will be made in the highway construction of Kyrgyzstan： the longest continuous beam bridge， the longest highway tunnel since independence， and the longest highway project through oneoff construction，” said Jin Zhe.

Now， North-South Road reaches to the doorstep of Sarkulakov， who also works as a driver of CRBC in spare time. Some local people lose no time to drive their cars and do business in Jalalabad and other major cities. And the road is amiably called by locals as “China Road”.

According to Kozhoshov， head of Toguz-Toro District， “China Road” opens a door for people living here.

“‘China Road’ has changed my life， and will change the life of many others living here. I hope my kids can go beyond the deep mountains to the outside world，”said Sarkulakov， who now believes that snow mountains are no longer the end of the world.