雪山脚下有条“中国路”

马晓成 李东旭 关建武

“雄鹰都飞不过去的雪山，是世界的尽头。”对于生活在吉尔吉斯斯坦贾拉拉巴德州的农民萨尔库拉科夫来说，在过去很长一段时间，目之所及，可能就是他主要生活的世界。

吉尔吉斯斯坦是一个内陆国家，山脉几乎横亘整个国土。从萨尔库拉科夫家望去，远处是纳伦河和终年不化的雪山，近处是有牛羊在自由奔跑的草原，在初到这里的外人眼中，这是一幅怡人的风景画，但对于萨尔库拉科夫和许多生活在这片山区的人们来说，周围有着难以逾越的天堑。

吉尔吉斯斯坦首都比什凯克和南部的贾拉拉巴德、奥什是这个地形狭长国家的重要经济区。然而，连通这几个城市的公路年久失修，狭窄的道路不過十来米宽，道路难行，物流不畅，直接阻碍了当地经济发展。

84岁的吉尔吉斯斯坦道路交通部下属勘察设计院副院长阿利别加施维利说，吉尔吉斯斯坦需要一条这样的路，“它不仅能连接北部和南部经济区，更可以成为对接中国、塔吉克斯坦、哈萨克斯坦和俄罗斯的通道，成为推动吉经济发展的动力”，“这对我们国家太重要了”。

在中国进出口银行优惠贷款的帮助下，吉尔吉斯斯坦启动了北南第二条公路（简称“北南公路”）建设项目。中国路桥工程有限公司（简称“中国路桥”）取得了该项目一、二期工程的建设权，从2014年开始陆续承建了超过250公里的北南公路项目。

“修路人这一生可能注定走不了平坦的好路。在二期项目中，有81公里处于高山无人区，没有可以利用的旧道、便道。在最开始勘测的时候，马都上不去，我们几个人只能赶着几头驴，背上干粮扎到深山里，没有手机信号，一两个月不见人烟。”中国路桥吉尔吉斯斯坦北南公路二期六标项目经理蔡煜说。

相对于无人区的寂寞，恶劣的地质条件更考验着施工人员。根据设计，北南公路一大部分工程都是沿着奔腾的纳伦河修建，为了日后水利工程考虑，许多路段设计在半山腰上。纳伦河口附近就是一处施工难点，二期八标项目经理张海啸向记者介绍道，“你看这些巨石一片一片压在一起，可水一冲就软了，很危险。最开始的时候我们都是从山顶上吊着安全绳到半山腰施工。”

“施工条件太恶劣了，作为控制性工程的隧道施工点海拔3000多米，5月份工地上还在下雪。一到雨季，纳伦河水就涨起来，开工以来仅便桥就冲走过三座。”中国路桥吉尔吉斯斯坦办事处总经理助理金哲说。

几年来，中国路桥工作人员克服地震带、高寒、岩体整体性差等不利因素，硬是在崇山峻岭间，将公路一点点凿了出来。金哲说：“2021年公路一、二期工程建成后，将刷新吉尔吉斯斯坦多个公路建设纪录：最长的连续梁桥、独立后建设的最长公路隧道、一次性建成最长的公路项目等。”

如今，北南公路修到了萨尔库拉科夫家门口，他也在农忙之余成了中国路桥的一名司机。一些当地百姓也迫不及待赶着小车，到贾拉拉巴德等大城市做起了小买卖，这条公路被当地百姓亲切地称为“中国路”。

贾拉拉巴德州托古兹托罗区行政长官科若绍夫说，“中国路”将为生活在这里的百姓打开一扇大门。

“‘中国路’不仅改变了我的生活，也将改变这里人们的生活，我希望我的孩子可以顺畅地走出深山，走到更远的地方。”萨尔库拉科夫说，他相信，雪山将不再是世界的尽头。

“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.