05 August 2016

At the height of the tourist season in Issyk-Kul, drivers are worried about frequent rockfalls and floods in the Boom Gorge. Some experts believe that this situation is due to the poor quality of the road.

Traveling through the Boom Gorge turned into a risky venture. The Bishkek-Balykchy road usually did not cause problems for drivers, but now there are rockfalls almost every day. On July 30, a stone fell from the mountain and killed one person.

Road builders mention the rainy weather as the reason for frequent rockfalls and floods. But drivers believe that this is due to the ill-conceived road reconstruction project. Erlan Zholdoshbaev daily carries passengers from the capital to Issyk-Kul and back:

- There were no such problems before. They appeared after the reconstruction of the road. When the stones fall, we have to stand in a traffic jam for 2 or even 3 hours. It has become very dangerous here. It would be nice if there were drainage channels. No pipes were laid under the road. In general, the road is of poor quality, the project is unfinished.

The project for the reconstruction of the Bishkek-Naryn-Torugart road was developed by the 'Kyrgyzdortransproekt Institute' and implemented by the Chinese company China Road and Bride Corporation...

According to some experts, the rock strength was lost, its splitting occurred during the construction of the road. In developed countries, dangerous areas with threat of rockfall are fenced off with metal wire.

On July 18, heavy rain resulted in mudflows descending on several sections of the Bishkek-Balykchy road in the Boom Gorge. Mud mixed with water spilled onto the road and flooded the Zhibek-Zholu cafe located near it. The owner of the institution Toktosun Abdykadyrov estimates the damage in the amount of 400 thousand soms...

Rehabilitation of the international road Bishkek-Naryn-Torugart began in 2010 and ended in 2015. The total length of the route is 539 kilometers. The cost of the project is 438 million dollars, the main donor was the Asian Development Bank.