Route Trident

rdf:langString Route Trident

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rdf:langString Location of Gholam Dastagir Kalay in Afghanistan

rdf:langString Gholam Dastagir Kalay

rdf:langString [The project was] a dream come true for a young engineer officer.

rdf:langString 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.

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

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rdf:langString Captain Dick Gale, project manager.

rdf:langString Second Lieutenant Gareth Parkinson, Royal Engineers.

rdf:langString Lieutenant Colonel Toby Gray, Commanding Officer, 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards.

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rdf:langString Route Trident (known locally as the New or Big Road) was built by the British Army's Royal Engineers in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. The construction of the road was codenamed Operation Lar Jarowel by the Ministry of Defence. Route Trident (named after the Regimental emblem of 28 Engineer Regiment—the Amphibious Engineers who have the Trident as their emblem) replaced an older road that was vulnerable to attack by insurgents on convoys supplying three patrol bases established in the area as part of Operation Panther's Claw. In the immediate aftermath of operation the Light Dragoons Battlegroup were suffering casualties as they tried to secure the area and resupply their patrol bases. The attacks resulted in the deaths of two British servicemen and led to the cancellation of the convoys, forcing the bases to be resupplied by air. Following a meeting between the Commanding Officer of the Light Dragoons (Lt Col Fair) and Commanding Officer of 28 Engineer Regiment (Lt Col MTG Bazeley) it was decided that a new and easier to protect road would be constructed by the Royal Engineers. 28 Engineer Regiment had used a Neoloy Geocell cellular confinement system for road construction on an exercise in the UK prior to deployment and this was considered to be a practical option to reduce aggregate cost and provide a barrier to the planting of IEDs. Construction began in December 2009 and was completed in March 2010, during which time the construction teams and security forces came under frequent attack. This was the first road to be built under fire since British operations in the Dhofar Rebellion in the early 1970s, the completed road allowed resupply convoys to travel its length in about 30 minutes, compared to 36 hours along the old road. The success of the project led to the approval of plans for an extension to connect the provincial capital Lashkargah with the economic capital of Grishk. Construction of the extension began in July 2010 and was completed in April 2011.