The Kandahar–Herat Highway is a 557 km section of road that links the cities of Kandahar and Herat in Afghanistan. This highway is part of a larger road network, the "Ring Road", and was first constructed by the Soviets in the 1960s. The Kandahar-Herat Highway is made up of two sections of "National Highway 1": NH0101 runs between Kandahar and Girishk, and NH0102 between Girishk and Herat.

History

In October 2004 reconstruction of the highway began and was expected to be completed by the end of 2006. The United States is funding a 326 km portion of the road, Saudi Arabia is funding a 115 km section and Japan is contributing to rebuilding 116 km. The U.S. portion of the Kandahar-Herat highway has reduced travel time between those two major cities from 10 hours to 4.3 hours.

Connectivity with Route 606: Delaram-Zaranj Highway

The Delaram–Zaranj Highway, also known as Route 606, is a 217 km two-lane road built by India in Afghanistan, connecting Delaram in Farah Province with Zaranj in neighbouring Nimruz Province near the Iranian border. It connects the Afghan–Iranian border with the Kandahar–Herat Highway in Delaram, which provides connectivity to other major Afghan cities via A01. Route 606 reduces travel time between Delaram and Zaranj from the earlier 12–14 hours to just 2 hours.