page_title: Kabul
section_title: Road
hierarchical_section_title: Kabul / Transportation / Road
context_page_description: Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan, located in the eastern section of the country. It is also a municipality, forming part of the greater Kabul Province, and divided into 22 districts. According to estimates in 2020, the population of Kabul is 4.222 million, which includes all the major ethnic groups of Afghanistan. Afghanistan's only city with a population of over 1 million, Kabul serves as its political, cultural and economical center. Rapid urbanization has made Kabul the world's 75th largest city.
  Kabul is located high up in a narrow valley between the Hindu Kush mountains, with an elevation of 1,790 metres making it one of the highest capitals in the world. The city is said to be over 3,500 years old, mentioned since at least the time of the Achaemenid Empire. Located at crossroads in Asia - roughly halfway between Istanbul in the west and Hanoi in the east - it is in a strategic location along the trade routes of South and Central Asia, and a key location of the ancient Silk Road.
context_section_description: The AH76 highway (or Kabul-Charikar Highway) connects Kabul north towards Charikar, Pol-e Khomri and Mazar-i-Sharif (310 km (190 mi) away), with leading roads to Kunduz (250 km (160 mi) away). The AH77 highway goes west towards Bamiyan Province (150 km (93 mi) away) and Chaghcharan in the central mountains of Afghanistan. To the south-west, the Kabul-Ghazni Highway goes to Ghazni (130 km (81 mi) away) and Kandahar (460 km (290 mi) away). To the south, the Kabul-Gardez Highway connects it to Gardez (100 km (62 mi) away) and Khost. To the east, the Kabul-Jalalabad Highway goes to Jalalabad (120 km (75 mi) away) and across the border to Peshawar.
  Much of the road network in downtown Kabul consist of square or circle intersections (char-rahi). The main square in the city is Pashtunistan Square (named after Pashtunistan), which has a large fountain in it and is located adjacent to the presidential palace, the Central Bank, and other landmarks. The Massoud Circle is located by the U.S. Embassy and has the road leading to the airport. In the old city, Sar-e Chawk roundabout is at the center of Maiwand Road (Jadayi Maiwand). Once all roads led to it, and in the 16th century was called the "navel of Kabul". In the Shahr-e Naw district there are several major intersections: Ansari, Haji Yaqub, Quwayi Markaz, Sedarat, and Turabaz Khan. The latter, named after Turabaz Khan, connect Flower Street and Chicken Street. There are also two major intersections in western Kabul: the Deh Mazang Circle and Kote Sangi. Salang Watt is the main road to the north-west, whereas Asamayi Watt and Seh Aqrab (also called Sevom Aqrab) is the main road to western Kabul.
  The steep population rise in the 21st century has caused major congestion problems for the city's roads. In efforts to tackle this issue, a 95 km outer ring road costing $110 million was approved in 2017. Construction will take five years and it will run from Char Asiab via Ahmad Shah Baba Mina, Deh Sabz ("Kabul New City" development area), the AH76 highway, Paghman and back to Char Asyab. A new bus public transport service is also planned to be opened in 2018 (see below). In September 2017, the head of the Kabul Municipality announced that 286 meters of pedestrian overpass footbridges will be built in eight busy areas "in the near future".
  Under the Kabul Urban Transport Efficiency Improvement Project that was signed in 2014 and backed by the World Bank, the city has seen widespread improvements in road conditions, including the building of new pedestrian sidewalks, drainage systems, lighting and asphalted road surfaces. The project runs until December 31, 2019.
  Private vehicles have been on the rise in Kabul since 2002, with about 700,000 cars registered as of 2013 and up to 80% of the cars reported to be Toyota Corollas. The number of dealerships have also increased from 77 in 2003 to over 550 by 2010. Gas stations are mainly private-owned. Bicycles on the road are a common sight in the city.
caption: View towards Kabul in June 1976
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