BAGHDAD — Local area leaders of Zaidon gathered, Nov. 12, to celebrate the completion of the three-month-long project which transformed what was once just a pot-holed dirt road into paved thoroughfare.
Soldiers with 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division provided security at the official opening of the road, designed to facilitate easier travel and better business opportunities for locals going to the Zaidon Market in Abu Ghraib.
"People weren't able to get in the Zaidon market to make purchases in the city and transport goods and items that were sold, particularly agricultural items," said Navy Lt. Ross Simpson, a civil affairs team leader with 422nd Civil Affairs Battalion. "Trucks couldn't fit through."
The $440,000 funding for the project was funded through Commander's Emergency Response Program. The project started during a previous brigade's deployment and was transferred to Simpson when his unit took over responsibility for the area.
The close proximity of the market to the citizens of Zaidon was also taken into consideration when planning what improvements would be made. These considerations lead to going beyond just simply widening and paving the streets for vehicles, the sidewalks were also paved for the safety and ease of pedestrian traffic.
"The overall goal of the project was to provide the local populace of the Zaidon village with a more efficient, safer, more convenient way to travel throughout this major village," said Simpson, a native of Dalton, Ga.
Convenience, however, came to a screeching halt in the beginning of the project.
"One of the biggest obstacles was being able to juggle the amount of traffic on any given day with construction work that needed to be completed," explained Simpson. "[The workers] had to do it in a way to allow the local populace to use [the road.]"
It took a lot of planning, but the project was finally completed earlier this week, he said.
Once the ceremony came to an end, the attendees said their goodbyes and left down the road that now provides the area with a safer and more efficient way to travel.