Highways
As of 2005, Uzbekistan had 84,400 km (52,400 mi) of roads, about 72,000 km (45,000 mi) of which were paved. The road infrastructure is deteriorating, particularly outside of Tashkent. No significant highway projects were underway in 2006. In the early 2000s, U.S. engineers improved some roads around the port of Termez to facilitate movement of humanitarian supplies to Afghanistan. Uzbekistan is a member country of the United Nations’ Asian Highway Network, and several national roads are designated as part of the network. [1]
There are some parts of the roads considered as freeways, although mostly in a state of complete neglect and disrepair since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The ring road around Tashkent is about 70 km (43 mi) long, and completely multilaned, although it lacks a carriageway separation in most sections.
The M39 Highway, connecting Tashkent and Samarkand is a 4-laned road in some 300 km (190 mi) of its length, although poorly maintained and without carriageway separation in most of its length. In January, 2017, the Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan governments made an agreement to reopen the 65 km (40 mi) section of this highway which passed through Kazakhstan that had been closed for ten years, avoiding the detour via Guliston. [3] The M37 Highway starts from Samarkand, reaching west to the Turkmen border, via Navoiy and Bukhara. The A373 Highway starts from Tashkent, going east through Kokand of Fergana Region, and ends at the Kyrgyz border.
In September 2019, The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank proposed the Bukhara Road Network Improvement Project to improve the multiple assets of cross-border roads in Bukhara and the road networks in Karakalpakstan and Khorezm regions. The project finances were approved in June of 2020 and has been estimated to take 214.7 million USD. [4]
Highway classification
The highways in Uzbekistan are divided into three groups based on the level of their significance whose names differ by a prefix on their code. On July 2024, in a cabinet ruling, the Soviet-era highway numbers were retained for "roads of international significance", but the road numbering was overhauled for "roads of state significance" and "roads of local significance". [5]
This superceded and annulled an earlier cabinet ruling from August 2010, which affirmed and documented the same 3 levels of roadway, but retaining the codes from the Soviet era. [6]
Below are the "highways of international significance", with a prefix "M" or "A", inheritted from the Soviet road network. [5]
| Road | Direction | Length |
|---|---|---|
| M34 | Toshkent — Yangiyoʻl — Chinoz — Sirdaryo — Guliston — Xovos — Tajik international border ( РБ15 ) | 153 km |
| M37 | Samarqand — Ishtixon — Kattaqoʻrgʻon — Karmana — Buxoro — Olot — Turkmen international border | 367 km |
| M37a | Samarqand Ring Road | 46 km |
| M39 | Kazakh international border ( KZ13-03 ) — Gʻishtkoʻprik — Toshkent — Chinoz — Jizzax — Samarqand — Shahrisabz — Gʻuzor — Termiz | 628 km |
| M39a | Termiz Bypass — Hayraton — Afghan international border ( NH89 ) | 30 km |
| M41 | Tajik international border ( РБ02 ) — Denov — Jarqoʻrgʻon — Termiz | 188 km |
| A373 | Toshkent — Ohangaron — Angern — Qoʻqon — Shahrixon — Andijon — Kyrgyz international border ( ЭМ-15 ) | 379 km |
| A373a | Ohangaron — Guliston — Sardoba | 129 km |
| A373b | 192nd km of A373 — Qoʻqon | 66 km |
| A376 | Qoʻqon — Beshariq — Tajik international border ( РБ14 ) a break in the itinerary of this route Tajik international border ( РҶ077 ) — Bekobod — Xovos — Jizzax | 153 km |
| A377 | Samarqand — Tajik international border ( РБ13 ) | 37 km |
| A378 | Samarqand — Gʻuzor | 152 km |
| A379 | Navoiy — Uchquduq | 289 km |
| A380 | Gʻuzor — Qarshi — Muborak — Buxoro — Tuproqqalʼa — Beruniy — Nukus — Xoʻjayli — Qoʻngʻirot — Kazakh international border ( KZ12-02 ) | 1,204 km |
| A381 | Xoʻjayli — Turkmen international border | 12 km |
The total length of these roads is 3,833 km.
The next level of roadways in Uzbekistan are "roads of state significance" (davlat ahamiyatiga molik avtomobil yoʻllari), their codes consisting of 3 digints, and being designated with a prefix "D" (for davlat, meaning "state"). These roads are designated from D001 to D240, with branches and variants being labelled using miniscule latin letters, e.g. "D025e" (862nd km of M39 — Chinoz). The total length of these roads is 14,316 km. [5]
The next level of roadways are "roads of local significance", numbered at a region (viloyat) level. For these types of roads, their codes consist of 3 digits, and they're designated with a prefix "##V" (a two digit number desingating the region, same codes as those for Uzbek license plates, followed by "V" for viloyat). For example "70V001" is located in Qashqadaryo Region, and designates Qashqadaryo Ring Road. (license plates of Qashqadaryo Region have codes 70 to 74). Branches and variants are also labelled using miniscule latin letters, e.g. "70V078a" (3rd km of D148 — Shahrisabz). The total length of these roads is 24,222 km. [5]
