It is cited as a highly dangerous route, prone to hijackings, beheadings, kidnappings and robberies, particularly in the districts of Jalrez and Markazi Behsud, and has obtained the moniker "Death Road" due to the frequency of Taliban killings along the route.
[1][2] In 2008, the Ministry of Public Works began the process of rehabilitating 136 kilometres of the highway,[3] aided by 36 million euros funding from the Italian government.
The first phase of the project, Lot No 1, began in 2008 with the rehabilitation of a 54 kilometre stretch of earth road starting in Maidan Shar and working towards the Onai Pass in Jalrez District.
[5] In late July to early August 2012, 11 citizens of the Hazara ethnic group were brutally tortured and beheaded by the Taliban in the Kot-e Ashro area.
[2] From Maidan Shar, the road passes through Kot-e Ashro, Zaiwalat, Jalrez, Takana and Sarchashma.