The bridge that links the border villages of Yeraskhahun and Vardanashen in Aramavir is on the verge of collapse.  It also services fourteen other regional village communities and is the transport link for a few military units as well.

Erected in 1963 the bridge has a span of six meters and is fifteen meters tall. It has never been repaired or reinforced since. Starting in May of this year it has caused a virtual panic with drivers. Having no side barriers and pocketed with huge gaps in the roadway, the bridge is prone to shaking. Naturally, given this state, it has caused a number of inconveniences for residents of the area. Vardanashen resident Lorik Avetisyan will never forget the fire in the neighboring village that consumed 1000 bales of cut hay. The fire trucks never showed up because they feared crossing the bridge.

“Emergency vehicles don’t come as well and if they do make the trip they’ll stop on the far side of the bridge and wait for us to ferry our sick to them on foot. It’s as if we’re exchanging war captives across the border.” This is how Yeraskhahun resident Albert Ghazaryan describes the situation.

Since he lives close to the bridge the task of monitoring the happenings in this danger zone has been kind of foisted upon him. He can’t leave since accidents are always occurring. Our involuntary traffic cop states that, “ Some ten cars a day either roll over or fall in the road gaps and get damaged, especially at night. I’m constantly hearing cries for help or else they’re waking me up in the middle of the night for assistance. They’ll either tell me - Come save us, the car’s rolled over, people have been hurt, we’re taking a pregnant woman to hospital and can’t get across...I know every centimeter of the bridge by heart and how to get around the holes. I’ll guide them through unharmed.”

Once night falls the two sides of the bridge are lined with packing crates in order to warn oncoming cars to proceed with caution. It’s a big job and Albert Ghazaryan has recruited the local villagers to assist him. Drivers from Vardanashen and Yeraskhahun with relatives either living or studying in the “outside” take turns monitoring the collapsing bridge round the clock. 

Hrach Tumanyan from Vardanashen has lost his composure. Every day he waits for his daughter, a student, at the edge of the bridge, so that he can accompany her across those few perilous meters. The father asks somewhat rhetorically, “ What gives here? For the past few months even the bus ends its route on the other side. After that it’s up to every person to make it across and home on his or her own. This problem needs to solved one way or another, otherwise...”

Agricultural enterprises in the surrounding villages are also negatively impacted. One hundred hectares of fall wheat hasn’t been sown in Vardanashen since those transporting the farming equipment over from the neighboring community refuse to drive over the bridge. The sight of a variety of livestock falling through the bridge roadway no longer amazes the villagers. Lorik Avedisyan says that, “ Before, when we noticed a decrease in our flocks, what immediately came to mind was that some animals got mixed in with another flock. Now, however, we run straight to the bridge. You’ll see as many dead animals there as you want. I say, good luck to the dogs and wolves.»

The villagers believe that it's the trucks carrying ore from the sand mine in Arazap that have caused the bridge to nearly collapse. Vlad Avagyan from Aghavnatun asks, « How can the bridge withstand 44 years of such heavy truck traffic?» We caught up with him in his truck, loaded with sand, stopped on the edge of the bridge. He wasn't taking any chances crossing over.

One would think the first people to tackle the bridge problem would be the local authorities of those villages negatively impacted. We failed to locate these individuals, especially the village mayors of Yeraskhahun and Vardanashen. The doors to their respective offices remained locked the entire working day. Nver Petrosyan, Advisor to the Regional Governor of Armavir, informed us that in addition to his office, the Minister of Communications and Transportation of Armenia, was also looking into the problem. According to the volunteers manning the bridge, « Yeah, we've heard that story for the past few months. Someone's going to have to die before they get off their asses and do something.»