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CAMP RAMADI, Iraq (March 5, 2008) - Three years ago, Route
Michigan was closed for Iraqis because of all the violence in the
city of Ramadi, but all that changed when Coalition forces and city
officials reopened the main road during a ribbon cutting ceremony,
March 2.
Gone are the concertina wires and cement barriers, which have
been replaced with newly-constructed tiled medians and street
lights on the main road of the city.
"The opening up of Route Michigan is an important day for
Ramadi," said Ramadi Mayor Latif Obaid Ayadah. "It will allow
traffic to move easier through the city from here to other places
in Iraq."
Route Michigan is the major highway out of Baghdad that runs
west through Fallujah and Ramadi, and all the way through Anbar
province to the Syrian border. It's the main supply route for
commercial goods, and traveling through much of western Iraq.
"The safety of Route Michigan will be run by the Iraqi Police,
who will be controlling the two checkpoints on the street," Ayadah
said. "It was closed for years because of all the violence from
terrorists."
The improved security enables the usage of the entire route for
civilian traffic, which was thought to be unlikely given the road's
violent past. Iraqi Police from all districts of the city turned
out to witness the grand opening.
"The city has been through a lot," said Iraqi Police Major Adel
Ahmad, from the Kurama Iraqi Police station. "This road has been
closed from combat operations in the city for too long. We all
worked hard to get to this point, and it's great to see life
returning to normal."
Present for the ribbon cutting was the 1st Brigade Combat Team
Commander, Col. John Charlton, whose unit helped bring stability to
the city in the beginning of last year.
"Ramadi is a safe city again from the efforts of Iraqi Police,
Soldiers and Coalition forces here today," he said. "The city looks
great; there's lots of construction going on, and I'm humbled to be
here and see travel through the city open for everyone."
Ramadi was plagued by insurgents, which all but disrupted life
in the capital of Iraq's western province. Now the area along Route
Michigan is a far-cry from the war torn streets of yesterday.
"When I first drove on Michigan a year ago, the streets were
lined with building rubble and there was trash everywhere," said
Spc. Jamie Blasingame, Company B, 3rd Brigade Support Battalion
personal security detachment.
He said the people on the road didn't have a sense of being safe
considering how bad security was in the city.
"That's the feeling you got when you moved down the route,"
Blasingame said. "There were hardly any people near the buildings
that lined the route."
The Soldiers moving through the city have seen a big change in
the short time they have driven on Route Michigan. The roads have
been cleaned and military convoys move with the traffic instead of
stopping it completely.
"The traffic doesn't stop for us and now Iraqis have the freedom
on the road like you'd see anywhere else," said Spc. Alaisea
Yandall, also from Co. B, 3rd BSB. "I never thought I'd see such a
big change in the city."
Soldiers driving through the main street of the city can attest
that if Route Michigan's opening is any indication, Ramadi is going
to see more good times ahead.
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