Armenia Lifeline Road Improvement Project

I am writing this as I travel from Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, towards Tbilisi. We have completed our appraisal of the proposed Lifeline Road Improvement Project (LRIP) and it has been quite a ride–literally and figuratively. This is a US$ 30 million project to improve about 100 km of rural roads connecting communities to the main interstate road network.  Normally, it would take 6+ months to prepare such a project, but we have done it in 5 weeks. A memorable experience, but one I hope not to repeat …