In Shymkent, construction of the A-2 bypass road has alarmed residents of three homes: people complain of cracks in their walls and fear the ground may collapse, the website infohub.kz reports.
Soil excavated during construction of the highway was piled right up against residential houses, with the earthen mounds reaching as high as the windows. According to residents, this has been going on since construction began, and they had to clear away the one-and-a-half-meter embankment themselves.
"Everyone makes empty promises. Winter is ahead. If it rains or snows tomorrow, everything in front of the house will be covered in mud. How are we supposed to walk? Besides, this high embankment could slide during rain. We would like these issues resolved as soon as possible," said resident Abdirakhman Zhorabekov.
The road used to run 20 meters from the houses, but even then plenty of cars fell into potholes, residents note. Now that the road has moved closer, people's fears have grown. According to residents, construction work that has continued since August has already caused cracks to appear in the walls of nearby houses, and people worry the situation will only worsen in rainy weather.
"We are afraid that if the rains continue, the walls will collapse. Only this small wall is holding them up. If it keeps raining, it won't hold. Our walls are getting soaked. The whole kitchen fills with water and mud," complained resident Dana Andasova.
"An accident could happen on this road that is now being built, and that could pose a threat to our house. It is dangerous. We ask that the house be demolished and that we be relocated before anything happens," said resident Bakyt Abildaev.
However, a representative of the contractor disagrees with the residents. He claims that all work is being carried out in accordance with requirements and that storing soil near the houses is also provided for in the project.
"We cannot remove the soil first and then pour the retaining wall. That was not initially provided for in the estimate. So we made our own proposal. We warned that the soil could crumble, proposed erecting a fence and then removing everything once all the work is finished. We submitted the proposal to the transport department, and it was supported," explained Maksat Maratbaiuly, a representative of the contractor.
Specialists plan to install a 6-meter-high concrete retaining wall, with work to begin in the near future. There was no specific answer to the question of the cracks that have appeared in the walls of the houses: residents were told that an expert examination is needed to determine whether the damage is connected to the construction work.