Sus and Tostar Road: A historic lifeline turns into a passage of death

Between the cities of Sus and Tostar stretches a narrow road that is more than six decades old. Originally built by American engineers, it was designed to connect two UNESCO World Heritage sites: the ancient Elamite ziggurat of Chogha Zanbil and the historic waterfalls of Tostar.

This road, which was meant to be a gateway for tourism and life, has instead become, in the eyes of locals, a symbol of death transformed into a stage for recurring tragic accidents that claim innocent lives.

Weekly Accidents and Human Losses

According to local testimonies and statistics, the road witnesses at least one accident every week, with an average of two fatalities each month.

Most of these accidents are head-on collisions, caused by the road’s narrow width, lack of shoulders, and absence of lighting.

The latest tragedy was the death of 21-year-old Susan, who lost her life when a car coming from the opposite direction collided with her family’s vehicle.

Her father recounts the incident: “In a split second, a car swerved out of control. The collision happened right before my eyes, and I lost my daughter forever. I don’t want another family to taste this bitter sorrow.”

An Economic Road, but a Deadly One

The economic importance of this road is no less than its touristic value. Every day, it is crossed by thousands of workers, residents, and tourists, as well as hundreds of heavy trucks belonging to sugarcane companies, most notoriously the Haft-Tappeh company.

These trucks, transporting cane from fields to factories, make the road even more dangerous by occupying its narrow lanes and doubling the chances of collisions.

Residents affirm that the company treats the road as if it were “its own,” yet for decades has failed to invest in its maintenance or expansion.

This negligence has led locals to call it “the road of death that feeds the sugar factories with our blood.”

Officials Warn Against Neglect

Officials have recently warned against the continuation of this catastrophic situation, stressing that any delay by the relevant authorities in repairing the road would be considered “an omission” and could expose those responsible to legal accountability.

Meanwhile, social activists and clerics have urged immediate action to protect citizens’ lives. In a Friday sermon, one cleric declared: “The tears of grieving mothers must awaken the conscience of officials. A road that steals lives cannot be left neglected.”

Between History and Reality

The irony is that this dangerous road leads to sites of global cultural value: Chogha Zanbil, the oldest standing Elamite ziggurat built more than 3,200 years ago, and the historic Tostar waterfalls, an engineering marvel. Yet reaching these treasures remains fraught with risk.

Calls for Urgent Solutions

Today, both residents and officials agree that saving lives requires urgent solutions: widening the road, building shoulders, installing lighting, and regulating heavy truck traffic away from peak hours.

Until promises turn into action, the “Chogha Zanbil Road” will remain a bitter witness to the contradiction between a glorious history stretching back seven millennia and a tragic reality that threatens lives today.