Ledo Road
The Ledo Road was built during World War II so that the Western Allies could continue to supply the Chinese afer the Japanese cut the Burma Road. See also the airlift over The Hump.
Before the war the British had prospected the Patkai Mountains for a road from Assam into North Burma. After the British had been pushed back out of most of Burma by the Japanese this became a much more important priority .
On the December 1 1943, British General Sir Archibald Wavell, the supreme command of the Far Eastern Theatre, agreed with General Stilwell to make the Ledo Road an American operation.
It was built under the direction of General Stilwell from Ledo in India to Bhamo on the Burma Road. It was built by 28,000 American soldiers, almost all of them black, and 35,000 local workers at a cost of $150 Million. 1,100 Americans died during the construction and many more locals.
As most of Burma was already in Japanese hands it was not possible to acquire information as to the topography, soils, and river behaviour before construction started. This information had to be aquired as the road was constructed.
It was completed in December 1944. Over the next seven months 35,000 toms of supplies in 5,000 vehicles were carried along it.
Winston Churchill said of the project " an immense, laborious task, unlikely to be finished until the need for it has passed."
When flying over the Hukawng Valley during the monsoon, Mountbatten asked his staff what was the name of the river below them. An American officer replied. “That's not a river, it's the Ledo Road."