Not that I am an expert, bu knowing the Chernobyl Plant, most likely it is just a road for construction vehicles, though it could have been built to provide easier access for firetrucks and other vehicles used in the cleanup. Another possibility is to get equipment to the reactor to build the Sarcophagus.

If you are really interested in Chernobyl, you should check out Pripyat.com - I am an editor for their English site and forum. Most of the good information is in the Russian forums, but a good online translator, such as IM Translator can give you a good idea of what is being discussed. Besides interested people from around the world, the forum also includes participants who are former Pripyat residents, former liquidators and current Chernobyl Plant employees. The forum is at http://forum.pripyat.com (you’ll easily recognize the English-language section :-) )

Thanks for clearing up the pavement burning thing. Do you happen to know how the pavement got to be so beat up? It is both amazing and sad to see the devastation of such a beautiful area and of people’s lives.

Thanks for commenting. I’m greatly enjoying your blog.

I may be wrong, but I am almost positive that the road itself was not damaged by the radiation. Trees in the nearby “Red Forest” were definitely damaged/killed by the radiation (and later buried), but I doubt pavement would have been damaged.

I personally visited the Chernobyl area for two days in June 2006 with my friend Sasha (in your first photo on the left, Yuri, who was my guide, is on the right), a former resident of Pripyat. We toured the Chernobyl Plant (including the Reactor 4 control room), several of the abandoned villages, and Pripyat. I have posted a photo journal of my trip at:

My Journey to Chernobyl: 20 Years After the Disaster