New evacuation point improves safety on Georgia’s mountain road

Georgia’s Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure is building a special evacuation structure on a popular mountain highway that’s prone to heavy snowfall to ensure road users are safe in times of natural disasters or road closures.

Almost half a million dollars is being spent on building a special tunnel measuring 210m long by 2.25m wide, a special watch tower and an evacuation zone where people can shelter in times of need.

This new construction is being built on the Mtskheta-Stepantsminda-Larsi road. 

It's for the first time when such a construction is being built in Georgia. Photo by the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure.  

This road linked Georgia with Russia and travelled high over the Caucasus mountain range. Often parts of this road were closed due to bad weather.

The Ministry said people will work inside the watch tower 24-hours a day and notify relevant authorities of impending emergency situations. 

About 50 locals are employed for the construction works. Photo by the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure.  

In such situations workers at the site will close the road to traffic and move road users out of the potential disaster zone to the evacuation point through the tunnel.

Construction of the evacuation structure began in June 2015. The project is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2016. 

The project was estimated to cost about $545,000.