Road restrictions partially removed in snowy Georgia

Traffic can now travel along most of the main highways throughout Georgia after many roads were cleared of snow after the country was hit with heavy snow earlier this week. Some road restrictions are still in place.

The highway from Mleta to Gudauri, a ski resort in north-eastern Georgia, has been fully cleared and opened for vehicles however, buses and trailers are not still permitted to travel along the road. 

A section of road connecting Ninotsmina-Armenian bordering area in southern Georgia is open for cars but restrictions still apply to trailers and semi-trailers. The same restrictions are in place along the Tkibuli-Ambrolauri highway in western Georgia. 

The road has been completely cleaned connecting Gudauri to the Jvari Pass. When it comes the Kobi section of road, cleaning works will begin there after experts safely collapse avalanche-prone areas, as threats still exist in several sites. A meeting of relevant officials involved in the cleaning activities was held today in Gudauri. 

Minister of Internal Affairs Aleksandre Tchikaidze attended the meeting in the coordination staff in Gudauri.

Deputy Minister of Economy and Regional Development Giorgi Amashukeli stressed that the divisions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) will carry out controlled explosions at certain sites to cause artificial breakdown of avalanches. 

"Only after [that] we will be able to ... clean the section,” Amashukeli said. 

He said specialists had been sent to sites where restrictions were still in place to monitor the situation and continuing bad weather. 

The bad weather first hit the entire country earlier this week. According to forecasters, the weather will improve from tomorrow, January 12.