Georgia-Russia road reopens with restrictions

The main road connecting Georgia and Russia has reopened today but drivers must adhere to several rules when driving on the route, announced Georgia’s Ministry of Infrastructure.

The Mtskheta-Stepantsminda-Larsi Road (Georgian Military Highway) initially reopened on July 4 after being closed for 10 days when a section of the road was washed away in a landslide in late June.

One day later the road closed again. The decision to close the road was based on suggestions by meteorologists, who claimed the weather would worsen and another landslide could occur, and potentially affect the road and other infrastructure. 

This did not eventuate and the road was reopened today with certain restrictions.

This includes: 

• The road is open to all vehicles from 5:30am to 8pm;
• Vehicles can only drive on one lane of the road, not the whole road; 
• Vehicle must not stop while driving along the road; 
• The road will be completely closed from 8pm to 5.30am.

Officials said if heavy rain fell in the coming days, the road will close again.

The Ministry stressed a range of agencies were on alert to act in response to all potential situations or complications.