Roads Department professionals working to restore traffic on Rikoti Pass
The Pass was closed due to “extreme necessity" late on Wednesday on the kilometre 149 section of the Tbilisi-Senaki-Leselidze highway. Photo: Roads Department of Georgia
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Giorgi Tsereteli, the Chairman of the Roads Department of Georgia, on Friday said Rikoti Pass, a major crossing between eastern and western parts of Georgia, was closed to all types of vehicles due to a risk of a landslide, and added its professionals were working to restore traffic “as soon as possible”.
The Pass was closed due to “extreme necessity" late on Wednesday on the kilometre 149 section of the Tbilisi-Senaki-Leselidze highway, with the Department spokesperson telling Agenda.ge the road would be closed on Thursday and Friday.
Tsereteli said drivers were being redirected via the Gomi-Sachkhere-Chiatura-Zestaponi road, however traffic of trailers and semi-trailers was also restricted on the latter.
Following the recommendation by relevant specialists, we made a decision to temporarily close the traffic on the Rikoti Pass [...] Rehabilitation works are underway on the Chiatura-Zestaponi section, therefore, the traffic is limited [on the Gomi-Shachkhere-Chiatura-Zestaponi road], for which we apologise to the residents, passengers and drivers", Tsereteli said.
In addition, professionals are also working on the Chumateleti-Khevi road of the Pass, Tsereteli said, adding a threat of landslides was also present on the section.
Geologists, geotechnicians, and engineers are studying what is happening and what should be done in the future. Every tunnel, every bridge is constantly monitored", he said.
Tsereteli added the monitoring had revealed the development of the threat of a landslide, leading to the intervention.
Traffic on the Rikoti Pass crossing between eastern and western parts of Georgia has been restored after professionals cleared roads following heavy snowfall, the Interior Ministry said on Friday.
Heavy snowfall caused traffic restrictions on several roads of domestic and international importance in western part of Georgia on Thursday.
Rikoti Pass, a crossing between eastern and western parts of Georgia, will be closed between Thursday and Friday to all types of vehicles due to a risk of landslide, the Roads Department of Georgia said on Thursday.
The Roads Department of Georgia on Tuesday said a slope of the Rikoti Pass dividing Georgia into its eastern and western parts had collapsed on Monday due to a landslide prior to reinforcement works planned on the section.
The Land Transport Agency of Georgia on Tuesday announced changes for traffic rules for international carriers at the Kazbegi customs checkpoint on the border between Georgia and Russia.
Vehicle traffic on Rikoti Pass, a major crossing between eastern and western parts of Georgia, was restored on Saturday under a “special regime”, with the recommendation of specialists, the Roads Department of Georgia said.
Construction of the new Rikoti Highway is set to be completed this year, the Roads Department of Georgia said on Monday while rejecting media reports that suggested the work had been delayed from its original deadline of 2022.
The Interior Ministry of Georgia on Tuesday rejected recent media reports on vehicle traffic disruption on the Rikoti Pass section “for several days” as “misinformation”.
The Roads Department of Georgia on Wednesday said traffic for trailers through Rikoti Highway, a major crossing between eastern and western parts of the country, would be reopened starting today, with access for light vehicles allowed from Thursday.
Georgian Infrastructure Minister Irakli Karseladze on Tuesday said the landslide risks observed last month on the kilometre 149 section of the Rikoti Pass, a major crossing between the western and eastern parts of the country, had not been caused by the construction works on a new highway through the Pass.
The Roads Department of Georgia on Monday imposed traffic restrictions on several sections in the west and north of the country due to heavy snowfall.
Firefighters of the Emergency Management Service, patrol police and criminal police departments have been mobilised across regions of Georgia to help citizens amid deteriorated weather conditions with strong winds, heavy precipitation and storms, the body said on Monday.
Professionals of the Roads Department of Georgia are carrying out intensive road clearing works around the country to clear snowfall-affected roads and restore the traffic “as soon as possible”, the state body said on Sunday.