Traffic on Rikoti restored under “special regime” - Roads Department
“Study works in the landslide area continue. The process of the development of relevant project solutions has been started. Access roads are being arranged for commencing preventive works", the state body added. Photo via IPN
Tweet 
Share
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.
The Pass was closed due to “extreme necessity" last week on the kilometre 149 section of the Tbilisi-Senaki-Leselidze highway.
According to the Department, because of the “strict monitoring” of the landslide area, the traffic will be restored for light motor and passenger vehicles from the kilometre 114 to kilometre 194 section of the highway between 7:00 am to 7:00 pm.
Movement of trucks will be available on the same section from 9:00 pm to 6:00 am, under the strict supervision of the patrol police. The traffic of other types of vehicles must move non-stop on the Rikoti Pass-Khevi section.
Traffic flow on the kilometre 109 of the Gomi-Sachkhere-Chiatura-Zestaponi road will be possible for light vehicles at any time, the Department noted.
Study works in the landslide area continue. The process of the development of relevant project solutions has been started. Access roads are being arranged for commencing preventive works", the state body added.
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”.
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.
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 special traffic mode on the Rikoti Pass crossing between the eastern and western parts of Georgia will be lifted before the start of the summer season, Georgia’s Infrastructure Minister Irakli Karseladze announced on Tuesday.
Light and passenger traffic will be able to use Rikoti Pass, a major crossing between the eastern and western parts of Georgia, for three hours longer daily, the Roads Department has announced.
Giorgi Tsereteli, the Chair of the Roads Department of Georgia on Thursday said all sections of Rikoti Pass, a major crossing between eastern and western parts of Georgia, would be safe and all works were being carried out “according to the plan”.
Georgian Infrastructure Minister Irakli Karseladze on Friday called the “false” accusations by the domestic opposition on the financial statements regarding the construction of Rikoti Highway “absolute nonsense” and said the International Financial Institution carried out money transfers itself.
Georgian Infrastructure Minister Irakli Karseladze on Monday rejected what he called “artificial fear and tension” around the construction of the Rikoti Highway in central Georgia as “groundless”, following claims by a part of the domestic opposition about environmental issues of the project and possibility of selection of contractor companies under international sanctions.
The Roads Department of Georgia on Saturday said during the ongoing works on the 107th kilometre of the Kutaisi (Choma)-Alpana-Mamisoni and Sachkhere-Oni passes, the small mass of land had collapsed.
Traffic restrictions for light and passenger vehicles that had been imposed since April have been lifted at the Rikoti Pass, a major crossing between the eastern and western parts of Georgia, starting today.