Special traffic mode on Rikoti Pass to be lifted before summer season - Infrastructure Minister
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. Photo: Ministry of Infrastructure
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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.
Karseladze said the decision on the restrictions, introduced earlier this month due to a threat of landslide during ongoing works on the kilometre 149 section of the Pass, would be made following professional studies on the area.
- Traffic on Rikoti restored under “special regime” - Roads Department
- Landslide risk leads to temporary closure of Rikoti Pass
Any decision - whether it is closure of the road or switching traffic to another road - will be based on proposals substantiated, researched, designed and accordingly recommended by scientists and experts. Our goal is to speed up both design and ongoing works as much as possible”, he said.
The official also commented on the highway bridge under construction in the section Samtredia-Grigoleti road, which was damaged by a swollen Rioni River in the western Imereti region in late February, and said drilling works on a bridge pier were ongoing to establish the cause of its collapse and develop “appropriate engineering solutions”.
A highway bridge under construction has damaged by a swollen river in the western Imereti region of Georgia, with no injuries reported in the accident, the Roads Department said on Wednesday.
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.
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.
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 Georgian Regional Development and Infrastructure Ministry on Sunday said the country’s Black Sea coastline was ready for the new summer holiday season of 2023, with municipalities acquiring new special equipment.
Heavy rainfall, hail and strong wind between Monday and Wednesday affected municipalities in the central and eastern Georgian regions, causing damage to buildings and floods in residential homes.
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.
Traffic through the Rikoti Pass crossing between the eastern and western parts of Georgia has been restored following restrictions placed in sections of the area after it was hit by a landslide caused by rain between Wednesday and Thursday, the Roads Department said.
Georgian Railway on Friday announced it was resuming its services between the capital city of Tbilisi and the western locations of Batumi and Zugdidi, after heavy rains in western regions caused a suspension in operations on Thursday.
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.
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.