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, 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.

• Swollen river damages bridge under highway in Georgia’s west

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”.