Traffic restrictions on Rikoti Pass lifted for light, passenger vehicles
Light and passenger vehicles will be able to use the Pass round-the-clock, while trailers and semi-trailers will be allowed to use the road from 9pm-7am in both directions starting on Thursday. Photo: The Ministry of Infrastructure.
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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.
Giorgi Tsereteli, the Chairman of the state Roads Department, announced the change on Thursday.
Light and passenger vehicles will be able to use the Pass round-the-clock, while trailers and semi-trailers will be allowed to use the road from 9pm-7am in both directions starting on Thursday.
The restrictions were introduced in late April due to a threat of landslides during ongoing works on the kilometre 149 section of the Pass.
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.
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”.
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.
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.