A new tunnel with a length of up to 2 km was opened in Dariali gorge

A new tunnel with a length of up to 2 km was opened in Dariali gorge

Construction of approximately 2 km tunnel was completed on a km132-km135 section of Mtskheta-Stepantsminda-Larsi international road.
The new tunnel was opened by First Deputy Minister of Regional Development and Infrastructure of Georgia and Chairman of Roads Department Irakli Karseladze, MP of Mtskheta-Mtianeti Zakaria Kutsnashvili, Governor of Mtskheta-Mtianeti Shalva Kereselidze and representatives of local self-government.
A new tunnel with a length of 17.5 km with 8.5 m carriageway was constructed at the crossing point of Dariali and Devdoraki gorges.
At present, Dariali gorge is unprecedented in Georgia. Since the 1950s, after construction of Rikoti road tunnel, construction of such a large-scale tunnel has not been implemented in Georgia.
In recent years, disaster occurred at several times in Dariali gorge. The landslide occurred in the gorge caused closure of the river Tergi as well as water flooding. Due to disaster, a large mass of soil was collapsed, which caused closure of movement on the Russian-Georgian border. Disaster in 2014 caused human deaths.
Disaster recurrence risk endangered movement of travelers on this road section. In addition, transit function of Mtskheta-Stepantsminda-Larsi road was suspended in the disaster period, which meant, an average, one million GEL financial loss for the country on a daily basis.
After construction of the tunnel, the problem will be fully solved, and safe movement in Dariali gorge will be possible. Construction of the tunnel was also necessary to keep Georgia’s transit function, and the county will have a stable transit road in this direction.
The project was financed by the state budget, and its contractual cost is GEL 51 892 174.44. Construction works started in May 2017 and completed in the shortest possible time for such a large-scale project – in August 2018. A total of 140 people was employed within the project.