2 km Long Tunnel to Be Built in Dariali Gorge

The Roads Department of the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure of Georgia will begin construction of a tunnel at the crossing of the Dariali and Devdorak gorges.

The Dariali Gorge is a river gorge on the border between Georgia and Russia. It is at the east base of Mount Kazbegi and south of present-day Vladikavkaz. The gorge was carved by the river Targi and is approximately 13 km long.

The ministry says that the construction of the 2 km-long tunnel will begin later this year and will cost GEL 47,179,224 (around $19,667,705), to be financed from the state budget.

The project is expected to be completed within 12 months of the signing of the contract.

The Roads Department stated that the projecting and construction works will be carried out by the tender-winner company Peri, which presented several versions of the project within the framework of the detailed project preparation report. A team made up of specialists, geologists and Chairman of the Roads Department, Giorgi Seturidze, will choose the best option from these.

The Roads Department reports that during the last few years, natural disasters have occurred several times in Dariali gorge, presenting a danger to traffic along this section of road.

They also explain that during this period, the transit function of Mtskheta-Stepantsminda-Larsi road was stopped, resulting in the loss of around GEL 1 mln (around $417,374) per day for the State.

Thea Morrison