| Roki Tunnel | |
|---|---|
 South portal | |
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| Overview | |
| Other name | Roksky Tunnel |
| Location | South Ossetia,GeorgiaNorth Ossetia,Russia |
| Status | active |
| Route | Transcaucasian Highway |
| Crosses | Roki Pass |
| Operation | |
| Opened | 1984 (1984) |
| Closed | 2010 |
| Rebuilt | 2010-2015 |
| Reopened | 2015 |
| Technical | |
| Length | 3,730 m (12,240 ft) |
| No. oflanes | 2 |
| Tunnel clearance | 4.75 m (15.6 ft) |
| Width | 7.5 m (25 ft) |
TheRoki Tunnel (also calledRoksky Tunnel,Georgian:როკის გვირაბი;Ossetian:Ручъы тъунел;Russian:Рокский туннель) is a mountain tunnel of theTranskam road through theGreater Caucasus Mountains, north of the village Upper Roka. It is the only road joiningNorth Ossetia–Alania inRussia intoSouth Ossetia, a breakaway republic ofGeorgia. The road is manned at the town ofNizhny Zaramag [ru] in North Ossetia and is sometimes referred to as the Roki-Nizhny Zaramag border crossing.
The tunnel, completed by theSoviet government in 1984, is one of only a handful of routes that cross the North Caucasus Range. It is at about 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) altitude and its length is 3,730 metres (12,240 ft), and near theRoki Pass at about 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) altitude, which can only be used in summer.[1][2]The other routes between Georgia and Russia include theKazbegi–Verkhni Lars customs checkpoint on theGeorgian Military Road, closed June 2006 [3] and reopened 2010, and theGantiadi–Adler crossing inAbkhazia which Georgia asserts functions illegally.[4]
The tunnel has been important throughout theGeorgian–Ossetian conflict. The South Ossetian authorities use tolls levied on tunnel traffic as one of their main sources of revenue. The Georgian government, backed by theUnited States, has long called for the South Ossetian side of the tunnel to be placed under the control of international monitors, rather than by the South Ossetian secessionists and their Russian allies.[5]
When the Russian authorities blocked theKazbegi-Verkhni Lars customs checkpoint between June 2006 and March 2010, the Roki Tunnel was the only available road route from Russia to South Ossetia. The tunnel was also used as a supply route for the Russian troops during the2008 Russo-Georgian War.[6]
The tunnel was reconstructed due to damage caused by Russo-Georgian War.[7] Reconstruction took2+1⁄2 years and was finished in October 2015.[8]
Authority control databases: Geographic |
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