Roki tunnel
| Roki tunnel | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| place | Greater Caucasus | |||
| length | 3730 m | |||
| Number of tubes | 1 | |||
| construction | ||||
| start of building | 1976 | |||
| completion | 1985 | |||
| location | ||||
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| Coordinates | ||||
| North portal North Ossetia-Alania ( Russia ) | 42 ° 37 '46 " N , 44 ° 5' 29" E | |||
| South portal South Ossetia / Georgia | 42 ° 36 ′ 3 " N , 44 ° 6 ′ 54" E | |||
Map with all coordinates: 
The Roki Tunnel ( Russian Ро́кский тонне́ль / Rokski tonnel ; Georgian როკის გვირაბი / Rokis gwirabi , Ossetian : Ручъы тъунел) is a road tunnel through the main ridge of the Greater Caucasus .
It was completed in 1985 and lies at an altitude of 2000 m to 2100 m and connects North Ossetia-Alania in Russia with South Ossetia in Georgia .
At the time of commissioning, the Roki Tunnel was the longest road tunnel in the Soviet Union . It has a length of 3.73 kilometers (according to other sources 3.66 kilometers). The traffic is guided through a tube with two lanes. The Russian tunnel exit is at an altitude of around 2000 m , the Georgian one at around 2100 m . The undercrossed Caucasus ridge reaches a height of 3100 m .
The tunnel is part of the Transcaucasian trunk road . The South Ossetian authorities charge a toll for entering the tunnel . In winter and spring there are always avalanches and landslides that block the tunnel exits. In 2002 Russia built a 1.6-kilometer-long structure against avalanches in front of the tunnel.
The border crossing in the tunnel cannot be monitored by Georgia due to the South Ossetia conflict and was very popular with smugglers between 1992 and 2008. In the Caucasus War of 2008 , it served the Russian armed forces and paramilitary units as the main gateway to South Ossetia. In the course of this conflict, the structure suffered considerable damage. The main tube remained closed from April 24, 2012 to the beginning of November 2014 for a thorough overhaul and traffic passed through the service tunnel. The repair work cost around 400 million US dollars, during which the parallel service tunnel was also completed.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Entry at structurae.de
- ^ Democracy & Freedom Watch: Roki tunnel to be closed the next three years . News from April 18, 2012 on www.dfwatch.net (English)
- ^ Democracy & Freedom Watch: Roki tunnel reopened . News from November 10, 2014 on www.dfwatch.net (English), with a picture of a portal