The Department of Roads announces a 63,908,792 GEL contract for arresting a landslide-prone slope on the 149th kilometer of the Tbilisi-Senaki-Leselidze highway, adjacent to the Rikoti highway.
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According to the engineering design report, the slope should be reinforced with metal anchors and a high-tensile-strength net. Drains should be arranged to channel away underground water. The project also provides for erosion prevention with a synthetic protection system, which should be filled with granular material and topped with vegetable soil. Open drainage ditches should be arranged, which will be covered with concrete. The deadline for the completion of the works is 6 months.
Due to active landslides on the 149th kilometer of the Tbilisi-Senaki-Leselidze highway, the traffic on Rikoti was suspended on March 30, 2023. Light auto transport has been using the bypass Gomi-Sachkhere-Chiatura-Zestafoni route. Giorgi Tsereteli, the Chairman of the Roads Department, said that the landslide developed as a result of melting snow. According to him, the construction of the Rikoti Pass road was preceded by a large number of studies, and the construction project itself was designed by one of the best American-Turkish consortiums in the world.
According to the assessment of independent authoritative experts, the section of Rikoti is an area with complex tectonics, and the studies conducted prior to the construction of the road were lacking.
‘‘The Italian company, the author of the geological assessment, writes that new constructions can lead to the activation of landslides.
We are looking at bad judgment - you can't cut the slopes in this way in such geological conditions.
We interfered with the environment in such a wrong way with this construction that we triggered landslides,’’ says Tea Godoladze, director of the National Seismic Monitoring Center.
On April 8, traffic on Rikoti was resumed under a special regime - allowed only in good weather and during the day. Restrictions remained in place for several months.
On October 28, vehicular traffic was opened on the 27 km section of the Rikoti highway. The new, four-lane section of the main road begins near Khevi village of Kharagauli municipality and ends near Shorapani township of Zestafoni municipality. The khevi-Shorapani section includes 65 bridges and 38 tunnels. According to the Roads Department, the new section reduces the travel distance across Rikoti by 8 kilometers and the travel time by 25 minutes.
‘‘The population must know that Rikoti is safe. Everything that was voiced before is a lie or manipulation,’’ said the Minister of Regional Development and Infrastructure Irakli Karseladze during his speech in the Parliament on November 2.
The construction of the Rikoti road is underway with the support of the European Investment Bank, the World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank. The total cost of construction works is up to 2.6 billion GEL.
