Travellers heading from the Georgian capital city of Tbilisi further east to Kakheti region are now able to drive along a new bypass road that skirts the town of Gurjaani and the six villages of Bakurtsikhe, Kolagi, Dziroki, Chandari, Vejini and Chumlaki.
Construction of the 15.5 km long Bakurtsikhe-Telavi-Akhmeta road, or Gurjaani bypass road, has ended and Georgian officials opened the road earlier today.
The Gurjaani bypass road was financed by the World Bank and the cost of the project was 38 million GEL (about $12.04m/€10.20m).
The traffic flows that were moving in the territory of Gurjaani will be diverted to the Gurjaani bypass road, which is important for the local population in terms of ecological and traffic safety. The new road halves the travel time as well", announces the Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development.
Infrastructure Minister, Georgian PM discuss road infrastructure development in Kakheti. Photo: PM's press office.
Bakurtsikhe-Tsnori bypass road
In addition, with the support of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), an international tender has been announced on construction of the Bakurtsikhe-Tsnori bypass road. As part of the project six bridges and a two-lane 16.6 km road will be built.
A new bypass road will be built along the Alazani Valley and will connect the Tbilisi-Bakurtsikhe-Lagodekhi-Azerbaijan border international road with the existing domestic road. The new road will detour densely populated Tsnori and six surrounding villages (Bakurtsikhe, Kardenakhi, Anagi, Vakiri, Mashnaari, Sakobo and Tsnori).
Construction of this road will be completed within two years from the start of works.
New 85 km highway of Kakheti
The Roads Department of Georgia has already announced tenders for the construction of a new 85-km highway of Kakheti, which will include a 35.2 km long four-lane concrete road.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili announced that in total 2 billion GEL (about $0.63 bln/€0.54 bln) will be spent on the construction of the new roads in Kakheti and developing new infrastructure in the region.
In addition, internal road maintenance will be [necessary, the cost of] which is not included in this budget. In fact, the whole landscape of Kakheti, the image of the roads will absolutely change", Garibashvili said.
Garibashvili also announced that renewed city centers will come to every municipality in Kakheti and in total 500 million GEL (about $158.48m/€134.16m) will be spent on the endeavour.