The Roki Tunnel (also called Roksky Tunnel, ka, როკის გვირაბი; ; russian: Рокский туннель) is a mountain tunnel of the Transkam road through the

Greater Caucasus The Greater Caucasus ( az, Böyük Qafqaz, Бөјүк Гафгаз, بيوک قافقاز; ka, დიდი კავკასიონი, ''Didi K’avk’asioni''; russian: Большой Кавказ, ''Bolshoy Kavkaz'', sometimes translat ...

Mountains, north of the village Upper Roka. It is the only road joining North Ossetia–Alania in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

into

South Ossetia South Ossetia, ka, სამხრეთი ოსეთი, ( , ), officially the Republic of South Ossetia – the State of Alania, is a partially recognised landlocked state in the South Caucasus. It has an officially stated populat ...

, a breakaway republic of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. The road is manned at the town of in North Ossetia and is sometimes referred to as the Roki-Nizhny Zaramag border crossing. The tunnel, completed by the Soviet government in 1984, is one of only a handful of routes that cross the North Caucasus Range. It is at about altitude and its length is , and near the Roki Pass at about altitude, which can only be used in summer. The other routes between Georgia and Russia include the Kazbegi– Verkhni Lars customs checkpoint on the Georgian Military Road, closed June 2006 and reopened 2010, and the Gantiadi– Adler crossing in Abkhazia which Georgia asserts functions illegally. The tunnel has been important throughout the Georgian–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 the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, 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. When the Russian authorities blocked the Kazbegi- 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 the

2008 South Ossetia War The 2008 Russo-Georgian WarThe war is known by a variety of other names, including Five-Day War, August War and Russian invasion of Georgia. was a war between Georgia, on one side, and Russia and the Russian-backed self-proclaimed republics of Sou ...

.The tunnel was reconstructed due to damage caused by

Russo-Georgian War The 2008 Russo-Georgian WarThe war is known by a variety of other names, including Five-Day War, August War and Russian invasion of Georgia. was a war between Georgia, on one side, and Russia and the Russian-backed self-proclaimed republics of Sou ...

. Reconstruction took two and half years and was finished in October 2015. All costs of reconstruction were paid by the Russian side.

References

External links

* {{coord, 42, 37, N, 44, 6, E, type:mountain_region:RU, display=title Geography of Georgia (country) Road tunnels in Russia Tunnels in Georgia (country) Ossetia Buildings and structures in North Ossetia–Alania Roads in South Ossetia Tunnels completed in 1985 Road tunnels Buildings and structures in South Ossetia Transport in North Ossetia–Alania

See also

References

External links