"The construction of the new Bakurtsikhe-Tsnori bypass road is going on intensively. This road is an important part of the international road. The main challenge of the existing road is that it passes through 6 villages and in terms of road safety, it is not allowed to carry out international shipments under these conditions. The new 16.6 km long road will bypass the town of Tsnori and all six villages. The new road will significantly increase the capacity of road transport and all international road safety standards will be observed," said the Minister of Regional Development and Infrastructure of Georgia, Irakli Karseladze, after visiting the construction works of the new Bakurtsikhe-Tsnori road.

The Bakurtsikhe-Tsnori bypass road construction project envisages the construction of a 16.6 kilometer long, 2-lane, asphalt-concrete paved road and 6 bridges.

The currently existing road is distinguished by high intensity of transit traffic in a densely populated area. The new road will bypass both the town of Tsnori and 6 nearby villages (Bakurtsikhe, Kardenakh, Anag, Vakir, Mashnaar and Sakobo). After the completion of the project, vehicles moving in the direction of Bakurtsikhe-Tsnori will no longer have to pass through Tsnori and the nearby village. The traffic flows that would move to the territory of Tsnori will be moved to the bypass road of Tsnori, which will be important for the local population in terms of road traffic safety.

"Despite the challenges, we have progressed in the development of the project. 77% of the artificial structures have already been completed and construction is underway on all six bridges, piers will be erected in the summer, so that, taking into account the contractual deadline, the project will be completed in 2024 and the road will be put into operation," said Irakli Karseladze.

A new bypass road is being built on the side of the Alazni valley and will connect the Tbilisi-Bakurtsikhe-Lagodekhi-Azerbaijani border international road with the existing secondary road.

The project is implemented with the support of the Asian Development Bank and the cost of construction works is 87.8 million GEL.