&sq=&lang=&file=File:S1-GE.svg) | |
|---|---|
| საერთაშორისო 1 | |
| Tbilisi-Senaki-Leselidze | |
&sq=&lang=&file=File:Georgia_S1_International_Road.svg) | |
&sq=&lang=&file=File:Tbilisi-Senaki-Leselidze_Hwy_near_Otarsheni.jpg) S1 highway between Tbilisi and Gori | |
| Route information | |
Part of    and    | |
| Part of | |
| Length | 542.7 km[1] (337.2 mi) Actual length 537 km (334 mi) |
| Major junctions | |
| East end | Tbilisi |
| (km)
20 27 83 120 257 291  Abkhazia, closed for cars | |
| West end | Russian border  |
| Location | |
| Georgia | |
| Municipalities | Tbilisi, Mtskheta, Kaspi, Gori, Kareli, Khashuri, Kharagauli, Zestafoni, Terjola, Tsqaltubo, Samtredia, Abasha, Senaki, Khobi, Zugdidi, Gali, Ochamchire, Gulripshi, Sokhumi, Gudauta, Gagra |
| Major cities | Tbilisi, Gori, Kutaisi, Zugdidi, Sokhumi |
| Highway system | |
| |
The Georgian S1 route (Georgian: ს1, also known as Tbilisi-Senaki-Leselidze), is a "road of international importance" with a registered length of 542.7 kilometres (337.2 mi) within the Georgian classification system, which makes it the longest Georgian highway route.[1] It runs from Tbilisi via Mtskheta, Gori, Khashuri, Zestaponi, Kutaisi, Samtredia, Senaki, Zugdidi, Sukhumi and Gagra to the border with Russia near Leselidze at the northwestern tip of the country, covering in practice 537 kilometres (334 mi). After crossing the Georgia–Russia border in breakaway Abkhazia, the highway continues to Sochi and Krasnodar as A147. It is part of European E60, E97 and E117 routes and Asian Highways AH5, AH81 and AH82, and connects with six other S-routes.
North of Zugdidi, across the Enguri River which is the disputed Abkhazia–Georgia border, the remaining 198 kilometres (123 mi) of the S1 route through breakaway Abkhazia is not under central Georgian control. Crossing into Abkhazia from Georgian controlled territory (and vice versa) is not possible by car, only by foot via the Enguri Bridge which is part of the S1 route. The road reaches its highest point of 910 m (2,990 ft) above sea level at the southern portal of the Rikoti Tunnel, which opened in 1982. This is the longest vehicular tunnel entirely within Georgia and has a length of 1,722 m (1.070 mi).
While the majority of the S1 highway is a two-lane road, major parts have been rebuilt since 2006 as 2x2 motorway/expressway, specifically Tbilisi to Surami (105 km (65 mi)) and Zestaponi (Argveta) to Samtredia (57 km (35 mi)). The redesign of the trunk section of the S1 between Tbilisi and Samtredia to motorway or expressway standards is part of the East-West Highway project, a major investment into Georgia's international road connectivity.[2] As of 2021 the mountainous 51 km (32 mi) "Rikoti Pass Road" and the remaining 6 km (3.7 mi) of the Khashuri Bypass are under construction as 2x2 expressway and are expected to be completed by 2023.[3]
- ^ a b "2022 List of highways of international and domestic importance" (in Georgian). The Legislative Herald of Georgia. 19 July 2022. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
- ^ "Georgia East-West Highway Improvement Program". World Bank. Retrieved 2021-07-10.
- ^ "Works are concurrently ongoing on 62 bridges and 39 tunnels at Rikoti Pass section". Roads Department of Georgia. 2021-04-02. Retrieved 2021-07-10.