&sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:S3-GE.svg) | |
|---|---|
| საერთაშორისო 3 | |
| Mtskheta-Stepantsminda-Larsi Georgian Military Road | |
&sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:Georgia_S3_International_Road.svg) | |
&sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:Ananuri.jpg) "Military Road" near Ananuri | |
| Route information | |
Part of   | |
| Length | 139 km[1] (86 mi) |
| Existed | 1996–present |
| Major junctions | |
| South end | Natakhtari (Mtskheta)  |
26  Sh26 to Tianeti / Shatili | |
| North end | Larsi  |
| Location | |
| Georgia | |
| Municipalities | Mtskheta, Dusheti, Kazbegi |
| Highway system | |
| |
The Georgian S3 route (Georgian: საერთაშორისო მნიშვნელობის გზა ს3, Saertashoriso mnishvnelobis gza S3, road of international importance), also known as Mtskheta-Stepantsminda-Larsi (Georgia–Russia border) or Georgian Military Road,[2] is a "road of international importance" within the Georgian road network and runs from Mtskheta to the border with Russia near Stepantsminda with a length of 139 kilometres (86 mi).[1] After crossing the Georgian-Russian border the highway continues as A161 to Vladikavkaz, the capital of Russia's North Ossetia–Alania federal republic. The highway is the only open land route between Russia and Georgia (country), while routes via Georgian breakaways South Ossetia and Abkhazia are effectively closed for through traffic (and only facilitate traffic between the breakaways and Russia).
The S3 highway is entirely part of the European E117 and Asian AH81 routes and connects with the Georgian S1 highway at its Southern terminus near Mtskheta. Furthermore, the highway is located in the Mtskheta-Mtianeti region and passes through Zhinvali, Ananuri, Pasanauri and skiresort Gudauri where it reaches its highest point, the Jvari Pass (2379 m (7805 ft)). It has been built as a two lane road, but designs have been developed to upgrade the southern part of the S3 between Natakhtari and Zhinvali to a 2x2 motorway (or dual carriageway) as a northern extension of the S9 Tbilisi Bypass.[3] A 23 kilometres (14 mi) bypass of the Jvari Pass, prone to heavy snowfall and disruption of commercial cross-border traffic, is under construction since 2021 with a 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) long tunnel, the longest in the region.[4]
- ^ a b "2014 List of highways of international and domestic importance". The Legislative Herald of Georgia (in Georgian). 2014-06-18. Retrieved 2021-08-22.
- ^ Bryce, James (1877). TransCaucasia and Ararat. London: Macmillan and Co. p. 116.
- ^ "Preparation of Feasibility Study and Detailed Design for the E-60 Highway Section from Natakhtari to Rustavi (Tbilisi Bypass)". IRD Engineering. 2020. Retrieved 2021-08-25.
- ^ "Construction of a new Kvesheti-Kobi road and 9 km long tunnel has been launched" (in Georgian). Roads Department Georgia. 2021-06-11. Retrieved 2021-09-02.