Roki Tunnel
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Roki Tunnel cuts through the Greater Caucasus Mountains, joining North Ossetia in the Russian Federation to South Ossetia, a breakaway region of Georgia.
The tunnel, completed by the Soviet authorities in 1985, is one of only a handful of routes that cross the North Caucasus Range. It is at about 3,000 meters (9,840 feet) altitude and its length is 3,660 meters.
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 - has long called for the Georgian side of the tunnel to be placed under the control of international monitors, rather than the South Ossetian separatists and Russian peacekeeping force.
