OREANDA-NEWS. September 12, 2011. Specialists of the SK MOST Group of Companies have completed 310 meters of tunneling on Alagir - Nizhni Zaramag motorway.

The tunnel construction was started in December 2010. The tunneling was performed by the mining method (using tunneling and drilling/blasting) simultaneously from the northern and southern ends.

When the tunnel is in service, it will ensure traffic safety along a 300-meters section of the Trans-Caucasus motorway, which has six critical spots of a potential avalanche hazard. The Trans-Caucasus motorway is the only transport route that links Russia to Southern Osetia. The highway section between the 85th and 93rd kilometer marks is now the most vulnerable stretch because of potential avalanches. The SK MOST Group of Companies is erecting avalanche protection galleries in addition to the tunnel in order to ensure the uninterrupted safe traffic.