Roksky tunnel - road through the Main Caucasian ridge

The Roki tunnel is a road construction that connects South and North Ossetia. It is located on the section of the Transcaucasian highway, which lies under the mountain Sokhs. Its length exceeds three and a half kilometers. The northern gates of the passage are at an altitude of 2,040 meters above sea level, the southern mark has crossed the boundary of 2,110 m.

The construction of the passage began in the thirties of the 20th century. It was indicated by a loud explosion, which was made several kilometers from the settlement of Upper Ruk. The main goal pursued by the creators of the project "Roksky Tunnel" was to unload the railway lines that run in the direction of the Caspian and Black Seas.

At the moment the structure serves the highway leading from Russia to the cities of South Ossetia. Ten years ago it provided the shortest road to the border areas of Iran and Turkey.

Historical reference

After a long idle time, which was almost forty years, it was decided to continue building the Roki tunnel. N. Nagaevsky was the developer of the master plan. He used the drawings of Ruten Glagolev. This fact was considered in detail in the periodical "Planned Economy", published in circulation in 1976.

The total cost of the planned works was almost 100 million rubles. It should be borne in mind that the original path was significantly reduced. According to R. Glagolev, the Roki tunnel was supposed to take its origin from the place called Ruk. The main difference of this area is the minimal threat of avalanches. However, the savings proved so obvious that his recommendations were neglected.

Organizational moments

In the future, the technical condition of the trip required global modernization. This was facilitated by insufficiently carefully conducted research. Employees of the Leningrad and Caucasian branches of Giprotrans complained about the complexity of the relief characteristics of the region. The road through the Roki tunnel ran deep, which also hindered the large-scale research work of engineers.

To exclude the risk of collapse of the main corridor, the workers built an auxiliary one. It was used only for reconnaissance purposes, and later became a component of the building ventilation system. The main rock in which the tunnel was laid is rocky ground.

Geological work

The tunnel ran through the main Caucasian ridge from two sides at once. Explosive activity was conducted at the southern and northern portals. For these purposes, the New Austrian method was used. At that time, the newest and most productive equipment was involved. Construction was carried out almost in a round-the-clock mode.

Removal of mining was carried out on trucks of Soviet manufacture. For finishing chose frost-resistant concrete M 300. For one calendar month sinkers mastered up to 45 meters of soil.

Modernization

Reconstruction of the tunnel began seven years ago. In 2010, its first stage started, during which the technical gallery was updated. The old corridor cover was completely removed and replaced, modern communication lines were installed.

To overcome 600 meters of development, it took exactly thirty days of continuous operation of two teams at once. In 2012, all planned actions were completed, and under the Roki Pass temporarily opened the car, but only in the test mode.

The next stage consisted in changing the waterproofing layer, widening the section of the passage and finishing the interior of the structure. On November 5, 2014, the official opening of the passage under the Sokhs mountain took place.