The Roki Tunnel (also called Roksky Tunnel, ka, როკის გვირაბი; ; ) is a mountain tunnel of the Transkam road through the Greater Caucasus Mountains, north of the village Upper Roka. It is the only road joining

North Ossetia–Alania North Ossetia–Alania (; ), officially the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania, is a republics of Russia, republic of Russia situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe. It borders the country of Georgia (country), Georgia to the south, a ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

into

South Ossetia South Ossetia, officially the Republic of South Ossetia or the State of Alania, is a landlocked country in the South Caucasus with International recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, partial diplomatic recognition. It has an offici ...

, a breakaway republic of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. The road is manned at the town of in North Ossetia and is sometimes referred to as the Roki-Nizhny Zaramag border crossing. The tunnel, completed by the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

government in 1984, is one of only a handful of routes that cross the North Caucasus Range. It is at about altitude and its length is , and near the Roki Pass at about altitude, which can only be used in summer. The other routes between Georgia and Russia include the Kazbegi– Verkhni Lars customs checkpoint on the Georgian Military Road, closed June 2006 and reopened 2010, and the Gantiadi– Adler crossing in

Abkhazia Abkhazia, officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a List of states with limited recognition, partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, at the intersection of Eastern Europe and West Asia. It cover ...

which Georgia asserts functions illegally. The tunnel has been important throughout the

Georgian–Ossetian conflict The Georgian–Ossetian conflict is an Ethnic conflict, ethno-political conflict over Georgia (country), Georgia's former autonomous region of South Ossetia, which evolved in 1989 and developed into a 1991–1992 South Ossetia War, war. Despit ...

. 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 The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, has long called for the South Ossetian side of the tunnel to be placed under the control of international monitors, rather than by the South Ossetian secessionists and their Russian allies. When the Russian authorities blocked the Kazbegi- Verkhni Lars customs checkpoint between June 2006 and March 2010, the Roki Tunnel was the only available road route from Russia to South Ossetia. The tunnel was also used as a supply route for the Russian troops during the 2008 Russo-Georgian War.The tunnel was reconstructed due to damage caused by Russo-Georgian War. Reconstruction took years and was finished in October 2015.

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* {{coord, 42, 37, N, 44, 6, E, type:mountain_region:RU, display=title Geography of Georgia (country) Road tunnels in Russia Tunnels in Georgia (country) Ossetia Buildings and structures in North Ossetia–Alania Roads in South Ossetia Tunnels completed in 1985 Road tunnels Buildings and structures in South Ossetia Transport in North Ossetia–Alania

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