TBILISI, January 16 – More than 1,700 trucks were waiting on the Russian side to cross into Georgia at the Zemo Larsi border checkpoint on Friday, according to the press service of North Ossetia’s government.
Officials said truck traffic on the highway has been suspended “until further notice” due to worsening weather conditions.
Passenger traffic is also piling up. The same source said about 1,200 cars were registered in the electronic queue.
The latest jam is another spike at the only land crossing between Russia and Georgia. Around New Year, bad weather triggered a multi-kilometer traffic jam at Zemo Larsi. The Telegram channel SHOT reported at the time that about 400 vehicles were stuck, mostly Russian tourists heading to visit relatives and to Georgia’s Gudauri ski resort. Some travelers said they lost money because they could not reach hotels they had booked in advance.
A similar shutdown hit in early December 2025, when the road was closed and more than 2,000 heavy trucks were reported stopped on the Vladikavkaz–Lower Larsi–Georgia border highway.
North Ossetian officials say the checkpoint’s daily capacity is up to 1,200 trucks and about 2,400 passenger cars, based on 39 traffic lanes.
