TBILISI, September 23 – Up to 80,000 water customers in and around Georgia’s capital will face a roughly 36-hour disruption this weekend as crews connect a new water main to the existing network, the government said Wednesday.
The interruption is scheduled to begin at 3 a.m. on Saturday and last until 3 p.m. on Sunday. It will affect several Tbilisi neighborhoods, the city of Mtskheta, the villages of Natakhtari and Tsitsamuri, and the Tserovani settlement for internally displaced people, Interpressnews reported.
The work is part of a project to build a new bridge over the Aragvi River on the Tbilisi-Senaki-Leselidze highway. One of Tbilisi’s main water pipes runs through the area where an access road to the bridge is being built, making it necessary to move the pipe.
The replacement pipe has already been installed. Crews must now drain the main water system before connecting it to the new section. The government says teams will work around the clock at several locations to complete the switch.
Water service will return gradually after the work is finished, meaning some areas may have to wait longer than others. Georgian Water and Power will provide details of the affected locations, water tanker sites and the expected stages of restoration.
Residents are advised to store enough drinking water before the interruption begins. The government apologized for the inconvenience and said it would provide regular updates on the work.
The new bridge is being built alongside an existing bridge dating from the 1970s and is scheduled to open later this year.
