S5 highway (Georgia)

The Georgian S5 route (Georgian: საერთაშორისო მნიშვნელობის გზა ს55, Saertashoriso mnishvnelobis gza S5, road of international importance), also known as Tbilisi-Bakurtsikhe-Lagodekhi (Azerbaijan border) or Kakheti Highway, is a "road of international importance" within the Georgian road network and runs from Tbilisi via Sagarejo and Bakurtsikhe to the border with Azerbaijan near Lagodekhi over a distance of 160 kilometres (99 mi). After crossing the Georgian-Azerbaijan border the highway continues as M5 to Zagatala and Yevlakh. The S5 highway is one of the two Georgian S-highways that is not part of the European or Asian international highway routes. Within the Georgian S-network it connects with the S9 Tbilisi Bypass.

Referring to its main location, the Kakheti region, the road is nicknamed "Kakheti Highway". While the segment in the capital region until the Tbilisi Bypass intersection has been built as a 6 lane city express road, and has been so until the airport since the 1970s, the rest of the highway is a 2 lane highway which passes through towns and villages. To improve traffic flow in the crowded Alazani valley, a bypass is planned between Bakurtsikhe and Tsnori, and the 35 kilometres (22 mi) Tbilisi Bypass - Sagarejo section is scheduled to be upgraded to a 2x2 motorway.