European route E97

E97
E97 south of Turkey-Georgia border
Route information
Length:	1,360 km (850 mi)
Location
Countries:	Ukraine, Russia, Georgia, Turkey
Highway system
International E-road network ← E96 E98 →

International E-road network

European route E 97 is an A-class European Route in Ukraine, Russia, Georgia, and Turkey. The highway runs for 1,360 kilometres (850 mi) in total. It connects the North Black Sea region with the South Black Sea region along the eastern shores of the sea.

The E97 has its start in Ukrainian city of Kherson and proceeds to Georgian city of Poti, intersected by a number of European routes. From Khershon it proceeds along M17 highway (Ukraine) (Kherson – Dzhankoy – Feodosiya – Kerch), and then it is interrupted by passage across the Strait of Kerch by the Kerch Strait ferry line between Port Krym and Port Kavkaz, Russia. Further on, the route switches to the federal motorway A290 highway (Russia). Construction of Kerch Strait Bridge is planned to span the strait and replace the ferry link. In Russia, the E97 to Novorossiysk, along the M4 to Dzhubga and finally via the M27 motorway to resort city of Sochi, site of the 2014 Winter Olympics. Further south, the route proceeds through Georgia, spanning cities of Sukhumi, Poti and Batumi before reaching Turkish border. From there, it extends to Trabzon, Gümüşhane and Aşkale, where the E97 terminates. Between Trabzon and Poti, the E97 is concurrent with the easternmost segment of the European route E70.