European route E97

E97
E97
Route information
Length	1,360 km (850 mi)
Major junctions
North-West end	Kherson, Ukraine
South-East end	Aşkale, Turkey
Location
Countries	Ukraine; Russia; Georgia; Turkey
Highway system
	International E-road network; A Class; B Class;

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.^[1] It connects the North Black Sea region with the South Black Sea region along the eastern shores of the sea.

Route description

The E97 starts in the Ukrainian city of Kherson and proceeds to the Georgian city of Poti, intersected by a number of European routes. From Khershon it proceeds along M17. The road soon passes into the territory of Crimea (annexed by Russia), where it runs from Dzhankoy – Feodosiya – Kerch, and is then interrupted by the Strait of Kerch. The road used the now discontinued Kerch Strait ferry line between Port Krym, Ukraine and Port Kavkaz, Russia, but in 2018 the Crimean Bridge opened connecting Crimea and Russia by road (A290).

In Russia, the E97 heads 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, passing through Sukhumi, Poti and Batumi before reaching the 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.^[1]