Two major projects to transform Athens` coastal front

The coastal front of Athens, the most beautiful part of the city also called “the Athenian Riviera”. Recently on this coastal front, inaugurated the impressive Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, designed by the world famous architect Renzo Piano, which has immediately become the new place to be in Athens, attracting thousands visitors every day.

Now, with two major projects on the coastal Posidonos Ave. the seaside will be transformed and two metropolitan parks will be presented to the Athenians from 2021 to 2024. Actually Posidonos Ave. will be undergrounded in 2 different points for a length of 6 km, changing the areas where the two interventions will be made, significantly.

The first intervention concerns the area of Faliro, at the height of the Peace and Friendship Stadium (SEF), up to its intersection with Singrou Ave. (a section 3 km long), which will be implemented under the project of Faliro Bay Restoration which is currently in progress. The project envisages the undergrounding of the current axis and and its shift towards the sea, by 90 meters.

In a nutshell, Posidonos Ave. will become semi-underground, while with the new design of the spaces, it will “dissapear” from the visual field. However, it will continue to operate alongside the park which is under construction in Faliro Bay area.

Works began in mid-2017 and will end in 2019. According to the plan, the nuisance of the drivers will not be much as the new road connection will be created before the initiation of the construction works on the current axis.

Currently, the road tunnel that will replace the 3 km long section of Posidonos Ave. is almost completed, and by Easter 2019, the new road that will connect Kifisos and Singrou Ave. interchanges is expected to be completed.

After that, the project will proceed to Phase B’ that concerns the creation of the largest coastal metropolitan park of the capital.

The second undergrounding

The second intervention will take place in the area of Aghios Kosmas and Hellinikon, for a length of another 3 km. There, there are plans for total undergrounding of Posidonos Ave., from the end of Alimos Beach (after its connection with Alimou Ave.) and its gradual elevation at the height of Hellinikon, at the area of the Marina.

The Tram line will remain as it is, while the removal of the current section of the Avenue will unite the coastal front of Hellinikon area with full access to the beach, creating the Hellinikon Metropolitan Park an area of more than 2.000 acres, one of the biggest in Europe as well as a new tourist area with hotels, casinos, skyscrapers, an aquarium, a marina and a beach which will be another attractive touristic pole. The project is expected to be completed by 2024, if the current schedule of HRADF is followed (construction works are planned to start in 2019).

The new front of the capital

Regarding the first project in Faliro, implementing entity is the Region of Attica with AKTOR being the contractor and a budget of 150mln euros. For the second project implementing entity is Lamda Development (future shareholder of Hellinikon SA) who will invest in total 8bn euros over the next 20 years to utilize an area of 6.000 acres at the former Athens International Airport.

Traffic conditions are also expected to improve greatly, as several traffic lights will be abolished allowing reduced time-distances for the areas served by the coastal Avenues. In total with these two interventions the time-distance between Athens center (or the Piraeus Port) to the Hellinikon will be reduced to just 15 minutes.