Ionian Motorway’s 37-km-long section in Epirus region now in operation

Ionian Motorway’s ribbon cutting ceremony in the region of Epirus (Kampi-Perdika, 37 km) took place earlier today in a festive atmosphere. Infrastructure Minister, Mr. Spirtzis, GEK-TERNA’s representatives (the contractor) and the head of the regional administration, Mr. Kachrimanis, jointly released the motorway section. Ypodomes.com was there to give you an insight of the event along with footage from the first drive in the newly released section (Find it on Ypodomes.com Facebook page).

Kampi-Perdika section is replacing a considerable part of the old and dangerous road network, where the death toll was very high on an annual basis, hence its nickname as the “Tempi Valley passage” of Epirus due to its mountainous terrain.

The new section starts from the existing Arta-Filippiada Detour and more specifically from Filippiada area (Preveza Prefecture) all the way to Perdika close to the town of Ioannina. Along with the aforementioned detour, the new motorway section forms a solid, 53-km-long axis that will shorten time distance to and from Ioannina town by 30 minutes. The old network, although passing from areas with significant natural beauty, is obsolete with deteriorated asphalt, rendering it a particularly unsafe route for the drivers.

The progress so far

– 57% of the new road from Antirrio to Ioannina (112 km) has been released

– From 2003 to 2009 Arta-Filippiada Detour was progressively released with an overall length of 16 km

– In May 2009, the long Agrinio Detour (Kefalovriso-Kouvaras) was released with a length of 33 km

– In December 2016, the Eastern Amfilohia Detour (Kouvaras-Amfilohia) was released with a length of 32 km.

Pending works

– Antirrio-Gavrolimni-Kefalovriso (southernmost section)

– Amfilohia-Arta Detour (Aghios Dimitrios)

– Perdika-Egnatia (northernmost section and connection with the existing Egnatia Motorway)

Time distance from Athens to Ioannina has now dropped to 4 hours and 20 minutes, while a further reduction is expected after the project’s completion, reaching a record time of  3 hours and 40 minutes.

 

Nikos Karagiannis-ypodomes.com

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