It’s the final countdown for the Motorways’ completion

For the past few months we had been listening that by April 1^st 2017, the country’s new motorway network, that has been under construction for almost 9 years now, ought to be released to traffic as it has been a “demand of the European partners”.

April 1^st passed and none of what is described above actually happened. But it will in a few days’ time. April 1^st stretched to April 6^th for Tempi Tunnels that will conclude the construction of P.A.Th.E. axis, and, one week later, the remaining three motorways (Olympia, Ionian and E65).

What did not happen 2 days ago, was essentially an unfortunate development that added one more disappointment to thousands of drivers and residents of the areas where the new network runs across. As it seems, the postponement, by a few days, of the projects’ operation could be, quite reasonably, interpreted as a communicational move from the Government, taking advantage of the drivers’ big Easter “escape”.

What was unnecessarily communicated though was the “definite” and rigid deadline of March 31^st regarding the construction works’ completion, which finally proved to be flexible enough to transfer the ribbon cutting ceremonies a few days later, just before Easter.

Nevertheless, focusing on the bright side, in a few days’ time, the country will be featuring a new, safe and interconnected, motorway network which is a significant advancement that could not be undone by a small delay over a construction timescale of almost a decade.

What is going to be released in the following days

In the following days (or weeks), Tempi and Platamonas Detours along with their long tunnels will initiate the Government’s ribbon cutting streak. Next in line are expected to be Olympia Motorway (Corinth-Patras), Ionian Motorway (Antirrion-Ioannina) and E65, all with a few pending sections that are scheduled to be completed gradually by August 2017.

Even though, the final countdown was set to expire on April 1^st, we have to be a bit more patient in order to enjoy the country’s new network, fully completed. Undoubtedly, and that what we should keep in mind, it is the beginning of the end for a series of demanding projects that lasted so many years causing multiple inconveniencies but are now promising a safer future on the asphalt.

Nikos Karagiannis-ypodomes.com

Follow Nikos Karagiannis on Twitter