Olympia Odos Motorway: studies for the extension to Tsakona are being finalised – How it will connect with Moreas Motorway

Developments are expected in the near future regarding the final section of the Olympia Odos highway, Pyrgos-Kalo Nero-Tsakona. As announced by Periklis Mantas, a member of parliament, the studies for this section are almost complete. According to the study, three alternative routes are proposed for the passage through the Kaiafa section.

The Kaiafa area is designated as Natura and became a pivotal point during the construction of the Olympia Odos highway in the early years of the previous decade, as construction was halted due to appeals to the Council of State regarding the section from Kato Samiko to Zacharo to Potamos Nedas, which is 20.5 kilometres long. With the economic crisis, the entire western section from Patras to Tsakona was removed from the project. Now, the examination of different solutions may also be the key to the future implementation of the project.

Olympia Odos is carrying out the preliminary studies through a ministerial decision from 2022, which instructed the concessionaire OLYMPIA ODOS to prepare the required studies for the section Entrance of Pyrgos—Alfios—Kalo Nero—Tsakona. The proposals will be submitted to the competent department of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, which will undertake, depending on the selected solution, the environmental approval of the section.

The solution that will be selected must receive approval from the project’s Independent Engineer, and then the conditions for executing the project must be examined. Additionally, the hurdle of financing needs to be overcome. The financing process is challenging, as road projects must meet several criteria to be approved by the European Union, including daily traffic loads.

The implementation of this specific road project completes the Olympia Odos but also poses a challenge as it must be added to the long list of projects requiring funding. The segment Patras-Pyrgos-Kalo Nero was re-included in the concession in 2021, and funding was secured for the segment Patras-Pyrgos, which began construction in March 2022.

As it has been announced, a prerequisite for the implementation of the project is a) the preparation of a new road study accompanied by the corresponding supporting studies (new topographic survey, final geological study, geotechnical studies and investigations, Environmental Impact Assessment Study, etc.), and b) the environmental licensing of the new technical solution for the section from Kato Samiko to Kaiafa – Zacharo – Potamos Nedas due to the cancellation by the Council of State of the previous Environmental Terms.

With the completion of the section Pyrgos-Kalo Nero-Tsakona, as initially planned, the Olympia Odos highway will be finalized and connected to the Moreas Motorway in the area of Tsakona, achieving the implementation of a road ring in the Peloponnese.

Additionally, the section Rio-Pyrgos-Tsakona constitutes the final segment of the “Blue Corridor” or the Adriatic Highway. This axis begins from Trieste in Italy, crosses the Western Balkans, and ends in our country through the axes Kakavia-Antirrio-Rio-Tsakona.