Western Greece: Ionian Motorway now in full operation

It was 12 years ago when the tender for the construction and concession of the newly introduced plan of Ionian Motorway, starting from Antirrio and ending at Ioannina, took place, making the residents of the once remote regions of Epirus and Western Greece dream of a more accessible future.

Yesterday, August 3 2017, this dream came true, as after a series of road sections’ releases, the time came for the conclusion of the ribbon cutting events and the full operation of a long-expected motorway, with the final release of Perdika-Ioannina section.

The integration of Ionian Motorway in the country’s network, will instantly transform road transports in the regions of Western Greece and Epirus as it will reduce drastically time distances, “revealing” areas that until were virtually “secluded”.

The release event of this last section was held in Avgo area, and was addressed by the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Mr. Christos Spirtzis and the presence of many other officials from the neighbouring regions.

Toll costs

Toll stations are expected to operate soon, once the Motorway is now fully functional. The cost for a car on Ionian Motorway will be 12.45 euros, while from Athens to Ioannina it will total to 37.25 euros.

Ionian Motorway is connected with Rio-Antirrio Bridge on the South and, therefore, with Olympia Motorway and Egnatia Motorway on the North, constituting a strategic link for the new continuous network of covered motorways, that along with Athens-Thessaloniki axis creates the country’s major «Ring Road», covering all regions, except for Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, on the Northeast.

The project

The 196 km of the new motorway include, among others:

– 4 bidirectional tunnels with total length 11.2 km.

– 4 bridges with a total length of about 7 km.

– 77 lower & 24 upper crossings

– 3 Operation and Maintenance Centers

As of yesterday, Athens-Ioannina distance (405 km) will be covered in just 3 hours and 30 minutes (instead of 6 hours in the past), Patras-Ioannina (207 km) in just 100 minutes, Thessaloniki-Patra (500 km) in 4 hours and 30 minutes whereas distances interconnecting Nafpaktos, Messolongi, Agrinio, Arta and Ioannina will become significantly smaller, essentially changing the map of Western Greece. Igoumenitsa, with its very important Port, will now be just 4 hours away from Athens

Ionian Motorway features 2 lanes per direction (plus shoulder), Drivers’ Rest Areas (not yet in operation), personal hygiene facilities, 24-hour road assistance etc. The biggest technical challenge of the project was the 3-km-long Klokova Tunnel, which was dug in the record time of 13 months, the fastest ever performance in Greece and one of the fastest performances in Europe and the world (for road tunnelling).

Nikos Karagiannis-ypodomes.com

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