Motorway 1 (Greece)

A1 motorway shield
A1 motorway
Αυτοκινητόδρομος 1
Motorway 1 (A1) as viewed from Katerini South interchange.png
Route information
Part of E75
Length550 km (340 mi)
Major junctions
North endEvzonoi
South endAthens
Location
CountryGreece
RegionsCentral Macedonia, Thessaly, Central Greece, Attica
Major citiesThessaloniki, Katerini, Larisa, Lamia, Athens
Highway system
  • Highways in Greece

Motorway 1 (code: A1, also known as Athens-Thessaloniki-Evzonoi (A.TH.E.) Motorway, and previously as Patras-Athens-Thessaloniki-Evzonoi (P.A.TH.E.) Motorway the 2nd longest motorway in Greece with a length of 550 km. It is the principal north–south road connection in Greece, connecting the country's capital Athens with the regions of Thessaly and Macedonia, as well as the country's second largest city, Thessaloniki. It starts from Neo Faliro in Attica and continues north to reach the Evzonoi border station, on the Greek border with North Macedonia.

Today, the construction, operation and maintenance of Motorway 1 have been largely outsourced to private companies: Aftokinitodromos Aigaiou SA. (Kleidi, Imathia - Raches, Fthiotida), Kentriki Odos SA (Raches, Fthiotida - Skrafia, Fthiotida) and Nea Odos SA (Skarfia, Fthiotida - Metamorfosi, Attica). The section of Kleidi, Imathia-Evzoni since 2014 operates and is maintained by Egnatia Odos SA.

Route

The motorway passes through Mainland Greece and has largely replaced National Road 1. It begins at Kifissou Avenue, Athens, just north of the Bay of Phaliro, and continues northward to Evzonoi, on the border with the country's northern neighbour, North Macedonia, where it continues as the A1. Before the European routes numbers were changed, the northern part from Efzoni to EO2 was E5N, while today the entire road is part of European route E75. The task of maintaining and charging for parts of the motorway has recently been ceded to private consortia, part of the deal for the construction of the Ionia Odos, the E65, as well as the bypass of Tempe Valley.[citation needed]

The part west of downtown Athens runs over the Cephisus river and Kifissou Avenue. From north of the boundary of Voiotia - Phthiotis, up to near Velestino, the tollway runs close to the coast of the Aegean Sea. It then continues north of the Tempe Valley and up to the junction of the European route E90. It then shares a 25 km common part with A2 / E90 (on a west–east direction), and then, at the "Axios Interchange", continues north to Evzonoi and the national border with North Macedonia. Its total length is approximately 550 km.[citation needed]

Cities

Motorway 1 passes near major urban centers in the country:

  1. Athens
  2. Thebes
  3. Chalcis (20 km south - connection via A11)
  4. Lamia
  5. Larissa
  6. Katerini
  7. Thessaloniki (20 km west - connection via Egnatia Motorway and Thessaloniki's New West Entrance)
  8. Polykastro

Airports

The ATHE motorway is connected to the following airports:

  1. Thessaloniki (Macedonia Airport) (45 km west - connection via Egnatia Motorway, Thessaloniki's new West Entrance and Thessaloniki's Ring Road)
  2. Nea Anchialos - (10 km west - connection via National Road 30)
  3. Athens (Eleftherios Venizelos Airport) - (25 km west - connection via Attiki Odos)

Harbours

The ATH motorway is connected to the following harbours:

  1. Thessaloniki
  2. Volos
  3. Piraeus

Distances in kilometers

Distance in km 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
(1) Evzonoi 49 63 75 110 171 208 252 354 533 550
(2) Gefyra 49 12 26 61 122 159 203 305 505 501
(3) Axios 63 12 12 47 108 145 188 290 490 507
(4) Kleidi 75 49 12 35 98 135 178 280 480 497
(5) Katerini 110 61 47 35 61 98 141 243 443 460
(6) Evangelismos 171 122 108 98 61 37 80 182 382 399
(7) Larissa 208 159 145 135 108 37 43 145 345 362
(8) Velestino 252 212 198 186 151 80 43 102 302 319
(9) Lamia 354 305 293 279 244 183 146 102 200 217
(10) Athens 533 484 472 458 423 362 325 282 200 17

History

1950s-1970s

The old Greek National Road 1, was a historic road, which connected Athens with the Customs of Evzoni, through Dhekelia, Atalanti, Kamena Vourla, Thermopylae, Lamia, Stylida, Almyros, Velestino, Larissa, Valley of Tempi, Katerini, Alexandria, Gefyra and Polykastro. The road followed the route of the streets of antiquity. However, over time, its specifications began to be considered obsolete, as in the rest of Europe, modern highways began were started to be built. Thus, in the mid-1950s, construction work began on a new road, which began in 1959 with the delivery of the Larissa-Katerini section (Later, the Athens-Lamia section in 1962 and the Lamia-Larissa section in 1967) and were completed in 1973, with the delivery of the part Katerini - Thessaloniki - Evzoni. For the most part it was 13 metres (43 ft) - 14 metres (46 ft) (except for the part of the Valley of Tempi, which was 10 metres (33 ft), because it was built on a mountain) and 2 traffic lanes (1 lane + 1 auxiliary lane in each direction), without a median strip. The Polykastro - Evzoni section was the first section with motorway specifications.

1980-today

Work on the conversion to a motorway began in the mid-1980s, with the construction of the sections Klidi interchange- Gallikos river (delivered in 1988), Bogiati camp - Kryoneri interchange (delivered in 1989) (4.5 km), Inofyta interchange- Schimatari interchange (delivered in 1989) (12.5 km), Ritsona interchange - Thebes interchange (delivered in 1989) (14.8 km). In the early 1990s, work began on the entire length of the sections Athens - Thebes interchange, and Katerini - Klidi.

As early as 1995, National Road 1 had highway specifications in the sections Athens - Yliki, Katerini - Klidi - Thessaloniki and Polykastro - Evzoni.

In 1998, it had six lanes in the Athens (Metamorfosi) -Thebe section and four in the Thebes-Tempi section, with the exception of a few sections in Magnesia, which still had two.

In 2002 the Yliki-Agios Konstantinos section was completed.

In 2004 the first tunnel of the A1 was built, the tunnel of Katerini (tunnels of Alexander the Great and Philip), while in the same year Kifissos Avenue was handed over, which is the part of the road that connects Metamorfosi with Faliro, above the Kifissos river, inside Athens.

In November 2017, with the launch of the tender for the privatization of Egnatia Motorway and the announcement of its terms, it was announced that the upgrade of the Halastra-Polykastro section from an expressway to as motorway was under planning. This was confirmed in September 2018. Construction costs are estimated to exceed €200 million, and the remainder of the axis from Polykastro to Evzoni, which has already been characterized a motorway will be upgraded with more modern features such as safety barriers, new signage and road improvements.

In 2005, it was completed along its entire length, except for the "Horseshoe" of Maliakos and Tempi.

On June 13, 2007, the Aegean Motorway SA was established, which undertook the construction and operation of the motorway in the Raches-Klidi section.

In the same year, the first sections of Maliakos, the Agios Konstantinos Bypass, the Kamenon Vourlon Bypass and the 4.5 km long Agia Paraskevi-Agia Marina section were opened to traffic. In 2008 the Thermopylae-Bralos Bypass section was delivered.

In 2014, the Velestino interchange was completed, which connects ATHE with Volos.

In 2015, the last section of Maliakos Stylida-Raches with the tunnels of Stylida, with the upgraded Lamia interchange and the new bridge of Sperchios (bypass of Lamia) was handed over to traffic.

In 2016, the northern interchange of Katerini was completed, after about 26 years of construction, due to expropriation and financing problems. On April 6, 2017, the section Evangelismos - Skotina (bypass of Tempi and Platamonas), 25 km long, was delivered. In November 2017, with the start of the tender for the privatization of Egnatia Odos and the announcement of its terms, it became known that the HRDH may include in the object of the Concession Agreement the upgrade of the section Halastra - Polykastro from expressway to motorway, which was confirmed in September 2018. The construction cost is estimated to exceed 200 million euros, while the rest of the axis from Polykastro to Evzoni, which already has highway features, will be upgraded with more modern features such as safety railings, new signage and pavement improvement.

Exit list

The exits of the completed sections of the A1 motorway:[1]

Notes
      Under construction
      Planned
Regional unit Exit Name Destinations Notes/Also as
Kilkis
Evzonoi border crossing (North Macedonia)
M1 E75
 North Macedonia
5-gate customs

 Speed limit 20

 Height limit 4.5 m.

northern terminus of the A1

Bus and truck customs  North Macedonia (for buses and trucks) one-exit interchange without ramps
Evzonoi GR-1
Polykastro
Rest Area of Polykastro
Thessaloniki Agios Athanasios GR-2 E86
19 Axios interchange A2 E90
18 Nea Malgara
Imathia 17 Kleidi interchange West: A2 ( E90): Kozani, Veria, Ioannina
Pieria Aiginio
Nea Agathoupoli
Makrygialos
Rest Area of Korinos
Korinos
Katerini North,

Paralia

Katerini Ring Road,

Paralia, Kallithea

E75
Katerini East GR-1
Fillipos Tunnel (1095 m) (southbound) Alexandros Tunnel (1100 m) (northbound)
Katerini South Olympiaki Akti E75
Nea Efesos Nea Efesos, Kontariotissa
Paralia Litochorou,

Dion

Dion
Litochoro West: Litochoro, Mount Olympus

East: Plaka

Plaka Litochorou Plaka
Leptokarya,

Skotina

GR-1

East: Leptokarya, Paralia Skotinas

Rest Area of Skotina
Platamonas Tunnel (T3) (2700 m) Platamonas Tunnel (T3) (2700 m)
Platamonas,

Neoi Poroi

Larissa Rapsani
Tempe Tunnel 2 (T2) (6000 m) Tempe Tunnel 2 (T2) (6000 m)
Tempe Tunnel 1 (T1) (2000 m) Tempe Tunnel 1 (T1) (2000 m)
Evangelismos,

Makrychori

GR-1
Rest Area of Evangelismos
Larissa 1 GR-1 (Also to Kozani)
Larissa 2
Larissa 3 GR-6
Larissa 4 (Also to Trikala and Karditsa) GR-108 E92
Kileler
Mega Monastiri
Magnesia Velestino
Volos
GR-6 E92
Aerino GR-1
Mikrothives
Volos
Farsala
GR-30
Almyros
Sourpi
Rest Area of Almyros
Agioi Theodoroi
Phthiotis Pelasgia
Raches GR-1
Stylida
Karavomylos
Agia Marina GR-1
Agia Paraskevi
Lamia 1 E65
Rest Area of Lamia
Lamia 2 A3
Planned
Bralos GR-27 E65
Thermopyles
Molos
Kainourgio
Kamena Vourla
Latomeio
Agios Konstantinos
Longos
Arkitsa
Livanates
Atalanti
Tragana
Malesina
Martino
Boeotia Kastro GR-48
33 Akraifnio
31 Thebes barracks
Thebes
Thebes 2 A13 (future Athens bypass)
Planned
Rest Area of Tanagra
30 Ritsona GR-44
Schimatari GR-44β A1 southbound access to A11
Chalcis interchange A11
Oinoi
East Attica Oinofyta
'Serios' Rest Area
Malakasa GR-79
Markopoulo
Kapandriti GR-81
Afidnes
Agios Stefanos GR-83
North Athens Varympompi
Kifisia
Lykovrysi
Metamorfosi
Metamorfosi interchange A6 E94
Central Athens Anagenniseos Street
Krestenis Street
Vryoulon Street
Acharnon Street
Agioi Anargyroi
Liosion Street
Patisia
Peristeri north
Konstantinoupoleos Avenue
Ethnarchou Makariou Street
Peristeri south GR-8
West Athens Iera Odos
Petrou Ralli Avenue
Piraeus Agias Annis Street
Peiraios Street GR-56
Piraeus E75 southern terminus of the A1

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