Highway E65 work progressing for Central Greece connections

Work on the construction of the E65 highway that will cross Central Greece is progressing unabated.

With its announcement yesterday, Kentriki Odos, the contractor of the project, released detailed information regarding the progress of the works on the highway with a total length of 181.5 kilometers, which will connect Eastern and Western Greece and will contribute to the development of the Greek region. The project has joined the Trans-European Transport Networks, it is being built entirely with a new design and its design is based on the most modern international standards, with absolute respect for the environment, as emphasized in the relevant announcement.

The northern part of E65 has a total length of 70.5 km and a budget of 442.1 million euros. Its construction work is estimated to last 36 months and will boost employment with more than 1,000 new jobs, contributing about 0.5% to the country’s GDP. It includes, among other things, 2 tunnels (at the 137th km and the 176th km), 23 bridges, 6 uneven junctions (Vasiliki, Kalambaka, Grevena, Oxynia, Agiofyllos-Karperos and Egnatia), 2 car service stations (Raxa Trikala, Agiofyllos – Karpero), 3 bilateral Parking & Rest Areas (Parking & WC), 1 Frontal Toll Station and 2 Lateral Toll Stations, 2 Control and Maintenance Centers (Trikala, Agiofyllou – Karpero), 1 Traffic Management Center and a Tunnel Control Center.

Northern Section Construction Progress

The overall construction progress is 23.61%, for tunnels the percentage has reached 27.12%, for bridges and technical works 40.36%, asphalt works 5.76% and earthworks 25 .02%

Today, all the environmental studies of the northern part have been completed, while in particular from the 111th km to the 136th km, the technical studies have been implemented, expropriations, network relocations and archaeological investigations have been completed. The general construction progress of the northern section is at 23.61%, while in particular for the section from Trikala to Kalambaka it amounts to 40%. In this section, projects worth 30.9 million euros have already been constructed, such as flood protection, rainwater network, earthworks and small technical works. The new alignment at a lower altitude than the original with a shorter length of underground works and more than 10 km of additional open work, favors the safety and operation conditions of the motorway. At the same time, it significantly reduces construction costs, significantly improving the environmental footprint.

Upon its completion, the northern section will join the Trikala interchange with the middle section of E65 Xyniada – Trikala, which has been in operation since December 2017. A key improvement for all drivers is that the roads known for their danger are now bypassing the bends in Domoko, while the journey time to Trikala and Karditsa has been reduced by more than 30 minutes.

The southern part

In Xyniada and the junction of the same name, the third known as the southern section of the E65 joins, which is already in the construction phase with more than 89% progress. With the completion of the southern section, the travel time from Athens to Trikala and Karditsa will be further reduced, while the travel time from Athens to Evrytania will be reduced by 40 minutes.

Development in the Central region

With its completion, the E65 highway will contribute decisively to the development of the Greek region and especially the regions of Thessaly as well as Western Macedonia, in view of the de-lignification project and the transition of this region to a sustainable development. With these 181.5 km of modern safe highway, the port of Igoumenitsa – which acts as Greece’s gateway to Central Europe – will be connected with the port of Volos, while the total journey from the Piraeus port will be reduced by approximately 2 hours to the western Balkans. The impact on transport will be extremely significant.

“Special mention must also be made of the development boost that the E65 will offer to many Greek tourist destinations , which with its completion will be accessible, quickly, easily and safely. As an example, we mention that the total journey from Lamia to Egnatia Odos, via the E65, will take 1 hour and 45 minutes, from 3 hours and 15 minutes today,” the announcement concludes.