Motorway 5 (Greece)
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A5 motorway | |
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Αυτοκινητόδρομος 5 | |
Ionia Odos / Ιονία Οδός | |
Route information | |
Part of E55 E951 | |
Ionia Odos | |
Length | 196 km (122 mi) |
North end | |
Location | |
Country | West Greece, Peloponnese |
Major cities | Ioannina, Arta, Agrinio, Patras |
Highway system | |
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The Greek Motorway 5 (
In August 2017, the last section under construction (Perdika-Ioannina) was completed and delivered to traffic by the Greek Minister of Infrastructure, Transport and Network, making Ionia Odos a fully operational motorway..
The Ionia Odos motorway was one of the most challenging construction projects in Greece, as it spans a big part of Western Greece and because of its location on the foothills of the Pindus mountain range. After its completion in August 2017, it reduced travel times between Antirrio and Ioannina to 1 hour and 40 minutes, down from 3 hours and 30 minutes and will provide a boost to the economy of the regions it spans (Western Greece and Epirus).
Ionia Odos
Brief presentation
The motorway consists of:[2]
- 196 kilometres of motorway, with 2 lanes in each direction, emergency lane and Jersey barrier separation
- 19 interchanges
- 133 overpasses and underpasses
- 4 twin-tube tunnels
- 24 bridges
- 4 main and 5 lateral toll stations
- 5 rest areas (4 in both directions)
Rio–Antirrio bridge
Construction of the
Agrinio and Arta bypasses
With a length of 33 km, the Agrinio bypass was the first major segment of the northern A5 section to be completed. While construction had begun in 2002/03, it was fully put into service in May 2009. Starting from Aitoliko, the road bypasses the largest city and economical center of the Aetolia-Acarnania prefecture, Agrinio and ends in Kouvaras. It largely replaced the 12 km longer National Road 5. On July 28, 2015, a 4,5 km segment before the Aitoliko interchange became operational. This segment features the Ioannina-Antirrio carriageway, with the Antirrio-Ioannina carriageway being under construction where the old road was. The latter was moved eastwards in order to make room for the construction of the motorway and the traffic is diverted there.
The 17 km Arta bypass begins from Sellades near Arta and ends at Filippiada, near the border with the prefecture of Preveza. Its first part (Arta north interchange - Filippiada was opened in 2003 and the second part (Sellades/Arta south interchange - Arta north interchange) was opened in April 2011, with the bridge of the Arta north interchange being inaugurated on 22 November 2013.
Rest of the motorway - construction progress
As of December 2016, the 25 km Kouvaras interchange - Amfilochia interchange (Amfilochia bypass) segment has been completed. It should have been opened by July 2016, but because of landslides just before the Amfilochia interchange, it was opened on 27 December 2016 by the minister Christos Spirtzis.[3] Also, the 37 km long section Kampi (Filippiada interchange) - Avgo was opened to traffic on 22 February 2017 by the minister of infrastructure Christos Spirtzis,[4] however without the connection with the Egnatia Odos, which was completed in August 2017. The latter was one of the most difficult motorway segments under construction in Greece because of the rugged mountainous terrain along its route. The most important tunnel of the motorway, the Klokova Tunnel, has been excavated and other works are undergoing. The 37 km section Klokova-Kefalovryso was opened to traffic on 12 April 2017 (without some of the interchanges, which are ready by August 2017). In early September 2016, It was announced that the rest of the expropriation works were successfully settled with the house owners receiving compensations for their respective areas, thus allowing full construction of the road.[5]
Nea Odos consortium
In late 2006, construction and maintenance of the motorway's northern, Ionia Odos, section from
In 2010, it was expected that the full length of the motorway would be completed by the end of 2013.[8][9] However, the consortium's economical problems led to the construction being stopped in 2011. Construction works resumed in April 2013, and the Antitrion - Ioannina section was finally completed in 2017.
Construction began on the Patras - Pyrgos section in 2022 with completion due in 2025.
Exit list
This article contains a bulleted list or table of intersections which should be presented in a properly formatted junction table.(November 2021) |
The exits of the main northern section of the A5 motorway:[10]
Regional unit | Exit | Name | Destinations | Notes |
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Ioannina | 18 | Ioannina interchange | to Igoumenitsa, Thessaloniki | |
17 | Avgo | |||
16 | Terovo | |||
Preveza | 15 | Gorgomylos | ||
Arta | 14 | Ammotopos | ||
13 | Filippiada/Preveza | |||
12 | Arta south | |||
11A | Kompoti | |||
Aetolia-Acarnania | 11 | Amfilochia | ||
10 | Amvrakia interchange
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to Aktio | ||
9 | Kouvaras / Agrinio (North) | |||
8 | Rigani | |||
7 | Angelokastro | |||
6 | Agios Ilias | |||
5 | Chaliki / Agrinio (South) | |||
4 | Messolonghi
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3 | Evinochori | |||
2 | Gavrolimni | |||
1 | Antirrio | , ferry to Rio | ||
Achaea | Rio-Port | , ferry to Antirrio | ||
Rio interchange | to Athens |
Patras bypass
The Patras bypass was the first segment of Olympia Odos that was put into service. Planning of the bypass began in the 1980s, but construction did not begin until the 1990s. It passes east of the city, through the foothills of the Panachaiko mountain, and consists of several tunnels and bridges. In October 2002, the bypass was opened to traffic. As a result, traffic in downtown Patras has significantly decreased.
Largely following the course of National Road 9, the Patras bypass in early years was signposted as part of a new, separate Motorway 9. Later it was reassigned to the then-planned trans-Peloponnese Motorway 8, before it was considered a part of the Adriatic–Ionian Motorway 5.
Olympia Odos consortium
Construction and maintenance of the Patras bypass Olympia Odos section has been mandated to the "Olympia Odos" consortium which also built the A8 Motorway.
Exit list
This article contains a bulleted list or table of intersections which should be presented in a properly formatted junction table.(November 2021) |
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The exits of the southern, Patras bypass, section of the A5 motorway:[10]
Regional unit | Exit | Name | Destinations | Notes |
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Achaea | Rio interchange | to Athens | ||
Patras A | Patras East interchange | |||
Patras B | Eglykada | |||
Patras C | Glafkos interchange | Port of Patras | ||
Patras D | Ovrya
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Paralia | ||||
Patras West | ||||
Patras Industrial Area |
See also
References
- ^ Dervou, Angeliki (2017-08-02). "The last section of "Ionia Odos" motorway to be fully put into operation". ERT International. Retrieved 2017-08-03.
- ^ "Σε 1 ώρα και 40 λεπτά το Αντίρριο - Ιωάννινα". YouTube.
- ^ "ΝΕΑ ΑΠΟ ΤΑ ΓΙΑΝΝΕΝΑ ΚΑΙ ΤΗΝ ΗΠΕΙΡΟ: ΙΟΝΙΑ ΟΔΟΣ: Στην κυκλοφορία το τμήμα Κουβαράς – Αμφιλοχία". epirusgate.blogspot.gr. Archived from the original on 2016-12-28.
- ^ "Ιόνια Οδός: Δόθηκε στην κυκλοφορία το Καμπή-Πέρδικα μήκους 37χλμ. - ypodomes.com". www.ypodomes.com. Archived from the original on 2017-02-23.
- ^ https://diavgeia.gov.gr/doc/77%CE%9D94653%CE%9F%CE%9E-7%CE%9D%CE%95?inline=true [bare URL PDF]
- ^ Greece signs €1.4 billion deal for west coast highway - Europe - International Herald Tribune
- ^ Bill on Ionian Highway ratified by Parliament Archived 2008-04-24 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Western Greece will have motorway by 2013 end". FOCUS News Agency. July 5, 2010. Retrieved July 28, 2010.
- ^ Έως το τέλος του 2013 έτοιμη η Ιόνια Οδός, λέει ο Γ.Μαγκριώτης (in Greek). Philenews.com. July 3, 2010. Retrieved July 28, 2010.
- ^ a b Motorways-Exits