The A8 motorway, also known as the Athens–Patras motorway (Greek: Αυτοκινητόδρομος Αθήνα-Πάτρα),[1][2] is a toll motorway in southwestern Greece, which connects Athens with Patras via Corinth, spanning a total of 215 km (134 mi).
 | |
|---|---|
| Αυτοκινητόδρομος 8 | |
 | |
| Route information | |
| Part of E94 and E65 | |
| Maintained by Olympia Odos S.A. | |
| Length | 135 mi (217 km) |
| History | 1962–1973: Constructed as National Road 8A 2008: Eleusis–Corinth section reassigned as A8 motorway Since 2008: Corinth–Rio section upgraded to dual carriageway standard and completed in 2017 |
| Major junctions | |
| East end | Eleusis East |
Eleusis interchange: to Athens airportCorinth interchange:  to Kalamata | |
| West end | Rio interchange: to Ioannina and Patras |
| Location | |
| Country | Greece |
| Regions | Attica, Peloponnese, West Greece |
| Major cities | Eleusis, Corinth, Aigio |
| Highway system | |
| |
The motorway replaces Greek National Road 8A, which has been upgraded to modern motorway standards. The completion date was scheduled for 2014.[3] Since April 2017, the entire motorway from Eleusis to Patras is fully operational.[4]
Operation
editOlympia Odos S.A. will maintain and operate the road for a total of 30 years. Operations will include two Traffic Control Centers built to operate 24/7 to handle emergency calls, as well as monitor traffic situations and contact emergency services when needed. Also, as part of the construction deal, 24/7 patrols, worksite protection, timely detection and response to incidents, and special services in the winter, are included.
During the construction phase, routine maintenance and work for all parts of the infrastructure of the existing National roads were conducted.
Facilities
editAs of 2023[update], there are 5 front, two-sided toll stations on the A8: at Eleusis, the Isthmus, Zevgolateio, Elaionas[5] and Rio. The section between Eleusis and Corinth has 3 lanes per direction. There are service areas in Nea Peramos, Megara, Isthmus, Kiato, Akrata and Aigio.[6]
Construction progress
editOn September 2, 2016, the first fully completed Olympia Odos segment, the section between Ancient Corinth and Kiato (20 km with 2 lanes in each direction + emergency lane and two interchanges in Zevgolatio and Kiato), was officially opened to traffic, with the presence of the Greek Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras.[7] Although there were still some minor scale works (mostly on interchanges), traffic flow was not impacted. On the same day, the Derveni tunnels were given to public use. On December 19, 2016, another 9 km opened in Olympia Odos from Kiato to Xylokastro, without the Xylokastro interchange which was opened in February together with Derveni Interchange.
Any remaining segments of the motorway under construction were completed and opened to traffic in April 2017 when the official inauguration of the road took place as well,[4] at the same month that segments of the A5 motorway and the A1 motorway's Tempe tunnels were also inaugurated and opened to traffic.
Tunnels
editWestbound (direction Patras)
edit- Geraneia Tunnel (930 m or 3,050 ft)
- Efpalinos Tunnel (1,700 m or 5,600 ft)
- Aithra Tunnel (1,160 m or 3,810 ft)
- Panagopoula Tunnel (3,160 m or 10,370 ft)
Eastbound (direction Athens)
edit- Panagopoula Tunnel (4,000 m or 13,000 ft)
- Derveni Tunnel (480 m or 1,570 ft)
- Skyron Tunnel (360 m or 1,180 ft)
- Thiseas Tunnel (319 m or 1,047 ft)
Exit list
edit
This article contains a bulleted list or table of intersections which should be presented in a properly formatted junction table. (November 2021) |
| Notes | |
|---|---|
| Under construction | |
| Planned | |
| Regional unit | Exit | Name | Destinations | Notes/Also as |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Attica | 1 | Eleusis |  GR-3
|
Eastern terminus of the motorway |
| 2 | Attiki Odos interchange |  A6  E94 to Athens International Airport (to Eleusis only)
|
||
| 2A | Nea Peramos toll post free | to Patras only | ||
| 3 | Nea Peramos | |||
| 4 | Megara | |||
| 5 | Pachi | |||
| 6 | Panorama | |||
| 7 | Kineta | |||
| Corinthia | 8 | Agioi Theodoroi | ||
| 9 | Loutraki |  GR-8
|
||
| 10 | Epidaurus |  GR-10
|
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| 11 | Corinth center | GR-8
|
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| 12 | Moreas interchange |  A7  E65 to Tripoli, Kalamata
|
||
| 13 | Ancient Corinth |  GR-7
|
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| 14 | Zevgolateio | |||
| 15 | Kiato | |||
| 16 | Xylokastro | |||
| 17 | Lykoporia | |||
| 18 | Derveni | |||
| Achaea | 19 | Akrata | ||
| 20 | Kalavryta | |||
| 21 | Aigio east | GR-8
|
||
| 22 | Aigio west | GR-8
|
||
| 23 | Selianitika | GR-8
|
||
| 24 | Drepano | |||
| 25 | Rio interchange |  A5  E55 E65 to Ioannina
|
Western terminus of the motorway |
References
edit- ^ Lialios, Giorgos (12 January 2016). "Αλλαξε η λίστα των αυτοκινητόδρομων" [The list of motorways has changed]. Kathimerini (in Greek). Athens: Kathimerini Publishing. Archived from the original on 9 December 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
- ^ Ministerial Decision DOY/oik/5776/2015 (FEK AAP' 253/21.12.2015, pp. 2098–2099).
- ^ Ferron-Hugonnet, Estelle (2008-08-07). "VINCI Has Completed the Financing of the Athens-Tsakona Motorway Concession, the Largest Ever Won by the Company Outside France". Business Wire. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
- ^ a b Olympia Odos, the motorway from Eleusis to Patras, in operation, on ypodomes.gr
- ^ https://www.olympiaodos.gr/en/Diodia-OLYMPIA-PASS/Times-diodion/
- ^ Motorways-Exits
- ^ "Στην κυκλοφορία το πρώτο τμήμα της Ολυμπίας Οδού Κόρινθος-Κιάτο - ypodomes.com". Archived from the original on 2016-09-05. Retrieved 2016-09-05.