Thessaloniki – Traffic: What we learned at the Fly Over event

With the first construction site in Thessaloniki ring road to be installed early next week for construction to begin Fly Overthe citizens, it seems, are informed with the dropper for the measures that will be in place over the next four years to deal with traffic impacts due to the work of this large and important project.

What became known, however, during the event for the presentation of the project is that there is a plan that has been drawn up by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport with city agencies and the coordination committee that was set up under the Deputy Minister of the Interior Stathis Konstantinidis, as well as that there is also plan B and plan C. Of course, all this, about a week before the start of the work, was not disclosed in detail and in depth, although the leadership of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport acknowledged that there will be suffering for the people of Thessaloniki.

So what did we learn yesterday during the positions of the leadership of the Ministry of Infrastructure for the flyover

The new highway will be 13 km long, and will include the construction of an Elevated Expressway – 4 km long – on a continuous bridge. It will also include nine uneven interchanges, ten new bridges and three new tunnels. The road will gradually begin to rise in the area of ​​the hospitals, initially on walls and then with characteristics of an elevated boulevard (Junction 5) and from Junction 10 to Konstantinoupolitika, it will begin to “descend” towards the tunnel there. Junction 11A will be the connecting road to Thermi, Nea Raidesto and Halkidiki.

It will be delivered in about four years from today and as mentioned by the minister Christos Staikouras it will ensure faster movements without tolls. The project, with a budget of 378 million euros, will be implemented in the form of a Public-Private Sector Contract (PPP), which foresees 26 years of operation and maintenance (plus four years of construction). According to Deputy Minister Nikos Tahiao, “there is not the slightest possibility of delay, banks and contract do not allow us to do so”.

60 km limit on the regional road

Vehicles will move at speeds of 60 kilometers per hour on the two lanes of the Thessaloniki ring road that will remain in traffic during the flyover work stage. According to Mr. Tahiao, no node will be closed at any time during any phase of the project. vms (boards) will be placed on the descent from Panorama and on the ascent from Harilaou to Panorama so that they can provide traffic information. The same will be done at the junctions of Meteora and Neapolis.

As mentioned, the trips that will be lost from regional will be transferred to the city. In fact, as Mr. Tahiaos mentioned, “cars with one passenger or cars that drive on the ring road unnecessarily should not be in circulation”.

However, the Thessaloniki Traffic Authority has already started implementing a special plan of intensive traffic policing on specific roads. In axes such as K. Karamanli, National Resistance, Vas. Olgas, Egnatia, Monastiri policing will be strict.

Read – Thessaloniki: Traffic Safari in Karamanli, Egnatia, Olgas, Monastiri due to Fly Over – Cars will be lifted

Regarding the issue of parking, and when asked about it, Deputy Minister Nikos Tahiaos characteristically said that the State and each government has no obligation to ensure that every household that can have three cars and a parking space for each vehicle.

Loading and unloading until 7:30

Regarding the issue of loading and unloading, the vice-president of EBET Manolis Vlachogiannis stated that there is an agreement to take place on the main main axes until 7.30 in the morning and then there should be no action that could block the roads from the parking of trucks.

What did we not learn?

However, it is still unknown if and when bollards will be re-placed on certain streets in the city center, a measure which was examined by the coordinating body and which, according to information, has been approved to be implemented. Also, there is no information on whether the garbage collection will take place in the evening hours. Mr. Tahiaos emphasized, however, that there is no decision at the moment to abolish the bicycle path on Nikis Avenue, an issue that had caused reactions in the previous days in the city. Finally, it was not answered what will be done with the school routes of the private schools, a matter that mainly concerns the eastern side, at the junction of Pylaia. As I pointed out yesterday the owners of the private schools, they are still not able to inform the parents about the possible delays in the arrival of the school children in the morning at the schools and the children at noon at their homes.

The 122 new urban routes

The Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Christina Alexopoulou, presented what has already been done to improve the daily life of the people of Thessaloniki in their commuting. As he mentioned, from July until today, 122 new routes (58 outbound and 64 return, with three new lines) were added to the transport project of OASTH.

As Mrs. Alexopoulou mentioned, calculating that the 122 new routes can serve 100 passenger seats of each bus, they replaced 11,000 daily car movements or 5,500 vehicles (come and go). In collaboration with the administrations of the OASTH and the KTEL, the way to activate two more lines, with 20 additional vehicles, is being discussed for the transverse coverage of the areas of the municipalities of Pavlos Melas, Kordelio-Evosmos and Ampelokipi-Menemeni, with a possible provision for areas of Toumba. According to the deputy minister, the procedures for the recruitment of 150 drivers through ASEP’s competition with fixed-term contracts are progressing, as well as the addition of 20 drivers from internal transport to the OASTH. Finally, she also referred to the strengthening of the fleet, with the addition of 110 purely electric buses to the OASTH within the first half of 2024.