This afternoon the last two sections of the E65 highway are open to traffic, and thus Central Greece acquires a modern and safe 136 km highway that makes traffic and travel to Karpenissi, Karditsa, Trikala, Meteora and Limni easier Plaster.
The two sections being delivered today are from Lamia to Xyniada, 18.5 km long which includes the tunnels at Mount Orthrys, as well as the 25 km long Trikala-Kalambaka section, thus making the E65 a complete motorway of Central Greece which starts from the height of Alamana, just before Lamia where it meets the PATHE to Meteora, significantly reducing the journey time.
Shortly after 10 this morning, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who was at a special event organized near the Orthrios tunnel, was informed by the Minister of Infrastructure-Transport, Mr. Christos Staikouras, about the characteristics of the project, as well as the construction schedule of the last section. from Kalambaka to Egnatia road 46 km long.
Mr. Mitsotakis: Today is a great day for Central Greece, Thessaly, Western Macedonia and Epirus
“Today is indeed a great day for Central Greece, for Thessaly, for Western Macedonia, for Epirus as we hand over to traffic the section of a very important road”, said the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, speaking at the handover event Lamia-Kalambaka section of the Central Greece E65 highway. He pointed out that it will now take two and a half hours to go from Athens to Karditsa, three to go to Trikala, and that the new road will provide a great relief for hard-hit areas.
“A road of enormous development importance, a project that went through forty waves, was tested in the financial crisis, the southern part was facing very significant problems while the northern part was in a financial vacuum,” said the prime minister. He added that the government’s persistence and a tough negotiation with the European Commission was the catalyst to ensure the completion of the upcoming northern section as well.
“To add to the important development dimension of the project, issues related to road safety,” the prime minister also said.
“I would like to repeat that these projects, this and many others, would never have been carried out without the financial support of the EU. The ND is the faction that put Greece in Europe, kept Greece in Europe and is fighting for Greece to become Europe at all levels, claiming financial resources and translating this relationship of ours with the European family into tangible projects for the benefit of every Greek woman and every Greek man”, he emphasized afterwards.
He added that in this particular case there are two financial tools, the NSRF and the Recovery Fund and referred to the importance of the Fund and Greece’s contribution to its creation. He pointed out precisely that the northern part will be completed with resources from the Recovery Fund.
Finally, he wanted to emphasize that “in 2019 we made a commitment when the Greek citizens trusted us for the first time to turn Greece into a vast construction site. Today construction sites are gradually giving way to ready-made projects for the benefit of all local communities, but of course the planning and completion of large projects is a continuous process which continues with unabated intensity. We are slowly closing our backlogs with the past regarding the completion of major national highways. The Patras – Pyrgos road is also nearing completion and the long pending northern road axis of Crete has already been launched.”
And he added: “At the same time, other projects of regional importance are being launched: the connection of Lamia with Karpenissi, the part of the northern axis of Evia so that northern Evia can be accessed by a modern and safe road, the Yannena-Kakavia road,…”.
He emphasized that these are all backlogs from the past that are being launched by this government with careful planning with secured funding and always overcoming the obstacles that inevitably arise in such difficult and complex technical projects.
In closing, he thanked everyone who put a stone in place for us to meet, as he said in this pleasant moment today, all the leadership of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, the services of the ministry and the construction company that delivers the southern part and a large part of the northern department before the contractual delivery date.
“I’m looking forward to running, as I’m sure everyone, for the first time this road, to be pleasantly surprised by the speed with which we will reach our destination but also by how impressive these major infrastructure projects are.” He emphasized that in a short time this road will have become a habit, we will have forgotten the twists and turns of Domokos and will take it for granted “but we just have to remember that nothing is a given and for all these works that we appreciate today and in a little while we will they have become part of our daily life, it took a lot of effort and a lot of work to finally bring them to completion.”
Chr. Staikouras: Project that upgrades the road network, road safety and facilitates travel
“Today we deliver a perfect technical project built with NSRF funds, a project that upgrades the road network, road safety and facilitates movement, in the hinterland with multiple benefits for the citizens” underlined the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Mr. Christos Staikouras.
The Deputy Minister of the same Ministry, Mr. Nikos Tachiaos, made special reference to the technical characteristics of the project as well as the difficulties faced until its completion, while he described the E65 as “a development fuse for an area of Thessaly that was tested hard”, referring to the damages from the floods in the cities of Thessaly.
The play
The E65 has two traffic lanes in each direction and an additional emergency lane, while road safety services are available to every driver on a 24-hour basis.
There will be 3 frontal toll stations on the E65. These are the stations of Lianokladi at 17.1 km, a few km north of the junction to Karpenisi with a crossing cost for cars at 1.85 euros, Sofadon at 66.2 km with a cost of 3.40 euros and Trikala at 105.7 km at a cost of 2.95 euros. So the cost for a driver who will enter at the beginning of the E65 and wants to reach Kalambaka is 8.2 euros. Also still in operation are the side stations of Anavras with a fare for cars of 2 euros, Proastiou with 1.15 euros, Trikala with 0.80 euros and Kalambakas with 0.90 euros.
According to the information that was made public when the E65 is completed the route from Lamia to Egnatia will take 1 hour and 45 minutes, from 3 hours and 15 minutes that were needed before its construction.
