Greek National Road 8A

Greek National Road 8A is a toll road running from Kifissou avenue, in Athens up to the northeast of Patras. It is a highway from Kifissou avenue up to Corinth, for about 85 km and the rest is an undivided highway with just one lane per direction. The total length is 215 km, but for the westbound lanes at the 207th km it intersects the Patras Bypass. It is signed as European road E94 from Kifissou Ave in Athens to southwest of Corinth, then it becomes part of E65 from Corinth to Rhion interchange, and E55 from Rhion to north of Patras. The future high-speed railway will run almost entirely from the Corinth Interchange in the west up to the junction with the Attiki Odos where it is within for the rest of its length. Until the reformation of the European Road network, it was known as the E19 which ran in its entire direction except from the Rio Interchange down to Patras.

Construction

The section Athens - Corinth was first opened in November 1962 (except the section Megara - Kineta (Kakia Skala pass) opened in late 1964 with motorway characteristics). The section Corinth - Patras was first opened in December 1969 as a 14 m width undivided road (except the Aegion bypass, opened in 1973 with motorway characteristics). The E94 part (Athens-Corinth) was upgraded to motorway standards from 1993 to 1997 (the section from Megara to Elefsina and Kineta to the Corinth Canal in 1994, the 2 km section west of Megara in 1995 and the section from the Corinth Canal to near Ancient Corinth in 1997). In Kakia Skala pass, a network of 5 tunnels and several bridges was constructed between 1999 and 2006, converting what was a particularly hazardous and narrow road section to a modern motorway with 3 lanes per direction. A large number of reconstruction and renovation projects were carried out at various parts of the 8A in the 1990s. Additionally, a major overhaul of the 8A is currently under construction as of 2008. Elefsina to Corinth will be upgraded, while a completely new motorway with tunnels will be built for Corinth to Patras part of Olympia Odos. The whole project is expected to be completed by 2014, while the Athens to Patras part will be completed by 2011.

Route Overview

Here are the complete listings of marking of the 8A, Patras-Corinth, Corinth-Athens Road, also known as Athens-Patras New National Road. Posts are marked going west. The markings here are not by exit numbers:

There are 4 toll stations in the 8A at this time: Eleusis Toll booth, Isthmia toll booth, Corinth toll Booth, and Rhion toll booth at the 205th km. Before the completion of the Rhion-Antirrion Bridge, this part of the highway was the only one connecting the Peloponnese to the rest of Greece. The motorway part has 3 lanes per direction. Rest areas are in Megara, Corinth, between Corinth and Kiato, the old ELPA about 10 km west of Aigeira and Aigio.

The semi-highway part from Corinth to Patras is considered to be one of the most dangerous roads in Greece at this time. The features of the road tend to cause many accidents.

Patras Bypass

The bypass of Patras is a motorway that runs from the Mintilogli exit (GR-9), 8.8 km S of Patras up to the Patras exit, nearly 7 km N of the city. Planning of the bypass began in the 1980s, but construction didn't begin until the 1990s, in the region between Roitika and Mintilogli. Construction reached Dimokratias Street (GR-33) in 1992, the Glafkos river in about the mid-1990s, and the tunnels were constructed in the late-1990s, until 2001. In October 2002, the bypass was opened to traffic. As a result, traffic in downtown Patras has significantly decreased. It was closed for a few days a month after its opening as a result of a mudslide, but was reopened after repairs. The bypass has five interchanges (four full and one partial with a northbound exit at the beginning). It is part of Olympia Odos (or Motorway A9) for southbound lanes of the bypass, (N) indicates northbound lanes and (S) indicates southbound lanes on the bottom part of the chart.

See also

• List of Greek roads