Ε65: From Lamia to the Egnatia Motorway in an hour and 45 minutes!

However, the E65 must be considered as something far more significant than a state-of-the-art safe highway for our country. It constitutes a critical infrastructure that changes our fellow citizens' lives in the continental regions of Thessaly, Western Macedonia and Epirus; it reinforces intermodal transport; and opens new horizons for growth by connecting Greece to Central and Western Europe.

Central Greece Motorway creates more than 1,000 jobs and contributes over 0.5% of GDP in growth. It brings in employment, taxes, and employer’s social security contributions. It offers optimism and hope and marks the beginning of a new cycle of realising major infrastructure projects; investments that are particularly important for our country, thanks to their high multiplier (it is estimated that for every euro spent, two euro are contributed to the national economy) and their vast domestic added value.


The Commission’s final approval of E65’s northern part (Trikala-Egnatia), which in 2013 was characterised as "deferred", kick-starts the project: development of particular importance at this time, when the government is trying to tackle the pandemic crisis and at the same time seeks to move towards sustainable development. After it is completed, TERNA’s project will significantly upgrade the regions it crosses and stimulate the national economy at large.

The Ε65 Motorway will connect the East to the West. It will support the tourism industry, commerce, industry and exports. It will connect our country with our northern neighbours and the western gateways of people and goods. It will liaise the ports of Igoumenitsa and Volos and the country with European transport networks. Through the port of Igoumenitsa, the E65 Motorway will facilitate international passenger and freight transport from Greece to Western and Central Europe, offering an alternative route shorter than the existing one that runs from A1 Motorway through Kleidi Imathia and Egnatia Motorway to Igoumenitsa. Transport to Albania and Northern Macedonia will also be facilitated.

Greek exports will acquire a competitive edge since the Motorway will reduce operating costs due to lower cost for transporting goods, especially on the corridor Attica - Ioannina - Igoumenitsa Port, to Central and Western Europe. Consumers will also benefit from the reduced cost of imported products.
 

The project’s significance for the Western Macedonia region

The Central Greece Motorway will play a critical role, especially for Western Macedonia, which is currently in its lignite phase-out and has initiated a new sustainable development model. A good number of investments in producing and storing clean energy, in manufacturing and commerce (such as creating an industrial electricity park), waste management, the tourism and agriculture industries, etc.  All these presuppose a fast, safe and quality road infrastructure, such as the one provided by the E65, which will break Western Macedonia's isolation from the South and render the region much more easily accessible from Athens and southern Greece.

TERNA will give its best to deliver one more premium and beneficial to the Greek people infrastructure project on time.

Ε65: Facts & Figures
 

Currently, E65’s section from Xyniada junction to Trikala junction is in use. This 80 km modern highway, combined with the new interconnecting 10 km branch and the existing Lamia – Karditsa road axis, have rendered trips from Athens to Trikala, Karditsa, Kalambaka and all popular tourist destinations of the Western and Central Thessaly regions a breeze. Avoiding Domokos’ risky road bends and reducing trip duration by more than 30 minutes are considered drastic improvements.


The southern part, i.e. the section between E65's connection with the A1 Athens-Thessaloniki Motorway to the Xyniada junction, is currently under construction. In spite of the significant challenges Greece is experiencing due to the pandemic, TERNA's strenuous efforts have led to a 62% progress of the construction works.

With a 70.5 km length, starting from the Trikala junction and ending at Egnatia Motorway west of Grevena, the E65’s northern section will complete the Central Greece Motorway. It is a 442.1 million euro investment, included in the Action Plan the Greek government has submitted to the Recovery Fund. Construction will take about 36 months from the kick-off date.

In 2013, when constructing co-financed road projects resumed, both the southern part of Lamia-Xyniada and the northern part of Trikala-Egnatia were characterised as deferred parts of the concession contract. Thus, only the first phase of the construction was initiated then, namely the central section between Xyniada and Trikala. Later in 2018, the southern part construction was approved, and the works started the following year. Unstinting efforts almost lasting two years led the Commission to approve E65’s northern section construction, where works had already been carried out before its temporary suspension. Hence, construction progress is currently at 7% - 25% for the Trikala-Kalampaka section -, while all Environmental Impact Studies have been completed, and technical studies, compulsory purchase orders, removing utility networks and archaeological surveys have been realised for a significant section of the project.

 

 

Northern section’s technical features

The Trikala-Egnatia section will feature six junctions (Vassiliki, Kalampaka, Grevena, Oxynia, Ayofyllo - Karpero and Egnatia), two additional tunnels, 20 bridges, 11 upper and 48 lower passages and three either-side parking & rest areas. It will also feature 89 box culverts and fauna passages, two truck service stations (Raxa Trikala, Ayofyllo - Karpero), a front toll checkpoint (at Oxyneia)) and three side toll checkpoints (Trikala, Kalabaka, Ayofyllo - Karpero junctions), two Control & Maintenance Centres (Trikala, Ayofyllo - Karpero), a traffic management & tunnel control centre, and a traffic patrol building.

Travel length following E65 completion

Journey	Length in hours
Lamia – Egnatia Motorway	01:45’ (versus current 03:15’)
Athens – Grevena	04:00
Athens – Metsovo	04:00
Athens – Kastoria	04:35’
Athens – Kozani	04:30’
Athens – Karpenissi	03:00
Athens – Trikala	<03:00
Athens – Karditsa	02:35’