Motorway 1 (code: A1, also known as Athens-Thessaloniki-Evzonoi (A.TH.E.) Motorway, and previously as Patras-Athens-Thessaloniki-Evzonoi (P.A.TH.E.) Motorway
the 2nd longest motorway in
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...
with a length of 550 km. It is the principal north–south road connection in Greece, connecting the country's capital
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...
with the regions of
Thessaly
Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thes ...
and
Macedonia, as well as the country's second largest city,
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...
. It starts from
Neo Faliro in
Attica
Attica ( el, Αττική, Ancient Greek ''Attikḗ'' or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the city of Athens, the capital of Greece and its countryside. It is a peninsula projecting into the Aegean ...
and continues north to reach the
Evzonoi
Evzonoi ( el, Εύζωνοι, , before 1927: Ματσίκοβο - ''Matsikovo'', , mk, Мачуково, bg, Мачуково, ''Machukovo'') is a town in Kilkis regional unit in Central Macedonia, Greece. The main border crossing between Greec ...
border station, on the Greek border with
North Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...
.
Today, the construction, operation and maintenance of Motorway 1 have been largely outsourced to private companies: Aftokinitodromos Aigaiou SA. (
Kleidi, Imathia -
Raches, Fthiotida), Kentriki Odos SA (Raches, Fthiotida -
Skrafia, Fthiotida) and Nea Odos SA (Skarfia, Fthiotida -
Metamorfosi, Attica). The section of Kleidi, Imathia-Evzoni since 2014 operates and is maintained by Egnatia Odos SA.
Route
The motorway passes through Mainland Greece and has largely replaced
National Road 1. It begins at
Kifissou Avenue
Cephissus ( grc, Κήφισσος; el, Κηφισός, ''Kifisos'') is a river in the vicinity of Athens, Greece. Together with the neighbouring river Ilisos, it drains a catchment area of .
The '' Bibliotheca'' (3.15.1) states that the le ...
, Athens, just north of the
Bay of Phaliro, and continues northward to
Evzonoi
Evzonoi ( el, Εύζωνοι, , before 1927: Ματσίκοβο - ''Matsikovo'', , mk, Мачуково, bg, Мачуково, ''Machukovo'') is a town in Kilkis regional unit in Central Macedonia, Greece. The main border crossing between Greec ...
, on the border with the country's northern neighbour,
North Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...
, where it continues as the
A1. Before the European routes numbers were changed, the northern part from Efzoni to
EO2 was
E5N, while today the entire road is part of
European route E75
European route E 75 is part of the International E-road network, which is a series of main roads in Europe.
The E 75 starts at the town of Vardø in Norway by the Barents Sea and it runs south through Finland, Poland, Czech Republic, ...
. The task of maintaining and charging for parts of the motorway has recently been ceded to private consortia, part of the deal for the construction of the
Ionia Odos
The Greek Motorway 5 ( el, Αυτοκινητόδρομος 5; code: A5) is a motorway in Greece. The motorway, commonly referred to as Ionia Odos ( el, Ιόνια Οδός) or Ionia Motorway, starts at Ioannina and it follows the western coastl ...
, the E65, as well as the bypass of Tempe Valley.
The part west of downtown Athens runs over the
Cephisus river and Kifissou Avenue. From north of the boundary of
Voiotia
Boeotia ( ), sometimes Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia ( el, Βοιωτία; modern: ; ancient: ), formerly known as Cadmeis, is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, and its ...
-
Phthiotis
Phthiotis ( el, Φθιώτιδα, ''Fthiótida'', ; ancient Greek and Katharevousa: Φθιῶτις) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Central Greece. The capital is the city of Lamia. It is b ...
, up to near
Velestino, the tollway runs close to the coast of the
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi ( Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans ...
. It then continues north of the
Tempe Valley and up to the junction of the
European route E90. It then shares a 25 km common part with
A2 / E90 (on a west–east direction), and then, at the "Axios Interchange", continues north to
Evzonoi
Evzonoi ( el, Εύζωνοι, , before 1927: Ματσίκοβο - ''Matsikovo'', , mk, Мачуково, bg, Мачуково, ''Machukovo'') is a town in Kilkis regional unit in Central Macedonia, Greece. The main border crossing between Greec ...
and the national border with
North Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...
. Its total length is approximately 550 km.
Cities
Motorway 1 passes near major urban centers in the country:
#
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...
#
Thebes
#
Chalcis
Chalcis ( ; Ancient Greek & Katharevousa: , ) or Chalkida, also spelled Halkida (Modern Greek: , ), is the chief town of the island of Euboea or Evia in Greece, situated on the Euripus Strait at its narrowest point. The name is preserved fro ...
(20 km south - connection via A11)
#
Lamia
#
Larissa
Larissa (; el, Λάρισα, , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 144,651 according to the 2011 census. It is also capital of the Larissa regiona ...
#
Katerini
Katerini ( el, Κατερίνη, ''Kateríni'', ) is a city and municipality in northern Greece, the capital city of Pieria regional unit in Central Macedonia, Greece. It lies on the Pierian plain, between Mt. Olympus and the Thermaikos Gulf, ...
#
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...
(20 km west - connection via Egnatia Motorway and Thessaloniki's New West Entrance)
#
Polykastro
Airports
The ATHE motorway is connected to the following airports:
# Thessaloniki (
Macedonia Airport) (45 km west - connection via Egnatia Motorway, Thessaloniki's new West Entrance and Thessaloniki's Ring Road)
#
Nea Anchialos
Nea Anchialos ( el, Νέα Αγχίαλος) is a town and a former municipality in Magnesia, Thessaly, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Volos, of which it is a municipal unit. It is situated southwest ...
- (10 km west - connection via National Road 30)
# Athens (
Eleftherios Venizelos Airport) - (25 km west - connection via Attiki Odos)
Harbours
The ATH motorway is connected to the following harbours:
# Thessaloniki
# Volos
#
Piraeus
Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saro ...
Distances in kilometers
History
1950s-1970s
The old
Greek National Road 1
Greek National Road 1 ( el, Εθνική Οδός 1, abbreviated as EO1) is the old single carriageway road connecting Athens with Thessaloniki and Evzonoi, the border crossing between Greece and North Macedonia. For most of its length, it ...
, was a historic road, which connected Athens with the Customs of
Evzoni, through
Dhekelia
Dhekelia Cantonment ( el, Φρουρά Δεκέλεια, tr, Dikelya Cantonment) is a military base in Akrotiri and Dhekelia, a British Overseas Territory on the island of Cyprus, administered as the Sovereign Base Areas. It is located in the E ...
,
Atalanti
Atalanti ( el, Αταλάντη '' Atalantē'') is the second largest town in Phthiotis, Greece. It is located southeast of Lamia, north of Livadeia and northwest of Chalcis. In 2011, it was incorporated into the municipality of ...
,
Kamena Vourla
Kamena Vourla ( el, Καμένα Βούρλα, lit=Burnt Rushes, ) is a town and a municipality in Phthiotis, Greece. At the 2011 local government reform it became part of the municipality ''Molos-Agios Konstantinos'' (of which it became the s ...
,
Thermopylae,
Lamia,
Stylida,
Almyros
Almyros or Halmyros ( el, Αλμυρός, , , ) is a town and a municipality of the regional unit of Magnesia, region of Thessaly, Greece. It lies in the center of prosperous fertile plain known as 'Krokio Pedio', which is crossed by torrents. Alm ...
,
Velestino,
Larissa
Larissa (; el, Λάρισα, , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 144,651 according to the 2011 census. It is also capital of the Larissa regiona ...
,
Valley of Tempi,
Katerini
Katerini ( el, Κατερίνη, ''Kateríni'', ) is a city and municipality in northern Greece, the capital city of Pieria regional unit in Central Macedonia, Greece. It lies on the Pierian plain, between Mt. Olympus and the Thermaikos Gulf, ...
,
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
,
Gefyra and
Polykastro. The road followed the route of the streets of antiquity. However, over time, its specifications began to be considered obsolete, as in the rest of
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
, modern highways began were started to be built. Thus, in the mid-1950s, construction work began on a new road, which began in 1959 with the delivery of the Larissa-Katerini section (Later, the Athens-Lamia section in 1962 and the Lamia-Larissa section in 1967) and were completed in 1973, with the delivery of the part Katerini - Thessaloniki - Evzoni. For the most part it was - (except for the part of the Valley of Tempi, which was , because it was built on a mountain) and 2 traffic lanes (1 lane + 1 auxiliary lane in each direction), without a
median strip. The Polykastro - Evzoni section was the first section with motorway specifications.
1980-today
Work on the conversion to a motorway began in the mid-1980s, with the construction of the sections
Klidi interchange-
Gallikos river (delivered in 1988),
Bogiati camp -
Kryoneri interchange (delivered in 1989) (4.5 km),
Inofyta interchange-
Schimatari
Schimatari ( el, Σχηματάρι) is a town and a former municipality in Boeotia, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Tanagra, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area ...
interchange (delivered in 1989) (12.5 km),
Ritsona
Vathy ( el, Βαθύ) is a town and a community in the municipal unit of Avlida in the Euboea regional unit, Greece. It is situated on the Greek mainland, near the South Euboean Gulf, 6 km south of Chalcis. The Greek National Road 44 ( Thebes - ...
interchange -
Thebes interchange (delivered in 1989) (14.8 km). In the early 1990s, work began on the entire length of the sections Athens -
Thebes interchange, and Katerini - Klidi.
As early as 1995, National Road 1 had highway specifications in the sections Athens -
Yliki, Katerini - Klidi - Thessaloniki and Polykastro - Evzoni.
In 1998, it had six lanes in the Athens (
Metamorfosi
Metamorfosi ( el, Μεταμόρφωση, Metamórfosi, transfiguration; before 1957: Koukouvaounes ( el, link=no, Κουκουβάουνες, Koukouváounes) is a suburb in the northern part of the Athens agglomeration, Greece, and a municipali ...
) -Thebe section and four in the Thebes-Tempi section, with the exception of a few sections in
Magnesia, which still had two.
In 2002 the Yliki-
Agios Konstantinos section was completed.
In 2004 the first tunnel of the A1 was built, the tunnel of Katerini (tunnels of Alexander the Great and Philip), while in the same year Kifissos Avenue was handed over, which is the part of the road that connects Metamorfosi with
Faliro
Phalerum or Phaleron ( ''()'', ; ''()'', ) was a port of Ancient Athens, 5 km southwest of the Acropolis of Athens, on a bay of the Saronic Gulf. The bay is also referred to as "Bay of Phalerum" ( el, Όρμος Φαλήρου '').''
The ...
, above the
Kifissos river
The Cephissus ( grc, Κήφισσος), called the Boeotian Cephissus to distinguish it from other rivers of the same name, or Kifisos ( el, Βοιωτικός Κηφισός) is a river in central Greece. Its drainage basin is . In Greek mytholo ...
, inside Athens.
In November 2017, with the launch of the tender for the privatization of Egnatia Motorway and the announcement of its terms, it was announced that the upgrade of the Halastra-Polykastro section from an expressway to as motorway was under planning. This was confirmed in September 2018. Construction costs are estimated to exceed €200 million, and the remainder of the axis from Polykastro to Evzoni, which has already been characterized a motorway will be upgraded with more modern features such as safety barriers, new signage and road improvements.
In 2005, it was completed along its entire length, except for the ''"Horseshoe"'' of Maliakos and Tempi.
On June 13, 2007, the Aegean Motorway SA was established, which undertook the construction and operation of the motorway in the
Raches-Klidi section.
In the same year, the first sections of Maliakos, the Agios Konstantinos Bypass, the Kamenon Vourlon Bypass and the 4.5 km long Agia Paraskevi-Agia Marina section were opened to traffic. In 2008 the Thermopylae-
Bralos Bypass section was delivered.
In 2014, the Velestino interchange was completed, which connects ATHE with
Volos
Volos ( el, Βόλος ) is a coastal port city in Thessaly situated midway on the Greek mainland, about north of Athens and south of Thessaloniki. It is the sixth most populous city of Greece, and the capital of the Magnesia regional unit ...
.
In 2015, the last section of Maliakos Stylida-Raches with the tunnels of Stylida, with the upgraded Lamia interchange and the new bridge of
Sperchios (bypass of Lamia) was handed over to traffic.
In 2016, the northern interchange of Katerini was completed, after about 26 years of construction, due to expropriation and financing problems. On April 6, 2017, the section
Evangelismos -
Skotina (bypass of Tempi and
Platamon
Platamon, or Platamonas (, ''Platamónas''), is a town and sea-side resort in south Pieria, Central Macedonia, Greece. Platamon has a population of about 2,000 permanent inhabitants. It is part of the Municipal unit of East Olympos of the Dio-Oly ...
as), 25 km long, was delivered. In November 2017, with the start of the tender for the privatization of Egnatia Odos and the announcement of its terms, it became known that the HRDH may include in the object of the Concession Agreement the upgrade of the section Halastra - Polykastro from expressway to motorway, which was confirmed in September 2018. The construction cost is estimated to exceed 200 million euros, while the rest of the axis from Polykastro to Evzoni, which already has highway features, will be upgraded with more modern features such as safety railings, new signage and pavement improvement.
Exit list
The exits of the completed sections of the A1 motorway:
Gallery
Aytokinhtodromos 1 Greece near Katerini.JPG, A1 Motorway near Katerini
Katerini ( el, Κατερίνη, ''Kateríni'', ) is a city and municipality in northern Greece, the capital city of Pieria regional unit in Central Macedonia, Greece. It lies on the Pierian plain, between Mt. Olympus and the Thermaikos Gulf, ...
A1 Motorway tunnel near Agios Konstantinos.JPG, A1 Motorway tunnel near Agios Konstantinos
A1 Motorway close to Larissa.JPG, A1 Motorway close to Larissa
Larissa (; el, Λάρισα, , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 144,651 according to the 2011 census. It is also capital of the Larissa regiona ...
A1 Motorwway, Greece - Section Evzoni-Polykastro - 02.jpg, A1 near the Greek border with North Macedonia at Evzoni
Evzonoi ( el, Εύζωνοι, , before 1927: Ματσίκοβο - ''Matsikovo'', , mk, Мачуково, bg, Мачуково, ''Machukovo'') is a town in Kilkis regional unit in Central Macedonia, Greece. The main border crossing between Gree ...
A1 in Tempi new type photo.jpg, A1 Motorway's biggest tunnel, Tempi T2 Tunnel
Pathe Nea Xalkidona.png , A1 Motorway near Xalkidona
Pathe Nea Agathoupoli.png, A1 Motorway near Nea Agathoupoli
References
{{Greekroads
1
Toll roads in Greece
Roads in Central Macedonia
Roads in Thessaly
Roads in Central Greece
Roads in Attica