Contract for E65 Motorway's Southern section to pass through Greek Parliament

One last act is remaining for the beginning of the construction works at the southern section of E65 Motorway (Lamia-Ksyniada), ypodomes.com reports. According to the latest available information, the agreement regarding the amendment of the provisions in the concession contract, is on its way to the Greek Parliament in order to be ratified even before the Christmas holidays.

Following that, TERNA will undertake the project for the construction of the 32.5 km section that will connect the currently "blind" motorway with Athens-Thessaloniki axis. The construction period is expected to be activated immediately after the signing of the contract, with a completion deadline of 36 months. However, the contractor, TERNA, has long been ready to start relevant works, making the project's completion possible even earlier than the scheduled times, mainly due to 2 important reasons.

The first one is that there are no pending expropriations (as they have already been arranged) and the second is the company's incentive to raise the existing motorway's traffic load which, at the time being, is characterized as unexceptional. The connection of the currently split sections of E65 Central Motorway (i.e. Skarfia-Rahes at Maliakos area and Ksyniada-Trikala sections), is expected to increase the operational flexibility of the Motorway without the current difficulties, especially in adverse weather conditions.

It is noted that the new section is also expected to bring Karpenissi closer, reducing its time distance from Athens, approximately by 15-20 minutes. The construction of the Southern part of E65 will also mean its connection with PAThE axis and, consequently, its integration to the country's highway network.Lamia-Ksyniada section, 32.5 km long, will cost 310m euros. The largest technical work of this section is the 3 km-long Othrys Road Tunnel which has already been opened by 33% (or 1,000 meters). The key to the rapid completion of the project is the timely return of the expropriated properties in the section between the 15th and 29th km of the under-construction section.

It should also be noted that the approval of the Southern section will also stand as a precondition for the future implementation of the Northern part from Trikala to Egnatia Motorway, which will fully complete E65 Central Motorway, from Lamia all the way to Kipourio Grevenon area.

It is thought that the improvement of daily traffic flows, will also contribute to the financing of Trikala-Egnatia by EIB, using as solid evidence the improved numbers of the Motorway, from Lamia to Trikala. Even with a slight delay, if every goes as planned, the construction phase could start in 2019.

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