Deputy Prime Minister Kostis Hatzidakis heralded two major road infrastructure projects Wednesday aimed at easing the chronic traffic gridlock that plagues the greater Athens area, though both remain at the proposal stage with completion targeted – conditionally – by 2035.
Athens has grappled with traffic management for decades, with the Kifissos highway and other key arterial routes regularly brought to a near-standstill, particularly during peak hours. The sprawling, car-dependent capital has historically lacked a sufficient number of ring roads to route through-traffic around its urban core.
Speaking to state radio ERT, Hatzidakis said the interventions would combine improved traffic management in cooperation with traffic police and two large infrastructure projects to be advanced through a proposal process.
The first project is an approximately 45-kilometer closed expressway bypassing the Kifissos River corridor and linking Oinofyta with Elefsina, allowing vehicles traveling between northern and southern Greece to skirt Athens entirely.
The second is a roughly 3-kilometer tunnel connecting the Karea district on Mount Ymittos to Vouliagmenis Avenue, effectively extending the Attiki Odos ring road. Officials highlighted the tunnel’s importance given anticipated traffic growth from the major development at the former airport site in Elliniko in southern Athens.
