A5 motorway (Greece)

A5 motorway shield
A5 motorway
Αυτοκινητόδρομος 5
Ionia Odos / Ιονία Οδός
Route information
Part of E55
E951
Ionia Odos
Length196 km (122 mi)
North endIoannina
South endPatras
Location
CountryGreece
RegionsEpirus, West Greece, Peloponnese
Major citiesIoannina, Arta, Agrinio, Patras
Highway system
  • Highways in Greece

The A5 motorway, also known as the Ionia Odos (Greek: Ιόνια Οδός),[1][2] is a controlled-access highway in western Greece, which starts at Ioannina and it follows the western coastline of mainland Greece down to the Gulf of Corinth. At Rio, it crosses the gulf via the Rio–Antirrio bridge and is connected with the A8 at an interchange near Patras. The future, currently under construction, Patras - Pyrgos motorway is typically part of the A5 motorway and will eventually extend to Tsakona near Kalamata.

In August 2017, the last section under construction (Perdika-Ioannina) was completed and delivered to traffic by the Greek Minister of Infrastructure, Transport and Network, making Ionia Odos a fully operational motorway.[3] It is the second major north–south road connection after the A1 motorway and is also part of the trans-balkanic Adriatic–Ionian motorway and the European routes E55 and E951.

The Ionia Odos motorway was one of the most challenging construction projects in Greece, as it spans a big part of Western Greece and because of its location on the foothills of the Pindus mountain range. After its completion in August 2017, it reduced travel times between Antirrio and Ioannina to 1 hour and 40 minutes, down from 3 hours and 30 minutes and will provide a boost to the economy of the regions it spans (Western Greece and Epirus).

  1. ^ Lialios, Giorgos (12 January 2016). "Αλλαξε η λίστα των αυτοκινητόδρομων" [The list of motorways has changed]. Kathimerini (in Greek). Athens: Kathimerini Publishing. Archived from the original on 9 December 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  2. ^ Ministerial Decision DOY/oik/5776/2015 (FEK AAP' 253/21.12.2015, pp. 2098–2099).
  3. ^ Dervou, Angeliki (2017-08-02). "The last section of "Ionia Odos" motorway to be fully put into operation". ERT International. Retrieved 2017-08-03.