Thessaloniki Inner Ring Road

Thessaloniki Inner Ring Road
Thessaloniki Inner Ring Road
Εσωτερική Περιφερειακή Οδός Θεσσαλονίκης
Route information
Length	31 km (19 mi)
Existed	1970s–present
Major junctions
North end	Lahanagora
South end	Kalamaria
Location
Country	Greece
Regions	Central Macedonia
Major cities	Thessaloniki
Highway system
	Highways in Greece; Motorways; National Roads;

The Thessaloniki Inner Ring Road (Greek: Εσωτερική Περιφερειακή οδός Θεσσαλονίκης) is a dual carriageway ring road encircling most of the Thessaloniki Urban Area in Central Macedonia, Greece. Planned in 1975 and put into service in the 1990s, it consists of the Western Ring section (Δυτική Περιφερειακή), and of the main Inner Ring section (Greek: Εσωτερική Περιφερειακή). With three lanes per direction it carries over 120.000 cars per day, making it one of the country's most busy highway sections.

Course

The Western Ring section starts at a coastal spur highway, the Thessaloniki New Western Entrance (signposted as part of the A2 motorway). Passing by the municipalities Ampelokipoi-Menemeni, Kordelio-Evosmos and Pavlos Melas it joins the A24 motorway (Promachonas–Nea Moudania) near Efkarpia. The Western Ring section has been recently upgraded to full Motorway standard in its biggest part with five new intersections have been built.^[1]^[2]

The A24 motorway forms the 21 km main section of the Inner Ring. Following the outline of the city's eastern periphery, it separates the city from the forests of Kedrinos Lofos (Cedar Hill) known as "Seich Sou" (Sheikh's water). When the road was planned in the 1970s, this fact drew massive protests by what would become the country's pioneer environmentalist movement, the Ecological Movement of Thessaloniki.

In southern Thessaloniki, A123 motorway forms a short extension of the Thessaloniki Inner Ring connecting it with National Road 16 and the Thessaloniki Airport.

Exit list

Regional unit	Part of	Exit	Name	Destinations
Thessaloniki		K16	Kalochori interchange	New Western Entrance
		K17	Monastiriou St. [el]
			23 July 1974 St., Ano Kordelio
			Ano Kordelio
			Meandros St., Evosmos
			Makriyannis St., Stavroupoli
		K18	Langadas St. [el], Stavroupoli
			25 March St., Efkarpia
		K5	Efkarpia	cont.
	^[3]	K6	Polichni
		K7	Kastra
		K7A	Agios Pavlos
		K8	Triandria
		K9	Ano Toumpa
		K10	Pylaia/Malakopi
		K11	Pylaia/Panorama
		K12	Kalamaria interchange	cont.
	^[4]		Poseidonos
	^[4]		Ethnikis Antistaseos