Motorway 1 (Greece)

Motorway 1 passes near major urban centers in the country:

1. Athens
2. Thebes
3. Chalcis (20 km south - connection via A11)
4. Lamia
5. Larissa
6. Katerini
7. Thessaloniki (20 km west - connection via Egnatia Motorway and Thessaloniki's New West Entrance)
8. Polykastro

The ATHE motorway is connected to the following airports:

1. Thessaloniki (Macedonia Airport) (45 km west - connection via Egnatia Motorway, Thessaloniki's new West Entrance and Thessaloniki's Ring Road)
2. Nea Anchialos - (10 km west - connection via National Road 30)
3. Athens (Eleftherios Venizelos Airport) - (25 km west - connection via Attiki Odos)

The ATH motorway is connected to the following harbours:

1. Thessaloniki
2. Volos
3. Piraeus

The old Greek National Road 1, was a historic road, which connected Athens with the Customs of Evzoni, through Dhekelia, Atalanti, Kamena Vourla, Thermopylae, Lamia, Stylida, Almyros, Velestino, Larissa, Valley of Tempi, Katerini, Alexandria, Gefyra and Polykastro. The road followed the route of the streets of antiquity.[5] However, over time, its specifications began to be considered obsolete, as in the rest of Europe, 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 13 metres (43 ft) - 14 metres (46 ft) (except for the part of the Valley of Tempi, which was 10 metres (33 ft), 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.[6]

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 interchange (delivered in 1989) (12.5 km), Ritsona 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.[6]

As early as 1995, National Road 1 had highway specifications in the sections Athens - Yliki, Katerini - Klidi - Thessaloniki and Polykastro - Evzoni.[6]

In 1998, it had six lanes in the Athens (Metamorfosi) -Thebe section and four in the Thebes-Tempi section, with the exception of a few sections in Magnesia, which still had two.[6]

In 2002 the Yliki-Agios Konstantinos section was completed.[7]

In 2004 the first tunnel of the A1 was built, the tunnel of Katerini (tunnels of Alexander the Great and Philip) ,[8] while in the same year Kifissos Avenue was handed over, which is the part of the road that connects Metamorfosi with Faliro, above the Kifissos river, 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.[9] 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.[10]

In 2005, it was completed along its entire length, except for the "Horseshoe" of Maliakos and Tempi.[6]

On June 13, 2007, the Aegean Motorway SA was established, which undertook the construction and operation of the motorway in the Raches-Klidi section.[6]

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.[11][12][13] In 2008 the Thermopylae-Bralos Bypass section was delivered.[14]

In 2014, the Velestino interchange was completed, which connects ATHE with Volos.

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.[15]

In 2016, the northern interchange of Katerini was completed, after about 26 years of construction, due to expropriation and financing problems.[16] On April 6, 2017, the section Evangelismos - Skotina (bypass of Tempi and Platamonas), 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.[17]