Attica Tollway is a pioneering project constructed on a concession basis and constitutes one of the biggest co-financed road projects in Europe. It belongs to the first generation of co-financed projects awarded in Greece during the ’90s and, essentially, paved the way and laid the foundations for the execution of future successful concession contracts, in Greece and in other European countries.
During its 22 years of uninterrupted operation, Attica Tollway changed road transportation in Greece by raising the standards in the field of safety and quality of service, while it is still an integral part of the daily routine of thousands of people, thus contributing to the improvement of their quality of life. Attica Tollway is a modern motorway extending along 70 km. It constitutes the ring road of the greater metropolitan area of Athens and the backbone of the road network of the whole Attica prefecture. It is an urban motorway, with two separate directional carriageways, each consisting of 3 lanes and an emergency lane (hard shoulder). The suburban railway of Athens has been constructed in the central reservation of the motorway. Attica Tollway constitutes a unique piece of infrastructure, even in European terms, since it is essentially a closed toll motorway, within a metropolitan capital, where the problem of traffic congestion is acute.
Attica Tollway is part of the PATHE road axis (Patra – Athens – Thessaloniki – Evzoni) and connects the Athens – Lamia National Road with the Athens – Κorinthοs National Road, by-passing the centre of Athens. Being a closed motorway, it has controlled access points and consists of two sections, which are perpendicular to one another:
- The Elefsina – Stavros – Spata A/P motorway (ESSM), extending along approximately 52 km, and
- The Imittos Western Peripheral Motorway (IWPM), extending along approximately 13 km.
Attica Tollway incorporates part of the Egaleo Western Peripheral Motorway (EWPM), extending for approximately 5 km.
There are several significant benefits resulting from Attica Tollway, as the motorway:
- Forms the main backbone that links all the modes of transportation and infrastructures in the Attica region: i.e. road, air, rail and sea;
- Significantly improves traffic conditions within the capital, by absorbing a significant portion of the daily traffic moving across the Attica basin;
- Contributes to urban development and completion of physical planning in the Attica prefecture;
- Promotes the strategic restructuring of the energy and telecommunication networks;
- Contributes to the residential and business development of the remote areas of Attica.