Thessaloniki Inner Ring Road

Inner Ring Road near Toumba (K9)

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 (National Road 11) 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 A25 motorway (Promachonas–Nea Moudania) near Efkarpia. The Western Ring section is currently being further upgraded to full Motorway standard with three new intersections being built^[1] and is planned to be renamed A121 motorway upon completion.^[2]

The A25 motorway forms the 21km main section of the Inner Ring. Following the outline of the city's eastern periphery, it separates the city from the forests of Kedrinos Hill known as "Sheikh 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	Notes
Thessaloniki		K16	Kalochori interchange	New Western Entrance (future A122)
	[2]	K17	Monastiriou St.
			25 March St., Evosmos
			Meandros St., Evosmos
			Makriyannis St., Stavroupoli
		K18	Langadas St., Stavroupoli
		K5	Efkarpia
	[3]	K6	Polichni
		K7	Kastra
		K7A	Agios Pavlos
		K8	Triandria
		K9	Ano Toumpa
		K10	Pylaia/Malakopi
		K11	Pylaia/Panorama
		K12	Kalamaria interchange
	[4]		Poseidonos
			Ethnikis Antistaseos

References

1. Περιφερειακή Θεσσαλονίκης: Γκαζώνει η κατασκευή από Λαχαναγορά μέχρι Ευκαρπία. 8 January 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
2. Motorways - Exit Lists: A121, accessed 20 February 2015
3. Motorways - Exit Lists: A25, accessed 20 February 2015
4. Motorways - Exit Lists: A123, accessed 20 February 2015