TheNational Roads andMotorways inGreece constitute the main road network of the country. These two types of roads are distinct in terms of their construction specifications. Their main difference is that motorways (Greek: Αυτοκινητόδρομοι) adhere to higher quality construction standards than National Roads (Greek: Εθνικές Οδοί).
For example, a typical motorway (highway) in Greece consists of six or four lanes (three or two lanes in each direction) plus an emergency lane, separated by a central barrier. Entrances and exits to the motorways are only provided atgrade-separated junctions (interchanges) and there are no traffic lights. Greek motorways are generally organized so that the odd-numbered motorways are of north-south alignment and the even-numbered motorways are of east-west alignment. However, there are many exceptions.
A typical National Road in Greece is usually asingle carriageway orlimited-access road withat-grade intersections and with one or two traffic lanes for each direction, usually with an emergency lane on each side as well. The designation of some important roads of Greece as "national" was first decided by a 1955 decree, while a minister's decision in 1963 determined the numbering of these roads. In 1998, a survey of theHellenic Statistical Authority defined some new national roads that were constructed after the 1963 decision.
The naming system of motorways and National Roads is different. For example, "A2" refers to theEgnatia Odos motorway, while "GR-2" refers toNational Road 2. All motorways are named by using the capital letter "A", followed by a number (e.g. A1). The main motorways of Greece have a single digit number and auxiliary motorways perpendicular to the main ones have a double digit number (e.g. A25). Motorways have their own white-on-green signs, while National Roads are designated by white-on-blue signs.
The construction of the Greek motorway network has been, to a large extent, a very complex and demanding project due to the peculiarities of the geomorphology of the areas through which the new roads pass. The Greek mainland is extremely mountainous;[1] the local topography as well as environmental concerns regarding the local flora and fauna played a decisive role in the final route design. In order to overcome these difficulties, the construction of multiple large and expensive technical works, such as tunnels and bridges, was necessary in many cases. Indicatively, the total number of tunnels built along the four Greek major motorways (A1,A2,A5 andA8) is about 150 and their total length is about 200 km (measured as a single bore).[2][3][4][5][6]
With a total length of about 2320 km as of 2020, Greece's motorway network is the biggest one in Southeastern Europe and one of the most advanced in Europe.[7]
Greece's motorway network has been extensively modernized throughout the 2000s and part of it is still under construction. Most of it was completed by early 2017. There are a total of 10 main routes throughout the Greek mainland and Crete, from which some feature numerous branches/auxiliary routes, as described in the listing below.
| Name | Connecting cities | Progress | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 Aegean Motorway | Athens,Thebes,Lamia,Larissa,Katerini,Thessaloniki,Evzonoi | 550/550 km 342/342 mi | Completed |
 Egnatia Odos | Igoumenitsa,Ioannina,Grevena,Veria,Thessaloniki,Kavala,Xanthi,Komotini,Alexandroupoli | 670/670 km 416/416 mi | Completed |
 Central Greece Motorway | Lamia,Karditsa,Trikala,Grevena | 136/175 km 84.5/109 mi | Northern part 46kmKalampaka - sections are under construction. |
 Trikala - Larissa (Operational as an expressway) | Trikala,Farkadona,Larissa | 45/63 km 28/39 mi | SectionsPineios river - Megalochori, 4km between -Nikaia and beltway of Larissa are completed. Nikaia - Pineios river and Megalochori - Trikala under planning |
 Ionia Odos | Rio-Antirrio,Missolonghi,Arta,Ioannina,Kakavia | 196/271 km 122/168 mi | SectionIoannina -Kakavia is under planning. |
 Attiki Odos | Elefsina,Athens,Pallini,Lavrio | 48/48 km 30/30 mi | Completed |
 Moreas Motorway | Corinth,Argos,Tripoli,Kalamata | 149/149 km 93/93 mi | Completed |
 Olympia Odos | Athens,Corinth,Patras,Pyrgos,Tsakona | 290/380 km 180/236 mi | Pyrgos to Tsakona is under planning |
 Schimatari - Chalkis | Chalkis | 11/26 km 7/16 mi | Chalkis bypass is under planning |
 Velestino - Volos | Volos | 0/13 km 0/8 mi | Upgrade under planning |
 Thessaloniki - Chalkidiki | Thessaloniki,Nea Moudania,Kallithea | 88/88 km 55/55 mi | Completed No emergency lane, green signs |
 Thessaloniki - Serres - Promachonas | Thessaloniki,Serres | 105/105 km 62/62 mi | Completed |
 Kozani - Ptolemaida - Niki | Kozani,Ptolemaida,Florina | 40/79 km 25/49 mi | SectionsKozani -Ptolemaida andFlorina -Niki completed Section Ptolemaida - Florina under planningto be upgraded |
 Siatista - Krystallopigi | Kastoria,Kozani,Florina | 72/72 km 45/45 mi | Completed |
 Aktio - Amvrakia | Vonitsa,Aktio | 48/48 km 30/30 mi | Completed |
 Hymettus Beltway | Elliniko,Athens,Pallini,Rafina | 13.5/20 km 8.4/12 mi | SectionsPikermi -Rafina and southern expansion toElliniko under planning |
 Koropi - Aerodromio | Athens International Airport | 6/6 km 4/4 mi | Completed |
 Aigaleo Beltway | Skaramagas,Athens,Ano Liosia | 10 km 6.2 mi | Skaramagas intersection under planning |
 Lefktro - Sparti | Tripoli,Sparta | 45.5/45.5 km 28/28 mi | Completed |
 Northern Cretan Motorway | Chania,Rethymno,Heraklion,Agios Nikolaos | 41/310 km 25/193 mi | Upgrade under construction/planning |
TheA1 motorway, also known as theAegean Motorway, is the oldest and most important motorway ofGreece, connecting the country's largest cities,Athens andThessaloniki and passing through many important regions of Greece on a south-north direction. Section Chalastra -Evzonoi was constructed earlier as an expressway, with no upgrade planned.
The full length of this motorway is around 553 km or 346 miles, including 14 km or 8.7 miles of shared route with theA2 (Egnatia Odos). Note that until recently, the "P" in "PAThE" referred toPatras, but the Patra – Athens section has now become part of theA8 (Olympia Odos), belonging to a different project.[8][9]
TheA2 motorway, also calledEgnatia Odos (Egnatia Motorway), is a motorway situated in northern Greece, connecting several major cities on the way. It starts at the port ofIgoumenitsa and ends atKipoi border crossing with Turkey.
Part of its length, a section of about 360 km (220 mi) fromEvros toThessaloniki, parallels the ancient RomanVia Egnatia, which ran from modernDurrës inAlbania to Thessaloniki and thence toByzantium (nowIstanbul,Turkey). The project has therefore been dubbed a modern Via Egnatia (in Greek, Egnatia Odos / Εγνατία Οδός). However, the parallel is not exact; the original Via Egnatia was much longer (1,120 km / 696 miles) and its western section, from Thessaloniki to theAdriatic Sea, ran much further north than the modern road.
Specifically, there are auxiliary routes toAlbania andBulgaria, with the main route leading toTurkey.North Macedonia is accessed through theA1 (AThE), as described above, or via theA27 (see below). Another auxiliary route runs close to theEvros river in the prefecture of the same name, reaching a point where Greece's, Turkey's and Bulgaria's borders meet. Some of those auxiliary routes are not yet motorways, but typical 2-lane expressways, although they are of considerably higher quality than other similar expressways in the rest of Greece. The project (including most of the auxiliary routes), was completed in 2009, with the length of the main route being 670 kilometers or 416 miles, making it the longest motorway inGreece.
TheA3 motorway, or theCentral Greece Motorway (usually referred to as justE65) is currently under construction. It will link theA1 (AThE) nearLamia with theA2 (Egnatia Odos) nearGrevena, and carry theEuropean route E65. Its total length will be 174 kilometres (108 mi).[8][9]
Construction began in 2009, lasted 2 years and stopped in 2011 due to thefinancial crisis. At the end of 2013 it was decided to proceed with the immediate construction of the central middle section, Trikala–Xyniada with a length of 80 km, while construction of the northern (Grevena–Trikala) and southern (Xyniada–Lamia) sections was postponed.
The middle section between Xyniada and Trikala was inaugurated and opened to traffic on December 22, 2017. In October 2018 theEuropean Commission approved the funding for the construction of the southern section, Xyniada -Lamia, which out of the 32,5km, the 14,2 km section from theA1 toKarpenissi I/C is opened to traffic on July 15, 2021, while the rest is expected to be completed by 2024. The construction of the northern section,Trikala–Egnatia Odos junction, has started on November of 2021 with completion due by 2025.[10]
TheA5 motorway, also referred to as theIonia Odos (Ionian Motorway), is a fully operational motorway since 3 August 2017 when its last section under construction was delivered to traffic. It starts fromIoannina at theA2 (Egnatia Odos) interchange, and ends atRio, inPatras, after crossing theCorinthian Gulf through theRio-Antirrio bridge. There, it connects to theA8 (see below). The northern extension to theKakavia border (with Albania) is in the planning stages.
The route passes through most of western continental Greece, along theIonian Sea, hence its name "Ionia Odos". Work on the majority of the highway began in spring 2006 and would span six years, to be completed by 2012. Though, because of economic problems of the constructing companies, all construction works were halted in 2011, but since mid-2013 works on the whole of the 196 km motorway started again. TheAntirrion -Ioannina section was completed in August 2017.[11][8]
TheA52 motorway, also known asAmbrakia Odos (Amvrakia Motorway) is a branch of theA5 connecting it with the island ofLefkada and the undersea-tunnel of Aktio, leading toPreveza. This motorway section is expected to serve the popular tourist region around theAmbracian Gulf. At 48.6 km (30.2 mi) long, the motorway was expected to finish in 2012, having started construction in 2009. Earthworks were largely completed by April 2012 but structures had not commenced as of that time. In mid-2013, works had begun again, but as of December 2016, problems with funding have kept the road largely behind schedule. The 15 km (9.3 mi) section from the Preveza - Aktio tunnel to Vonitsa and the 17 km (11 mi) section from Ionia Odos to Loutraki (also known asAmfilochia bypass), have been opened to traffic in 2019[12] and 2022[13] respectively. The final 16 km (9.9 mi) section from Loutraki toVonitsa was completed and opened to traffic in 2024.
TheA6 motorway, orAttiki Odos, forms part of the urban motorway network ofAthens's metropolitan area. Its full length is 65 kilometres (40 mi) and it is also planned to be extended to various directions, bringing its total length to 141 km (88 mi). TheAttiki Odos has various auxiliary routes, namely the Aigaleo Ring Road (A65) and the Hymettus Ring Road (A62), serving parts of western and eastern Athens respectively; while the 6 km (4 mi) section leading from the main route to theAthens International Airport is numbered as the A64.
TheA7 motorway starts fromCorinth, at the interchange with theA8 motorway and continues toKalamata, passing throughTripoli. It replaced the oldGR-7 as the main road, with the section between Corinth and Tripoli, constructed between 1984 and 1990 and officially becoming part of the Greek road network in 1992.
The A7 has recently undergone extensive improvement to full motorway standards. As of December 2012, the motorway section between Corinth and Kalamata is fully constructed and operational. Its total length is 205 kilometers or 127 miles.[8][9]
A8 motorway, also known as theOlympia Odos, is the motorway fromAthens toPyrgos. It begins inElefsina, at the interchange with theA6 (Attiki Odos) and continues to theA5 (Ionia Odos) interchange nearPatras. ThePatras -Pyrgos section opened in July 2025. The motorway will in future be extended toTsakona (near Meligalas) where it will intersect with theA7 (Moreas).
TheElefsina–Corinth section has been completed to motorway standards, while theCorinth –Patras section begun construction in 2008, and was due to be completed in 2012. After construction works had begun again the whole motorway was completed in 2017. It includes the widening and general reconstruction of theGR-8A along with some new tunnels and bridges.[8][9]
A90 motorway is a temporary name for a motorway under construction inCrete. It is more widely known asNorth Road Axis of Crete (Greek:Βόρειος Οδικός Άξονας Κρήτης,BOAK) and is Greece's only motorway that is not on its mainland, but on an island. Certain parts have already been completed, as of summer 2007, such as the bypasses atHeraklion,Rethymno andChania. In late 2014, theAgios Nikolaos -Kalo Chorio part (which also serves as a bypass of Agios Nikolaos) was opened to traffic. Its full length will be 310 kilometres or 193 miles[8][9] fromSitia in the east toKissamos in the west, and it is expected to be completed by the year 2031.
On April 4, 2018, an international tender was launched by the Greek government for theΕxpression of Ιnterest for the procurement, design and installation of a satellite andelectronic toll system (e-tolls) in the Greek motorways, usingautomatic number plate recognition (ANPR) andGNSS technologies. The new system would be the first distance-based pricing model in Greece, replacing the existing toll plazas and charging vehicles depending on the distance covered in the entirety of the country’s motorway network (including the currently state-ownedEgnatia Odos).The project's cost was estimated at about€400 million.[15]
The system would be double; Passenger vehicles' license plates would automatically be captured and identified by traffic cameras upon their entrance and exit from the tolled motorway network with the use of ANPR technology, while professional and heavy vehicles would all carry transponders which would monitor and record their position using satellites (GNSS technology). 5 contenders participated in the tender, namely Aκtor SA –Intrakat –Intrasoft Int’l SA-Autostrade Tech S.p.A.,Mytilineos – Nusz,Terna –Vinci –Kapsch TrafficCom,OTE –T-Systems International GmbH andSTRABAG – SkyToll.[16] In May 2019, the second phase of the tender was completed and two consortiums passed, Aκtor SA –Intrakat –Intrasoft Int’l SA-Autostrade Tech S.p.A. andMytilineos – Nusz.[17] Finally, a week before thelegislative election of July 2019, the thenMinister for Infrastructure, Transport and NetworksChristos Spirtzis appointed concessionaire the consortium of Aκtor SA –Intrakat –Intrasoft Int’l SA-Autostrade Tech S.p.A., after evaluation of the financial offers.[18]
Although the tender for the new system had been strongly disputed by the contestants themselves, the then Minister Ch. Spirtzis ofSyriza decided to proceed with it. The concerns regarded the subject of the tender itself, as such a wide implementation does not exist in any developed country, as well as the absence of an agreement for the implementation of such a system. Moreover, existing concession agreements with the private companies managing most of the Greek motorways would have to be amended.[19][20]
In the autumn of 2019, the tender for the electronic toll system was cancelled by theCouncil of State following the discovery of several deficiencies and an appeal by the Mytilineos – Nusz consortium, second bidder of the tender, and other participants regarding the bid evaluation procedure, noting that its bid was not preferred although it was lower by €70 million.[18] The tender was officially cancelled at the end of May 2020.[20]
From March 2011, five (Attiki Odos SA, Aegean Motorway SA, Olympia Odos SA, Moreas SA, Gefyra SA) of the total of seven operating concessionaires of the Greek motorways are part of an interoperable network named "GRITS" (Greek Interoperable Toll Service), which allows drivers to travel along the participating motorways, passing from the electronic toll lanes, using a singletransponder.[20][21]
In October 2019, it was agreed that the remaining two concessionaires (Nea Odos SA and Kentriki Odos SA), as well as the currently state-owned Egnatia Odos SA, would join the GRITS network. Drivers will therefore be able to travel and pay tolls electronically using a single transponder across the entire Greek motorway network. In the autumn of 2019 technical discussions began between all the companies, testing of the system began in the summer of 2020 and it is expected to become operational in the autumn of 2020.[20]
TheNational Roads in Greece (Greek: Εθνικές Οδοί) aresingle carriageway orlimited-access roads with one or two traffic lanes for each direction, usually with an emergency lane on each side as well.
 | Greek National Road 8A:Athens –Corinth –Patras new road (partly motorway) |
 | Greek National Road 16A:Greek National Road 16 –Polygyros |
 | Greek National Road 34A:Volos –Portaria -Horefto |
As of autumn 2017, most motorway construction projects all over Greece are completed.
This is a list ofEuropean routes in Greece. When certain highways that carry European routes are replaced with motorways, the European routes will normally be reassigned to the new motorway: for example, EO7 road used to carry theE65 from Tripoli to Kalamata. When theA7 motorway was completed, the E65 was reassigned to it.
| Road | Route |
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 | Igoumenitsa (ferry toBrindisi,Italy) –Ioannina –Kozani –Thessaloniki –Alexandroupolis –Kipoi (border withTurkey) |
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| Road | Route |
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 |  Tripoli –Sparta –Gytheio |
 |  Elefsina –Thebes |
