Thessaloniki Inner Ring Road

Thessaloniki Inner Ring Road shield
Thessaloniki Inner Ring Road
Εσωτερική Περιφερειακή Οδός Θεσσαλονίκης

Route information
Existed1970s–present
Major junctions
West endLahanagora
East endKalamaria
Location
CountryGreece
RegionsCentral Macedonia
Primary
destinations
Thessaloniki
Highway system
  • Highways in Greece
EO EO

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

Municipality km mi Exit Name Destinations Notes
Delta, ThessalonikiPort, KalochoriAt-grade junction.
Ampelokipoi-MenemeniA1E75 Athens, Thessaloniki, Veria
Central Market of Thessaloniki, Pontou
Kordelio-EvosmosEO2 Edessa, Evzonoi (via Monastiriou)At-grade junction.
23 July 1974 Street
Neo Kordelio
EvosmosEvosmos
Evosmos, Nea PoliteiaClockwise entry only.
IlioupoliIlioupoli, Nea Politeia
Pavlos Melas
EO2E79 Oraiokastro, Centre, Stavroupoli
Efkarpia, Polichni, Papageorgiou Hospital
A24 Kavala, Katerini, Papageorgiou Hospital, 424 Military HospitalClockwise exit only.
EfkarpiaClockwise entry and exit only.
5A24 Edessa, Kilkis, Serres, Kavala, KateriniClockwise entry and anticlockwise exit only; turn off to stay on anticlockwise.
Northern end of concurrency with the A24 expressway.[3]
Papageorgiou Hospital, 424 Military HospitalClockwise entry and anticlockwise exit only.
6Neapoli, Asvestochori, Pefka, Papanikolaou HospitalNo anticlockwise exit to Neapoli.
Neapoli-Sykies
7Sykies, Heptapyrgion, Filipio
Agios PavlosNo anticlockwise entry from Ochi Road.
Thessaloniki
8Thessaloniki (Centre), TriandriaExits 8 and 9 combined clockwise.
Pylaia-Chortiatis
9Toumba
10Toumba, Konstantinopolitika, Malakopi
11Pylaia, Charilaou, Panorama, Chortiatis
Prasakaki StreetNo crossover.
12A24 Nea Diagonios Chalkidiki, Airport, Thessaloniki (Centre)No anticlockwise exit to Nea Diagonios.
Southern end of concurrency with the A24 expressway.[3]
Agios Pavlos Hospital
EO16 Airport, Kalamaria, Thessaloniki (Centre)At-grade junction.
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

  1. ^ Περιφερειακή Θεσσαλονίκης: Γκαζώνει η κατασκευή από Λαχαναγορά μέχρι Ευκαρπία. 8 January 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  2. ^ "Ολοκληρώνονται τα έργα στη Δυτική Περιφερειακή Θεσσαλονίκης, έρχεται το ΣΔΙΤ". Ypodomes.com (in Greek). 2019-12-24. Retrieved 2020-06-04.
  3. ^ a b Ministerial Decision DOY/oik/5776/2015, 4 December 2015 (FEK AAP' 253/21.12.2015, pp. 2097–2102). Archived from the original on 6 April 2025. Retrieved 28 October 2025.