Ethniki Odos 2

	Template: Infobox high-level road / Maintenance / GR-N
	Ethniki Odos EO2 in Greece
	Basic data
Operator:
Overall length:	630 km
Periferies ( regions ):	Western Macedonia; Central Macedonia; East Macedonia and Thrace;

The Ethniki Odos 2 / Εθνική Οδός 2 ( Greek for 'National Road 2') is a trunk road on the Greek mainland that runs from the northwest on the Albanian border (Krystallopigi) in the Florina regional district to the east to the Turkish border at Kipi in the Evros regional district . It is an important east-west connection in northern Greece with a length of approx. 630 km. Its importance as a west-east transport corridor for road traffic will decrease by the year 2010 with the completion of Autobahn 2 (A2, Egnatia Odos) for the section from Thessaloniki to the Turkish border; In this section, national road 2 will be replaced by motorway 2.

course

General

License plate of national road 2 on the old section of the route Kelli-Arnissa, West Macedonia (Kili-Derven-Pass).

Amyndeo-Arnissa section in Western Macedonia. This realignment has replaced the old Kili-Derven Pass.

Newly opened bypass Edessa in the Arnissa-Edessa-Giannitsa section in the Pella regional district.

The national road 2 runs over long distances along the route of the ancient road Via Egnatia , which connected the metropolises of Rome , Thessaloniki and Byzantium in the Roman and Byzantine empires . An exception to this is the course of the Via Egnatia from today's Florina; it ran over Lake Prespa and Lake Small Prespa , Tirana to Durrës ( Dyrrachion ). The national road 2, however, runs from Florina to the west and then swings to the southwest to the Albanian border at Bilisht and Krystallopigi . From Florina via Edessa , Thessaloniki to Amphipolis , the route corresponds to the ancient Via Egnatia. Today's minor deviations are due to the newly routed bypasses and upgraded routes. After the pivoting of the ancient Via Egnatia to Philippi , the two routes are de facto congruent.

The same applies to motorway 2 from Igoumenitsa via Thessaloniki to Kipi. As far as Thessaloniki, motorway 2 runs significantly more south and west than national road 2 (the distances between the two routes grow to the west).

West section (Florina, Pella)

National road 2 begins on the Albanian border at Krystallopigi in the Florina regional district and runs first east and then north to the city of Florina . It passes the Pisoderi Pass east of Florina between the mountains of Vourinos and Verno ( Vitsi ). Before passing the Pisoderi pass, a road connection branches off to the Greek areas around the Prespa lakes ; it is the only noteworthy and easily navigable road connection to the region around the Prespa lakes. From the Pisoderi Pass, National Road 2 runs in the valley of the Sakoulevas River to the east in the direction of Florina and enters it at the western end of the city. It passes through the town of Florina and meets at the eastern entrance to the from the north of the border with Macedonia coming at Niki National Road 3. At a joint route guide the national road 2 and 3 to east-southeast through the plains of Florina to the township Vivie north of the Klidi and west of the Kili Derven Pass. In the western area of Vevi, the common route of national roads 2 and 3 shared before the new section around the Vegoritida and Petres lakes. The national road 2 ran through the village of Vevi and passed the mountain ranges to the village of Kelli (Kella). From there in an unchanged eastward direction, the national road 2 connected Kella over the Kili-Derven Pass with the village of Arnissa in the plain north of Lake Vegoritida and then continued east to the city of Edessa . National road 3 ran from the division west and south past the village of Vevi to the Klidi Pass (Mala Reka Pass) to Amyndeo , Ptolemaida and Kozani .

Due to the re-routing of the Klidi Pass and the creation of an eastern and no longer northern bypass of the Petres and Vegoritida lakes, National Road 2 is now congruent with National Road 3 to the south of the small town of Amyndeo. After passing the village of Vevi, the national road 2 (and 3) turns and leads over a new and well-developed route with the elimination of the sharp curves and inclines to the south in the direction of Amyndeo. The Klidi pass between the Mala Reka and Lilakos mountains is passed west of the old route. After passing the Klidi Pass, the road leads in a wide eastward arc around the small town of Amyndeo to the south. Here the national road 3 branches off to the south in the direction of Ptolemaida and Kozani, while the national road 2 leads south and east of the Vegoritida lake to the north with a new route and a good condition. The Vegoritida Lake is not circumnavigated near the coast, but by a hilly landscape a few kilometers away. To the east of the town of Arnissa, both the route of National Road 2 and the Amyndeo-Arnissa-Edessa railway line meet with the new route of National Road 2. It swings to the east and runs on a level (nevertheless in many curves) to Agras, then leads along the southern valley wall of the river to Edessa . In doing so, it passes through the wetland of the Agras reservoir on its south bank.

The national road 2 ran with its old route through the city of Edessa: it made a sharp bend to the south in order to make the descent from the Edessa high plateau in serpentines. When it reaches the plain below Edessa, it swings directly to the east in the direction of Giannitsa . In 2009, this inner-city section was replaced by an extensive bypass from Edessa: this leads to the village of Agras in a south-facing arc around the city of Edessa and ends just west of the village of Rizari on the old route. From Rizari , the national road 2 to Mesovouni runs on an older, winding route that is moderately developed. After passing through the village of Mesovouni, the old winding route to Giannitsa is left and turned onto a new, well-developed and straight route to the immediate west of Giannitsa. National road 2 through the town of Giannitsa to the village of Nea Chalkidona. Here it passes south of the town of Nea Pella and the excavation area of the ancient capital of Macedonia, Pella, to the south-west of it . The Archaeological Museum of Pella is located directly on the busy National Road 2 directly south of the excavation site. These (and other) dangerous spots are to be eliminated by re-routing National Road 2 between Giannitsa, Pella, Paralimni and Nea Chalkidona. After passing through the village of Nea Chalkidona, where the national road 4 branches off via Alexandria to Veria, the state of development of the national road changes to a motorway-like road.

Central section (Thessaloniki, Serres , Kavala )

National Road 2 near Amphipolis.

From Nea Chalkidona, National Road 2 continues east towards Thessaloniki . The motorway 1 (A1) ( Evzoni - Athens ) is crossed. Further to the east it passes the north of the industrial area of Thessaloniki (Sindos). It crosses the highway 2 (A2) (outer ring Thessaloniki) and then leads with crossings and traffic lights through the suburbs Diavata and Nea Ionia to Evosmos. Here the route turns to the northeast and unites with the inner ring of Thessaloniki, which runs around the city in a northeastern direction on the slope of the Seich-Sou (city forest). After approx. 5-6 km the EO 2 leaves the inner ring of Thessaloniki with a branch and leads to the A2. There the two routes join up to the Serres / Langadas cross. While the A2 runs in the north of the lakes Koronia and Volvi , the EO 2 runs in the south of the lakes on the northern edge of the Chalkidiki through the strait from Rentina to Asprovalta . From there, both routes run parallel across the Strymonas River to Amphipolis . Here the routes share again: the EO 2 runs in the south of the peninsula with the mountain Symvolo, the A2 in the north of the Symvolo mountain with a tunnel leading through it to Kavala . The A2 runs in a bypass around Kavala to the north, the EO 2 runs right through the city. From Kavala, both A2 and EO 2 run parallel to Xanthi .

Eastern section ( Xanthi , Rodopi , Evros )

While the EO 2 runs into the city of Xanthi , the A2 runs in the south past Xanthi to the east. In the course to the east, the two routes do not run parallel. The EO 2 crosses the A2 in a south-westerly direction towards the Lagos Lagoon, while the A2 passes the Lagos Lagoon ( Lake Vistonida ) in the north. The EO 2 approaches the A2 again running to the northeast, crosses it and leads to the city of Komotini, whereas the A2 leads past Komotini in the south . While the EO 2 to Komotini makes a "swing" to Sapes, the A2 runs directly southeast to Alexandroupoli and passes the city in the north. The EO 2 runs from Sapes parallel to the A2 to Alexandroupoli, but leads through the city and along the coast to the Evros Delta. There it swings to the northeast, goes through Ferres and then meets the A2 (Ardanio cross). From there, both routes run directly to the Turkish border at Kipi: the A2 goes directly to the Kipi border crossing, the EO 2 runs through the villages of Peplos and Kipi.

Route sections, expansion

Most of the EO 2 in the western section is a 2-lane country road with oncoming traffic. However, extensive measures have been taken to improve the road in recent years. Certain sections of the route were expanded:

Kristallopigi - Kotas-South

Expansion as a (preparatory) part of Autobahn 29 (A29) (Krystallopigi / Ieropigi - Kastoria - Siatista)

Armenochori - Vevi

Expansion with 2 lanes for oncoming traffic, 1 hard shoulder each and 1 crawl lane for mountain sections

Vevi - Drosia

Expansion with 2 lanes for oncoming traffic, 1 hard shoulder each and 1 crawl lane for mountain sections

Mavrovouni-Giannitsa

Expansion with 2 lanes for oncoming traffic, 1 hard shoulder each and 1 crawl lane for mountain sections

Nea Chalkidona- Thessaloniki

Expansion with 2 lanes + 1 hard shoulder per directional lane (similar to a motorway)

Inner ring Thessaloniki (Esoteriki Periferiaki Thessalonikis)

Expansion with 3 lanes + 1 hard shoulder per directional lane (similar to a motorway)

European roads

The EO 2 carries the following European roads proportionally on its route :

E 65 : Florina - Amyndeo
E 90 : Thessaloniki - Kipi

In addition, on the section from Florina to Amyndeo, EO 2 corresponds to national road 3 (EO 3) (or vice versa) and is therefore E 65 .

Networking

Railway (stations)

The following stations are on the EO 2 route

Air traffic (airports)

The following larger airports are located near (<20 km away) the EO 2:

Shipping traffic (ports)

Thessaloniki
Kavala
Alexandroupoli

Attractions

Directly at the EO 2

The following sights can be found directly (max. 5 km away) at EO 2:

Florina - Antique Florina

Amyndeo - Ancient Petres

Edessa - Edessa waterfall

Edessa - Longos (ancient Edessa)

Pella - Antique Pella

Pella - Macedonian tombs

Thessaloniki - Byzantine churches, Arch of Galerius, Rotonda

Nea Apollonia - Ancient Apollonia and Spa

Amphipolis - Amphipolis ancient city

Kavala - aqueduct

Nestos - river & nature reserve

Lagos - Lagos lagoon with church

River delta Evros

At a distance from EO 2

The following sights can be found directly (max. 40 km away) at EO 2:

Florina - Prespa Lakes
Vergina - grave of Philip II
Dion - Ancient Dion
Petralona - Petralona Cave
Olymbiada - Ancient Stagira
Philippi - Ancient Philippi
Avdira - Ancient Avdira
Maronia - Ancient maronia

Ethniki Odos 2

contents

course

General

West section (Florina, Pella)

Central section (Thessaloniki, Serres , Kavala )

Eastern section ( Xanthi , Rodopi , Evros )

Route sections, expansion

European roads

Networking

Railway (stations)

Air traffic (airports)

Shipping traffic (ports)

Attractions

Directly at the EO 2

At a distance from EO 2

Web links