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Greek National Road 3 (Greek: Εθνική Οδός 3, abbreviated as EO3) is a single carriageway road in Greece. It connects Elefsina near Athens with the border of North Macedonia at Niki. It passes through Larissa and Florina. At Niki, it connects with the M5K motorway to Bitola. The section Kozani - Niki is also designated as the A27 motorway, part of which is operational as a 2-lane motorway.
Greek National Road 3 is one of the longest national roads in Greece and until the 1960s it served as the main route from Larissa to Thessaloniki. The A1 motorway now offers a faster connection to Thessaloniki. Most of the EO3, except the southernmost section between Eleusis and Bralos, is part of the E65.
Future developments
Throughout the late 1980s, motorway bypasses were constructed at the towns of Tyrnavos and Elassonas, but in 2002 plans surfaced to convert all of the road into a new motorway, from Larissa to Kozani and further on to Bitola, in North Macedonia. Throughout the 2000s motorway sections were delivered to the public and are running north of Larissa and north of Kozani, up to Ptolemaida. Remaining parts have either fallen through, as no construction works are currently being undertaken and no further announcements have been delivered by the government.
Route
The EO3 is officially defined as a north-south route through central Greece, running between Elefsina to the south and the Greece–North Macedonia border to the north at Niki:[1] however, the EO3 is split into two parts, because the A27 motorway replaced a short segment of the former near Mavrodendri.
The EO3 forms part of the European route E962 from Elefsina to Thebes, and the E65 from Lamia to Kozani as well as the short segment from the northern end of the A27 motorway to the Greece–North Macedonia border.[2] The EO3 from Lamia and Kozani will no longer be part of the E65 when the A3 motorway is connected to the A2 motorway (Egnatia Odos).[3]
History
Ministerial Decision G25871 of 9 July 1963 created the current EO3 from all or part of the following short-lived national roads (listed from south to north), which existed by royal decree from 1955 to 1963:[4]
The old EO37 from Agios Athanasios to the Greece–North Macedonia border at Niki
Until 1975, the EO3 formed part of the old European route E92 from Lamia to Kozani, the old E90 from Kozani to Vevi, and the old E20 from Vevi to Agios Athanasios.[5]
^"Central Greece Highway E-65". European Commission. Brussels: Directorate-General for Communication. Archived from the original on 30 July 2024. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
