Katechaki or Katehaki Avenue (Greek: Λεωφόρος Κατεχάκη ''Leoforos Katechaki'') is one of

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

main roads. Its total length is approximately 12 to 13 km.

About the avenue

The avenue begins by an interchange with the

Mesogeiou Avenue This article is a list of every street in municipality (corresponding within Center of Athens) of Athens, Greece: * Includes parts that are not within the municipality of Athens References {{Streets in Athens Athens Streets Athens ...

which was constructed in the 1970s, the avenue forms an intersection with the road to

Zografou Zografou ( el, Ζωγράφου) is a suburb of approximately 71,000 in the eastern part of the Athens agglomeration, Greece. It was named after the Greek politician Ioannis Zografos. To the east of Zografou lies mount Hymettus. The area, being ...

and Olof Palme Street and north to

Papagou Papagou ( el, Παπάγου or Παπάγος ''Papagos'') is a suburb and municipal unit in the eastern part of the Athens agglomeration, Greece. The town is named after Marshal Alexandros Papagos, a general who led the Greek Army in the Second ...

. By the avenue with a stretch of 2 km features industrial buildings, shops and office complexes constructed between the 1970s and the 1990s. Since 2004, it has an interchange with the

Attiki Odos Attiki Odos ( el, Αττική Οδός) is a privately owned toll motorway system in Greece. The Attiki Odos motorways form the outer beltways of the Athens, Greater Athens metropolitan area. The total length of the motorways is . The Attiki Odos ...

with two lanes of exits and 300 m north, its first toll station. The avenue enters the Hymettus' forest filled with

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...

spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the subfami ...

, fir (

Greek Fir ''Abies cephalonica'' or Greek fir is a fir native to the mountains of Greece, primarily in the Peloponnesos and the island of Kefallonia, intergrading with the closely related Bulgarian fir further north in the Pindus mountains of northern Gre ...

) and

cypress Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs of northern temperate regions that belong to the family Cupressaceae. The word ''cypress'' is derived from Old French ''cipres'', which was imported from Latin ''cypressus'', the ...

trees. It later enters an interchange with the

University of Athens The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; el, Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών, ''Ethnikó ke Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the Univers ...

and a road to the top of the mountain along with communications tower which is not used during the nighttime hours. The avenue ends by Karea Avenue. The avenue serves as the bypass of Athens connecting traffic from its northern, the western, the eastern and the southern suburbs along with

Vouliagmenis Avenue Vouliagmenis Avenue () is one of the longest avenues in the Greater Athens area, stretching from central Athens to the seaside resort of Vouliagmeni. The total length is 21 km. The avenue begins at Athanasios Diakos Street and Michalakop ...

History

The avenue was under construction in the late-1950s and first opened in the 1960s. Traffic lights were installed later on and an interchange with the

was added later. Between 2001 and 2004, its interchange with the ring was under construction and opened later. It was used in July 2004 for the bus that carried players of the

Greece national football team The Greece national football team ( el, Εθνική Ελλάδας, ) represents Greece in men's international football matches and is controlled by the Hellenic Football Federation, the governing body for football in Greece. Greece play most ...

from the city's airport down to

Kallimarmaro The Panathenaic Stadium ( el, Παναθηναϊκό Στάδιο, Panathinaïkó Stádio, ), as spelled by Philostratus. or ''Kallimarmaro'' (Καλλιμάρμαρο, , lit. "beautiful marble") is a multi-purpose stadium in Athens, Greece. O ...

for its celebration of the victory and its claim to the

Euro 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football competition contested by the men's national teams of UEFA member associations. The ...

title after beating

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, fans were alongside the avenue in large numbers. On Monday July 16, 2007, the entire stretch heading outside Athens from Attiki Odos was shut down with a stretch of 5 km to traffic due to that a forest fire not naturally caused ravaged the western slopes of the Ymittos and its forests and its smoke blanketed most of that part of the avenue. Fire trucks arrived to battle the fire which happened on a hilltop near the avenue. The fire occurred between 3 PM (15:00) and a few hours before sunset, its flames did not burn its signs and streetlights. Several cars were stranded but it escaped the fiery phemonemon. The avenue was later reopened to traffic.

Number 65 proposal

The future number 65 that will connect with the avenue near Papagou down to

Glyfada Glyfada ( el, Γλυφάδα, ) is a suburb in South Athens located in the Athens Riviera along the Athens coast. It is situated in the southern parts of the Athens' Urban Area. The area stretches from the foot of the Hymettus mountain to the Sar ...

is planned but the direction is not yet marked and may run within the avenue. The opening date is not set and will be two-laned.

Intersections

(old GR-54), not commonly used *Roads to

along with Olof Palme Street and Ymittou Street *

' Ymittos Ring (number 65) - Interchange *Interchange with the

and its communications tower (authorized personnel only) for the eastbound lanes * Karea Avenue {{Streets in Athens Streets in Athens