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Greek Motorway 90 (A90), also known as Βόρειος Οδικός Άξονας Κρήτης, (BOAK, lit. translated Northern Road Axis of
Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...
) is a planned Greek highway that is part of the Greek Primary National road network, European Road 65 (From Kissamos to Chania) and European Road 75 . The motorway would extend over 310 km and connects
Kissamos Kissamos ( el, Κίσσαμος) is a town and a municipality in the west of the island of Crete, Greece. It is part of the Chania regional unit and of the former Kissamos Province which covers the northwest corner of the island. The town of Kissam ...
with
Sitia Sitia ( el, Σητεία) is a port town and a municipality in Lasithi, Crete, Greece. The town has 9,912 inhabitants (2011) and the municipality has 18,318 (2011). It lies east of Agios Nikolaos and northeast of Ierapetra. Sitia port is on the ...
. Highway 90 follows the route of the new Highway 90, (except for the Gournes-
Hersonissos Hersonissos ( el, Χερσόνησος, meaning "peninsula", ''Chersónisos'', ), also transliterated as ''Chersonissos'' and ''Hersónisos'', is a town and a local government unit in the north of Crete, bordering the Mediterranean / Aegean Sea. T ...
section in Heraklion where a viaduct was built in the Aposelemi Gorge bypassing the former road route). Highway 90 replaced the old Highway from the late 60's. Construction began in the 1990s, but to date, sections were turned into a 22 m long four-lane highway and for the most part is a trunk road. The completion date of the entire motorway is 2028.


Route

Highway 90, once completed, will cross North Crete, starting at Kissamos and ending at Sitia, following exactly the route of National Road 90.


Cities

Motorway 90 passes near Chania,
Rethymno Rethymno ( el, Ρέθυμνο, , also ''Rethimno'', ''Rethymnon'', ''Réthymnon'', and ''Rhíthymnos'') is a city in Greece on the island of Crete. It is the capital of Rethymno regional unit, and has a population of more than 30,000 inhabitants ( ...
, Heraklion and Agios Nikolaos.


Airports

Motorway 90 connects to the following airports:
Chania Chania ( el, Χανιά ; vec, La Canea), also spelled Hania, is a city in Greece and the capital of the Chania regional unit. It lies along the north west coast of the island Crete, about west of Rethymno and west of Heraklion. The muni ...
,
Heraklion Heraklion or Iraklion ( ; el, Ηράκλειο, , ) is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in Greece with a population of 211,370 (Urban A ...
and
Sitia Sitia ( el, Σητεία) is a port town and a municipality in Lasithi, Crete, Greece. The town has 9,912 inhabitants (2011) and the municipality has 18,318 (2011). It lies east of Agios Nikolaos and northeast of Ierapetra. Sitia port is on the ...
and will also connect to the new Heraklion airport at
Kasteli Kastelli ( el, Καστέλλι, ''Kastélli''; also Καστέλι, ''Kastéli''), often called Kastelli Pediadas (Greek: Καστέλλι Πεδιάδας) to differentiate it from Kissamos (also occasionally called Kastelli-Kissamos) is a villa ...
.


Marine Ports

Motorway 90 connects to marine ports Kavonisi, Kissamos, Chania, Rethymno, Heraklion, Agios Nikolaos and Sitia


History

In the 1990s, National Road 90, built in the late 1960s, experienced traffic congestion. The road began to be rebuilt into a four-lane highway with a
median strip The median strip, central reservation, roadway median, or traffic median is the reserved area that separates opposing lanes of traffic on divided roadways such as divided highways, dual carriageways, freeways, and motorways. The term also a ...
. The first section was 16 kilometers in length. ΕΥΔΕ BOAK (Ειδική Υπηρεσία Δημοσίων Έργων ΒΟΑΚ - Special State Works Service VOAK), was to manage the design and construction of Greek State Works. Median strips had dramatically reduced accidents. In the section from Linoperama to Giofyros, 1999-2001 deaths number 23, declining in the 2002-2005 period to 2. By 2019 only 51 km were upgraded to 4 lane highway with emergency lane and medial strip, 9 km around
Chania Chania ( el, Χανιά ; vec, La Canea), also spelled Hania, is a city in Greece and the capital of the Chania regional unit. It lies along the north west coast of the island Crete, about west of Rethymno and west of Heraklion. The muni ...
, 7 km around
Rethymnon Rethymno ( el, Ρέθυμνο, , also ''Rethimno'', ''Rethymnon'', ''Réthymnon'', and ''Rhíthymnos'') is a city in Greece on the island of Crete. It is the capital of Rethymno regional unit, and has a population of more than 30,000 inhabitants ( ...
and 35 km in the prefecture of
Heraklion Heraklion or Iraklion ( ; el, Ηράκλειο, , ) is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in Greece with a population of 211,370 (Urban A ...
, from Linoperamata to
Hersonissos Hersonissos ( el, Χερσόνησος, meaning "peninsula", ''Chersónisos'', ), also transliterated as ''Chersonissos'' and ''Hersónisos'', is a town and a local government unit in the north of Crete, bordering the Mediterranean / Aegean Sea. T ...
. In the widened sections around the cities of Chania, Rethymnon and Heraklion, the upgrading/widening of the road was aimed at addressing traffic loads and was based on the road plan of 1968. Speed limits do not exceed 90 km/h, with the exception of the Gournes-Hersonissos section, the only section of the road that meets modern standards. The Greek Ministry of Infrastructure plans the complete upgrade of the road to a four-lane highway. The project has to be done in two phases: Chania-Agios Nikolaos and Kissamos-Chania and Agios Nikolaos-Sitia. At the beginning of 2020, two possible scenarios were announced for the financing of the road. The first scenario concerns the government receiving revenue from another concession. The problem is that creditors need approval because part of that money goes to public debt service. In the second scenario, central bank refunds can be used to finance the project, which is being considered at the highest government level. Reconstruction of the road will begin after 2022 with completion of the entire motorway scheduled for 2028.Κώστας Καραμανλής: Μετά το 2022 θα ξεκινήσει ο ΒΟΑΚ
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Safety

Traffic accidents often occur on the road. Although it is partly due to the human factor, the road has # High traffic load # is constructed to obsolete specifications # inadequate maintenance.


Images

File:A90 Greece construction history (Greek - 2014).jpg, Construction history File:2701 voak.jpg, Amnissos File:ΒΟΑΚ στον Ταυρωνίτη 4569.jpg, Tavronitis File:Kreta - Europastraße75 1.jpg, Viaduct and tunnel in Stalida File:Tunel na drodze E75 do Heraklionu - panoramio.jpg, Vrahasi tunnel


References

{{Reflist Motorways in Greece