Early this morning, traffic was restored to all lanes of the New National Road Athens-Corinth, after the incident of the ignition of the tanker that took place on Friday evening, June 7, 2024, on a bridge of the Old National Road in the area of the Isthmus of Corinth.

On the occasion of the restoration of traffic, Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Christos Staikouras said: "Within approximately two days of the dangerous incident of the tanker ignition, the public and private sectors have cooperated effectively to ensure that the necessary work proceeds swiftly and the New National Road is returned to citizens. The portion of the bridge that had sustained significant damage due to the heat load was removed by working nonstop and around the clock, and the roadway in the area where the work was done was then restored. The next step is the design and reconstruction of the damaged bridge, taking into account the best technical solutions, the budget, and the implementation schedule. Our aim is to implement the project in the coming months, while in the meantime, alternative crossings will be sought in order to facilitate the residents of the area."

Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, responsible for infrastructure, Nikos Tachiaos, said:

"Despite the difficulty of the problem we were called upon to deal with and the timing of the event, the 48 hours that elapsed until the Athens-Patras highway was opened to traffic are proof that we can. We can, with determination, coordination, cooperation, and speed.

The services of the General Secretariat of Public Works of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, in cooperation with two of the companies involved in the construction group supporting the "OLYMPIA ODOS" concession company, "AKTOR" and "AVAX,"  succeeded in meeting the pressing demands of the task of restoring traffic to the highway, which was no easy task. I would like to thank my colleagues at the Ministry and both companies for the speed and professionalism they demonstrated. Most of all, I would like to thank all those who were inconvenienced in their journeys this hot weekend, the commuters and the voters who stayed in their cars for a long time, for the understanding with which they dealt with an event that no one could have foreseen or prevented.

The stakes are now twofold: first, to ensure the movement, at no cost to themselves, of all those who have so far made use of the section of the Old National Road that will remain blocked for several months. Secondly, to compress this time and build the new bridge as soon as possible, replacing the one we had to demolish because of the irreparable damage that we diagnosed from the outset, without disrupting traffic on the motorway. We will win that too! We've already started working."