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Thursday, 25 June 2026
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Thessaloniki ring road

Thessaloniki ring road: live traffic and works

Every summer the route to Halkidiki, Pieria or Kavala passes by Thessaloniki - and in 2026 the ring road (perifereiaki) is a major construction site. The "Flyover" elevated road is being built, so there are night and weekend closures and seasonal congestion. Here you see live traffic, when it is usually busiest, and the three ways to get past or completely around Thessaloniki.

Opens
14.05.2027
Completed
~60%
Length
13 km
Flyover
4 km
Value
~520M €

Live traffic on the ring road Live

How long the drive through the ring road is taking right now, compared to what is usual for this time of day - real data from the official IMET platform. Below, the map shows the route from the border toward Halkidiki with live traffic.

00h06h12h18h23h

Typical for the season

Derived from official IMET measurements (average travel time per hour) - not a live figure.

00h06h12h18h23h
Free-flowing Busy (~25% slower) Heavy (2× slower) No data Now

Best:

"Live today" fills in hour by hour from the official Flyover platform run by IMET/CERTH (refreshed every few minutes). "Typical for the season" is derived from the same official measurements - the average drive time per hour.

Two ways past Thessaloniki

Switch "To Greece / Heading home" to change the direction of both maps and take the faster one for the moment.

A A: Via the ring road
Open A in Google Maps →
B B: Through the city (via Egnatia)
Open B in Google Maps →

Latest closures and works

Auto-translated from Greek sources. Click an item for more.

What is the Flyover situation

Situation for summer 2026: the "Flyover" elevated road is about 60% complete and opens on 14 May 2027. Until then there are occasional closures - almost every day at night (23:00-05:00) or over the weekend, most often in the direction of Halkidiki and the airport.

Through 2026 there were several 48-hour weekend closures at the Pylaia-Panorama junction for bridge demolition, and series of night closures between the Evkarpia and Meteora junctions. Closures are always marked with temporary signage and a detour through the city.

Before you set off check the latest closure news below - the schedule changes from week to week. If you travel at night or on a Sunday evening, count on a possible detour through Thessaloniki.

FAQ

By day, usually not much - both lanes are open and traffic flows, with occasional speed reductions because of the works. There is congestion at rush hour (mornings 07:00-10:30, afternoons 15:00-19:00) and on Saturday mornings around 10:00 toward Halkidiki. The worst delays come with the night and weekend closures, which are signposted with a detour.

Two options: if you are already at Thessaloniki, go around via the airport approach and the southern exits. If you want to avoid the city traffic entirely, cross at Star Dojran and take Gerakarou - Zagliveri - Polygyros toward Halkidiki (about 2.5 hours to Nikiti). The second is better for the weekend peaks.

To Greece - leave before 07:00 or after 19:00, and avoid Saturday morning. Heading home - avoid the afternoon rush 15:00-19:00 and Sunday evening. Early morning and late evening are almost always clear in both directions.

The map on this page shows you live traffic from Google. For official data, open Flyover live (IMET) and TrafficThess - they show congestion and travel time, refreshed every 15 minutes. For closure announcements, follow the news (ypodomes.com).

Planning a road trip to Greece? Read the full guide - beaches, prices, the live border, documents and a cost calculator.

The full guide to driving to Greece →

This guide is updated for the 2026 season.