Congestion at the Egnatia Motorway toll posts: Citizens waiting for a solution

In the Western Thrace region of Greece, the Egnatia Motorway toll posts in Arabacıköy in the prefecture of Rodopi is experiencing serious congestion due to lack of capacity. The traffic density, which increased with the start of the summer tourism season, escalated as a result of the influx of tourists and expatriates, especially from Bulgaria and Romania, to the region.

Citizens' Complaints Increase
Citizens, who are victims of congestion and long vehicle queues, are very uncomfortable with the situation. N.A., one of the citizens, said as follows: "People coming from Bulgaria and Romania on one side and expatriates on the other. Because of the kilometres of queues, even the automatic passage is closed due to the lack of sufficient distance. This causes the traffic to get even busier."

Call to Egnatia Odos AE Company
The company Egnatia Odos AE, operator of the Egnatia motorway, has to find an urgent solution to this problem. Citizens have various suggestions for keeping the centre lane open and traffic flowing. N.A. listed the solutions as follows: "The area where the toll booths are located should be widened more, just like the toll booths at the entrance to Kavala, or the toll payments should be at the exits like in Türkiye, and everyone should pay as much money as the distance travelled. This way there would be no queues on these motorways."

Emergency Vehicles Cannot Pass
Heavy traffic also prevents the passage of ambulances, lorries and fire trucks. This situation causes major disruptions in emergency interventions. "There is an e-pass, but you wait for hours. Then, when a fight breaks out, they open it automatically, let a few cars through and close it again," N.A. said, emphasising that the authorities should find a solution to this problem as soon as possible.

Solution Suggestions
Citizens suggest that the toll posts should be expanded or toll payments should be made at the end of the journey. Implementation of these suggestions may help both relieve traffic and relieve the grievances of citizens.

The urgent intervention and solution of the authorities to this situation will reduce the traffic density in the region and ensure that citizens have a comfortable summer.