Greek National Road 74

Greek National Road 74 is a highway linking Pyrgos, Olympia, Tripoli and GR-7/E65. The west to east highway runs in the western and the central part of the Peloponnese. The highway begins in Pyrgos and into the hills and Olympia and used to ran through narrow roads which now bypasses Pyrgos and Olympia. It runs through Potamia and into the narrow bridge over the Erymanthos where the prefectural boundary are founded. It runs through Lagkadia and bypasses Vytina and runs through Levidi and bypasses Tripoli and ends at the junction with E55 with the southbound jount with GR-37 to Sparta. The It runs in the prefectures of Ilia and Arcadia.

• Length: about 135 km, 146 km from Pyrgos to Tripoli.

History

The highway in the eastern part became paved in the mid-20th century. In the late 1980s as part of the highway plan to decongest traffic from Patras to Olympia. The government opened a bypass and widened the highway and used to be narrow from Vytina to Pyrgos with only one lane. It bypasses Varvasena and ends and running through Olympia. The highway was also widened from Lagkadia to Tripoli while it bypasses Vytina but does not bypass other places.

In 1999, between Mantineia and Chania, a highway link/branch was opened which began construction in 1997, it was half complete in 1999. It runs up to the interchange near Nestani, the branch to Tripoli became the old highway. The interchange with the superhighway connecting Athens and Tripoli was opened in 1992, before that, it connected as west as the road connecting Tripoli and Nestani. The length of that section was about 10 to 15 km. Parts of the highway between Lagkadia and Olympia in the east were widening with the length of less than 1 km.

In the late 1990s, plans for a bypass of Olympia were made. Construction began in 2002, it was about 20 to 30% complete in 2003. It cost $45,000,000. The highway now bypasses Olympia and the length was 20 km in 2004. The widening from the Erymanthus River to Lagkadi are under plans and construction will be made. One of the plans failed as rainfall caused mudslides and devastated one of the sections of the highway which would be completed in 2006 or 2007, one near the Erymanthos River which ruined the newly paved road and another in March 2006 wrecked a curve that would cut distance by nearly 300 to 500 m shorter making it totalling about 130 km. Rainfalls ruined the plan which residents complained that it was caused by poor rainfall and should not happen when it was complete in the range of the 2004 Summer Olympics. A part west of Lagkadi saw a section which was covered by soil ruined. Residents favor of constructing a bridge so another mudslide wouldn't happen. Reconstruction for a bridge is unknown. In 2007, construction reached Mirakia (with an interchange) and along the Ladon.

In 2007, the 2007 Greek forest fires only affect the western portions of the highway, from east of Pyrgos to 3 to km west of Olympia.

Places

• Pyrgos
• east of the Pyrgos bypass (approx. 3rd km)
• Old road:
  • Varvasena
  • Olympia (20th km)
• New road:
  • bypasses Varvasena and Olympia
• Kaiafa
• Erymanthus river
• Lagkadia (82nd km)
• junction with the road to Dimitsana and Megalopoli
• Pan
• Vytina, bypasses
• junction with GR-33
• Levidi
• Kapsas
• junction with the old GR-33/road to Mantineia and Orchomenos
• Old Road:
  • Chania
  • 3 plazas
  • Tripoli
• New Road:
  • E65 interchange near Nestani