- TERNA completed and opened a new 6-kilometer bypass around Arkalochori, linking inland Southern Crete directly to the upcoming Kastelli International Airport site.
- The modern road stretch features wide straights and three major roundabouts connecting traffic routes toward Heraklion, Kastelli, Viannos, Messara, and local Minoa Pediadas villages.
- Minoa Pediadas Mayor Vassilis Kegeroglou confirmed the bypass awaits street lighting installation by the Region of Crete to complete the build.
- The infrastructure project serves as a key feeder road for the new international airport, which remains on track to open in November 2028.
A new six-kilometer road now open to traffic near Arkalochori is offering a first glimpse of how the road network around Crete’s future international gateway will change once the new Kastelli airport opens.
The new connection bypasses Arkalochori and links the area more directly with the airport under construction, while also improving access for communities in southern and southeastern Heraklion.
For Viannos and the wider Messara area, the road is particularly significant. It provides another link toward what is expected to become Crete’s principal international gateway when the New Heraklion International Airport at Kastelli begins operations, currently scheduled for November 2028.
The road, built by TERNA, is approximately six kilometers long and has recently opened to traffic. It includes long straight sections and three roundabouts, with signs directing drivers toward Heraklion, Kastelli and Viannos, as well as toward Arkalochori and the villages of the Municipality of Minoa Pediada.
The project forms part of the wider network being developed around the new airport. The planned airport connection toward the Arkalochori–Viannos road is approximately six kilometers long, with one lane in each direction and a parallel network serving surrounding areas.
The significance of the new road goes beyond the daily convenience of local drivers.
Kastelli Airport is being built with a network of new and upgraded roads designed to connect it with both northern and southern Crete. The planned northern connection toward the BOAK (VOAK) near Hersonissos will extend for approximately 18 kilometers, while the southern connection runs toward the Arkalochori–Viannos corridor.
That means roads that may currently look like local infrastructure are increasingly becoming pieces of the transportation network that will serve millions of passengers once the airport is operating.
For residents of Minoa Pediada and communities farther south, the new connection could therefore become an important everyday route as well as an airport access road.
There is still work to be completed. Minoa Pediada Mayor Vasilis Kegkeroglou said the road itself is not yet fully finished, with the installation of street lighting still pending. That work falls under the responsibility of the Region of Crete.
Once completed, the road is expected to provide a substantially improved connection around Arkalochori and the surrounding area.
And while the airport itself is still a couple of years away, the infrastructure needed to reach it is already changing the landscape.