Ministry backs temporary junction at Agii Pantes, giving Apokoronas villages hope for safer road access

Summary

Greece's Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport has responded to requests from the Mayor of Apokoronas and the Deputy Regional Governor of Chania, asking the highway operator to urgently assess the technical and financial feasibility of a temporary at-grade junction at Agii Pantes. The ministry acknowledges that the intersection serves numerous communities far from the existing junctions at Kalyves and Vryses, making daily travel needlessly difficult for residents, farmers, and businesses. Mayor Charalampos Koukianakis welcomed the development as a significant step forward and pledged to keep pushing until a safe road connection becomes reality.

Ministry backs temporary junction at Agii Pantes on Crete's north coast highway

Residents, farmers, and business owners in and around Agii Pantes have long faced a frustrating reality: the intersection that could connect their communities to Crete's main north coast highway — the BOAK — has not been functioning as a proper junction, forcing them into long detours via Kalyves or Vryses. Now, for the first time, a senior government body has officially stepped in.

What happened

Greece's Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport has sent a formal response to requests made by Apokoronas Mayor Charalampos Koukianakis and Chania Deputy Regional Governor Nikolaos Kalogeris. The ministry's letter does two important things: it explicitly acknowledges the access problem at Agii Pantes, and — crucially — it does not reject the request for a temporary junction. Instead, it instructs the highway concession holder to examine whether a temporary at-grade junction can be created at the existing Agii Pantes intersection, subject to technical feasibility and the availability of funding from contingency reserves earmarked for road safety improvement works.

Who is affected

The Agii Pantes intersection is the natural gateway for a wide range of villages and settlements across Apokoronas. The ministry's own letter acknowledges that these communities sit at a significant distance from the nearest functioning junctions at Kalyves and Vryses, making routine journeys — to work, to services, to markets — considerably longer and harder than they should be.

What it means in practice

Nothing is yet decided. The concession holder must carry out both a technical assessment and confirm that funding can be secured. However, the political significance of the ministry's response should not be underestimated: this is the first time a central government body has formally instructed the operator to look at the problem rather than simply deferring it.

What the mayor says

Mayor Koukianakis described Agii Pantes as "a living place — with residents, businesses, farmers, workers and visitors who need a safe and functional connection to Crete's main road artery." He welcomed the ministry's response as a meaningful step:

"We did what we had to do: we highlighted the problem, documented the need and demanded a solution. Today we have an important step forward. We will keep going until the road opens safely for the people of Apokoronas."

The municipality also thanked Deputy Regional Governor Nikolaos Kalogeris for his active role in bringing the issue forward.

What happens next

The ball is now in the highway operator's court. The concession holder must assess technical feasibility and confirm whether contingency funding is available. The municipality of Apokoronas has made clear it will continue to press the issue until a concrete outcome is reached.

Official source

PRESS RELEASE – A window opens for the temporary junction at Agii Pantes – The Ministry requests that its implementation be examined immediately.

September 3, 2026, 12:23 PM

A significant development for road access in Agii Pantes and the surrounding settlements of Apokoronas: an important step towards restoring safe and functional access for the settlements of Apokoronas to the BOAK (North Crete Coastal Road) has been taken with the official response of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport to the requests of the Mayor of Apokoronas Charalampos Koukianakis and the Deputy Regional Governor of Chania Nikolaos Kalogeris.

Through its document, the Ministry essentially acknowledges the problem that has been created in the area of Agii Pantes and, most importantly, does not reject the request for the creation of a temporary at-grade junction; on the contrary, it requests that the concession holder examine the possibility of creating a temporary at-grade junction at the location of the existing intersection at Agii Pantes, on the condition that this is technically feasible and that the required funding can be secured from the contingency expenses of the road safety improvement works.

The Ministry simultaneously acknowledges that the intersection at Agii Pantes serves a large number of communities and settlements, which are located at a significant distance from the existing junctions at Kalyves and Vryses, a fact that hampers the daily mobility of residents.

The Mayor of Apokoronas Charalampos Koukianakis stated that, for the Municipality of Apokoronas, this development concerns the safety, daily life and equal access of residents, and that the wider area of Agii Pantes is a living place, with residents, businesses, farmers, workers and visitors, who need a safe and functional connection to Crete's main road artery.

"We did what we were obliged to do, we highlighted the problem, documented the need and demanded a solution — today we have an important step, the Ministry requests that the possibility of creating a junction at Agii Pantes be examined, and we await the project to become reality. We continue until the road opens safely for the people of Apokoronas."

The Municipality of Apokoronas thanks the Deputy Regional Governor of Chania Nikolaos Kalogeris for his cooperation and active contribution to highlighting and advancing the issue.

The pursuit continues.

The Mayor of Apokoronas

Charalampos Koukianakis