Apokoronas Mayor Demands Access Fix as BOAK Roadworks Cut Off Eight Villages

Summary

Mayor Charalampos Koukianakis of Apokoronas has written formally to the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport after ongoing BOAK highway upgrade works cut off several villages from the main road network. Residents of Fre, Tzitzifes, Pemonias, Melidoni, Paidochori, Nipos, Kaina and the Agii Pantes area are facing daily difficulties getting to work, running errands and accessing emergency services. The mayor is calling for immediate restoration of safe road access, written information on traffic management plans for each village, and an urgent on-site technical meeting with ministry and contractor representatives.

BOAK Upgrade Leaves Apokoronas Villages Cut Off — Mayor Demands Action

The upgrade of the BOAK — Crete's main northern coastal road — is a project the municipality of Apokoronas has consistently supported. But while the construction machinery has been running, something has gone wrong for the people who live alongside the road: entire villages have lost their safe access to the highway, turning everyday journeys into a struggle.

Mayor Charalampos Koukianakis has now put his concerns on the record, sending a formal letter to the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport and copying in the members of parliament for the Chania regional unit, the Region of Crete, the Deputy Regional Governor of Chania, and the General Secretariat for Infrastructure.

Which villages are affected?

The problem is felt most sharply in the municipal unit of Fre and around the area of Agii Pantes. The villages directly affected are Fre, Tzitzifes, Pemonias, Melidoni, Paidochori, Nipos and Kaina, along with the surrounding settlements. For the people living there, the disruption is not an abstract inconvenience — it affects how they get to work, how local businesses operate, and whether emergency vehicles can reach them quickly.

What is the mayor asking for?

Koukianakis has set out three specific demands:

Immediate restoration of safe and functioning access between the affected villages and the BOAK, in both directions.
Written communication to the municipality setting out the traffic management plan for each individual village for the duration of the works.
An urgent on-site technical meeting in Apokoronas, bringing together representatives of the ministry, the construction contractor, the Region of Crete and the municipality, so that solutions can be assessed on the ground.

A supporter who has had enough

The mayor is careful to frame his intervention not as opposition to the project but as a demand for it to be done properly. Apokoronas supports the BOAK upgrade, he says — it matters for road safety and for Crete's development. What is not acceptable is that the upgrade of a road should come at the cost of access for the very communities that live beside it.

"We are not asking for the project to stop," Koukianakis said. "We are asking for it to be done right, and for what has already been disrupted to be restored immediately. The BOAK should connect Crete — not create new isolation for local communities."

What happens next?

The municipality is now waiting for a concrete response and workable technical solutions. Until access is restored, residents of the affected villages continue to face these difficulties every single day.

Official source

PRESS RELEASE – CHARALAMPOS KOUKIANAKIS: "THE BOAK MUST CONNECT, NOT CUT OFF OUR VILLAGES"

August 11, 2026, 6:54 AM

Intervention by the Mayor of Apokoronas for the immediate restoration of access for settlements to and from the BOAK

The Mayor of Apokoronas, Charalampos Koukianakis, has sent a letter to the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, with copies to the Members of Parliament of the Regional Unit of Chania, the Region of Crete, the Deputy Regional Governor of Chania, and the General Secretariat for Infrastructure, requesting the immediate restoration of access for settlements to and from the BOAK.

The Mayor notes that the Municipality of Apokoronas supports the upgrade of the existing BOAK, recognising its importance for road safety and the development of Crete.

However, as he characteristically states, the execution of the works has already caused serious difficulties and the severing of settlements from their access to the BOAK, with the problem particularly acute in the Municipal Unit of Fre and in the area of Agii Pantes.

The impacts concern residents of Fre, Tzitzifes, Pemonias, Melidoni, Paidochori, Nipos, Kaina and the wider area, creating problems in daily movement, economic activity and safety.

The Mayor of Apokoronas requests:

Immediate restoration of safe and functional access for settlements to and from the BOAK.

Written notification to the Municipality regarding the traffic management plan for each settlement.

An immediate technical meeting in Apokoronas, with the participation of the Ministry, the contractor, the Region and the Municipality, so that the required solutions can be examined on site.

Charalampos Koukianakis emphasises: "Apokoronas is not opposed to the upgrade of the BOAK. On the contrary, it supports it. However, the upgrade of a road cannot mean the downgrading of access for the people who live alongside it. We are not asking for the project to stop. We are asking for it to be done properly and for what has already been interrupted to be immediately restored. It cannot be that the road is being upgraded while our villages are being cut off. The BOAK must connect Crete and not create new isolation for local communities."

The Municipality of Apokoronas now awaits an immediate response and specific technical solutions, so that the upgrade of the BOAK can proceed without burdening the daily lives and accessibility of the residents of Apokoronas.