Traffic changes on the VOAK at Chania

Lane closures at Vamvakopoulo
Because of road works, changes in the traffic flow are in operation until April 2026 on the section of the VOAK between the interchanges at Mournies and Vamvakopoulo. The works represent part of a first phase in the execution of the construction of the Chania-Heraklion section of the new VOAK, namely the upgrading of the city bypasses at Chania, Rethymnon and Heraklion.

During the period of the roadworks, traffic will be diverted from the westbound carriageway between Mournies and Vamvakopoulo into the eastbound carriageway, which will carry traffic moving in both directions on narrowed lanes. As a result of these changes the following restrictions on access to and from the highway will be in force throughout the duration of the works:

– Exit from the westbound stream of the highway at the Vamvakopoulo interchange will be closed throughout the duration of the works.
– The two entrances to the VOAK for traffic on the Leoforo Kazantzaki (the road from Agia) will also be closed.
– The only exit from the VOAK at Vamvakopoulo will be from the eastbound stream (Kissamos to Chania)
Access to and from the VOAK at the Mournies interchange is functioning normally.

Map of the junction at Vamvakopoulo showing which access roads to the VOAK are closed to traffic.
The Vamvakopoulo interchange on the VOAK at Chania. Motorists leaving the city on the Leoforo Kazantzaki (from the Kladissos junction) will be forced to continue on the Agia/Sougia road.

Motorists intending to travel this route are requested to take extra care at the points in question and to inform themselves of the prevailing traffic conditions, to obey the information and site access signs, as well as any instructions from the traffic police.

Alternative routes
A brief “user report” in Friday’s Haniotika Nea points out that the changes are not well signposted. There are no prior warning signs at the approach to the closures. Moreover such signs as there are are not illuminated at night. As a result motorists who have not had prior notice of the changes will come upon them at the last moment.

As we experienced them this week, the changes mean that motorists entering Chania from the west can leave the VOAK in the normal way at Vamvakopoulo, while those continuing on the highway towards Mournies will find themselves in a contraflow system, where the lanes are quite narrow, until the Mournies interchange.

Motorists leaving Chania in the direction of Kissamos are best advised to enter the VOAK at Mournies, from where they can proceed westwards in the contraflow system, which reverts to the normal highway layout at Vamvakopoulo.

The right turn from the Agia/Sougia road to Galatas
The right turn to Patelari and Platanias.
The two alternative routes to rejoin the VOAK from the Agia/Sougia road are badly signed. The sign for the turning to Galatas (top) is almost illegible, while the sign for Patelari/Platanias is hidden by vegetation until one is almost on top of it. Photos: Google Maps.

Those wishing to leave the highway via the Vamvakopoulo junction will find themselves having to continue westwards on the Leoforo Kazantzaki, which is the Chania-Sougia road passing through Agia. Three kilometres down the road there is a (very poorly signed) turning to Galatas, which via a winding route through Galatas village leads to the Galatas interchange of the VOAK. However, continuing on the Chania-Sougia road is no hardship as it is wide and well surfaced and carries relatively little traffic. Shortly after Agia village there is a another right turn, also not well signed, which takes one on a pleasant drive through orange groves to the village of Patelari and thence to the Platanias interchange of the VOAK.

(Haniotika Nea, 16, 19/12/25)