Argyroupoleos avenue was opened to traffic on Thursday, creating a new road link between Tseriou avenue and the GSP roundabout, with direct access to the Nicosia to Limassol motorway.

Officials said the project is expected to improve road safety and help ease congestion on some of the capital’s busiest routes.

Transport Minister Alexis Vafeades joined Lakatamia mayor Photoula Hadjipapa and Strovolos mayor Stavros Stavrinides for the opening of the avenue, which has been under construction for several years.

Speaking at the event, Vafeades described the project as a significant investment in the capital’s transport infrastructure.

“This is a project that will help incredibly in upgrading road safety and certainly provides our citizens with much more value than the money we have invested in this project,” he said.

According to the minister, the project cost approximately €26 million.

He added that police had approved the opening of the road after determining it was safe for public use.

Vafeades said authorities have yet to calculate how much travel time motorists may save but explained that data will be collected from vehicles using the new route to assess its impact on traffic flows across the city.

“We expect that traffic will be evenly distributed across these three axes, those being Spyrou Kyprianou avenue, the highway and now this road,” he said.

While traffic has now been allowed onto the avenue, Vafeades said some works remain outstanding, including sections of pavements and cycle paths.

The minister conceded that the project exceeded its original timetable by several months.

He said contractual provisions relating to delays are being applied and that any additional costs are still being assessed by the public works department.

Hadjipapa acknowledged that the project’s final cost exceeded initial estimates but stressed its importance for the wider area.

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“We have had a goal for the past five years that this road should be built,” she said, adding that the new connection would improve access between Lakatamia and the motorway network while contributing to traffic relief.

Stavrinides commended the opening as “an important day” for Strovolos, saying the new route would help redistribute traffic currently concentrated on neighbouring roads and bolster the wider road network serving Nicosia.