[Documents] 

EasyWay/ITHACA (Information TecHnology Advanced Corridor Applications) is the Euro-Region which comprises Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, Cyprus and Italy. Within the European Union, the South-East road transport network is heavily conditioned by the maritime connections between Italy and Greece, and Greece and other eastern countries. Ports (ferry connections, international and internal) and Airports (airline connections, international and domestic) are coming into the picture with the concept of co, intra and inter-modality. New technologies can support not only inland transport but also cross-border links in such complex situations, where roads have not direct connections. Moreover, Romania and Bulgaria are in the process of improving their road networks, and a special need is felt for harmonising their networks with the networks of the neighbouring countries. ITS is playing a major role in speeding up the process, however the complexity of the situation requires a step-by-step approach where consideration of sea motorways and inland waterways have to be added to the picture. ITHACA aims to improve existing infrastructures and deployment of ITS as a tool which will significantly contribute to increase safety and comfort in a mixed transport network, bringing an economic attractiveness in the region. The general scheme on which the first elements of the project are based is the concept of transport corridors, or, by using a common definition, of Long Distance Corridors (LDC). The hypothetical corridors are composed of the following nodes, where motorway systems are tied through the north-south-east links:

French border – Torino – Milano – Bologna – Ancona – Pescara – Bari – Brindisi – Lecce – Patras –Korinthos –Athens – Larissa - Thessaloniki – Eastern countries

French Border – Genova - La Spezia / Parma – La Spezia – Florence – Rome – Naples – Bari –Brindisi – Lecce – Thessaloniki – Eastern countries

Rome – Naples – Salerno – Reggio Calabria/Catanzaro/Taranto – Reggio Calabria/Sicily – Greece – Eastern countries

Arad – Bucharest – Sofia – Thessaloniki (section of Corridor IV)

At the same time, they will be pair with at least another Adriatic corridor:

Torino – Milano – Ljubljana – Graz – Szeged – Bucarest – Sofia – Thessaloniki (Italy – Austria – Slovenia – Hungary – Romania – Bulgaria – Greece) which could involve States not member of the EU). On the eastern side of the Adriatic sea, other transport corridors are possible. In essence, ITHACA involves parallel North-South routes intersecting West-East links. Another important characteristics is providing a link between the Tyrrhenian and the Adriatic sea, together with the Aegean sea and Black Sea, fact that has an impact in the transport towards east and newcomers countries. These corridors have the interesting characteristics that on the western side it has connections with France and Switzerland and on the Eastern side with Ukraine and Turkey.