The highway was first paved at the turn of the 20th century. The mid to late-20th century saw the population shifting from agriculture to other jobs, as people migrated to larger towns and cities as well as other parts of the world. In the 1960s, the motorway GR-8A was constructed to handle the increasing traffic between Corinth and Athens and allow higher speed limits (60 km/h to 80 km/h). The section from the old Corinth interchange eastward in Corinthia was opened in 1962 and the section west of Corinth was added in 1969. The new highway had a significant effect on the local industry, as it lowered the cost of transportation of goods between Corinthia and the Athens metropolitan area.