New Express-ways in Sri Lanka
Will they make a difference?
Cruise control in Sri Lanka what a concept! Ever wonder why cruise control is never an issuewhen buying a new car in Sri Lanka? Anyonewho has lived in or visited this country would understand that driving is just amatter of riding the brakes.Even in long-distance travel, driving at even 80 kmph without having to hit the brake every few minutes would only be a dream.
The roads in Sri Lanka arefar better than they used to be.With roads like thenew Galle road or theKandy-Colombo road, getting fromoneplace to theother is far less timeconsuming than before. However, it will still take you nearly threehours to travel a distanceof about 70 kilometres– either becauseof mountainous terrain, sharp bends, narrow roads, thedanger of people/animals randomly crossing as they pleaseor all of theabove(generally thecase). But, it will soon betimeto throw out all thetraditional practicesof driving in Sri Lanka. If you feel that you havefinally mastered thechallengeof Sri Lankan driving – thingsare about to change. Theconstruction andplanningof several expresswayshavealready commenced. Whileconstruction of Matara-Colombo and Katunayake-Colombo expressways hasalready begun, planning and feasibility studiesarebeing doneof Colombo–Kandy,Katunayake–Padeniya –Anuradhapura, and theColomboOuter Circular Road (OCR).An expressway isa drastically new concept compared to the current roads in Sri Lana, to say theleast. An almost innateaspect of Sri Lankan cultureis about tobechanged forever. Theculture of Sri Lankan roads and Sri Lankan driving is about to be revolutionised.
What is an Express-way?
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| Colombo-Matara Express way |
With theintroduction of expressways in Sri Lanka, it will becrucial for the peopleto understand theway expressways should beused.Theclosest Sri Lanka has to an expressway is the new Baselineroad. But thefeeling of atrueexpressway only exists in the small flyover section of about aquarter of a kilometre. What is an expressway? It is simply a cordoned off, spacious,multi-laneroad restricted to vehicles (and vehiclesonly) that areableto reach speeds of over 100 kmph. No bicycles, threewheelers, bullock carts pedestrians, roadsideshopsand definitely nostray animals
The sole purpose of an expressway is to minimise the time required toreach adestination.Theaveragespeed expectedon an expressway is110kmper hour and isdesigned solelyfor high-speed driving. Sharp turnswill be replaced withsmooth turnswith largeradiuses; underpasses andoverpasses areprovided at crossing points; and entranceand exit to theexpressway will only be through specificpoints. Upon entering the expressway, a vehicle will have to build up speed in theleft most lane before merging with existing traffic so asnot to disrupt thehigh-speeding vehicles.But all thiswill comeat a price.Contrary to the“Public Goods” concept relating to highways, usersof the expressway will haveto pay a toll for using it. However,driving at over 100 kmph,getting therein half thetime,with no distractions definitely seemsworth it.
What is the need for Express ways?
Infrastructure development isgiven priority in development plans that are based on open economic policies. It is considered to be a basic requisitenecessary to achievethe overall economic targets of thegovernment. It boostslocal investment and attracts foreign investment accelerating economic growth and generating new job opportunities.Sri Lanka hasachieved considerable development in the fieldsof power and communications, however thestateof transportation facilities remain underdeveloped.Thestateof railways, amajor modeof transportation, has been on asteady decline.Thecondition of roadsisfar better than before, but with approximately 100,000 new vehicles on the road each year, thecurrent stateof roads is simply inadequate.Theresult isheavy traffic, fuel wastage,pollution and more accidents. Not only is this situation adverse for thepeople, but discourageinvestors. An opinion survey conducted by thePolicy Research &Information Unit (PRIU) in 1998 revealed that about 75%of the investorsarenot satisfied with the condition of theroads in Sri Lanka.Moreover, Colombo is the economic hub of theisland. A link between Colombo and provincial cities is essential for regional development.
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| Future plans of high way(official) |
Colombo-Katunayake Express way
Perhaps one of the most important roads in a country is theone linking the international airport and thecapital city. Not only would this be the key link to thecentreof business in thecounty,
but also amajor factor in thefirst impressions created among tourists.
Currently, the trip fromtheBandaranaikeInternational Airport toColombo takes about an hour and a half with medium traffic.Devoid of congestion, this could beamere 15-minute drive. Thenew expressway could make this happen.
Theproposed expressway will be25 kmlong and 27.2 meters wide and will have4 lanes, 2 on either side. The road will bebisected by a3-meter widestretch of land on which lampposts will beerected. Special varieties of trees will also beplanted to reflect thelight of the vehicles passing either way.
The express way is being built at minimumcost and environmental damage.Commencing near thenew Kelaniya Bridgeat Peliyagoda, it will traverse through marshlands of Peliyagoda. Instead of expensiveflyovers, two small road swill run abovetheexpressway at Thelangapathaand Wanawasala crossroads.Theexpresswaywill beconstructed over the Hunupitiya road and beneath the existing Colombo environmental.
Negomboroad at Mabola.The section of the express way through the Muthurajawela marshlandswill be constructed by filling ocean sand between two platforms madeon either side of the way. To minimise the existing Colombo environmental damage, the required sandwill bepumped from5 kmoffshorewith the assistance of aDutch company. Subsequent to crossing theKandana-Uswetakeyyawa road and running parallel toColombo-Negombo road, the expressway will divert near Negombo lagoon to the airport terminal road.In addition to thePeliyagoda andKatunayakeinterchanges,two other interchangesat Ja-Ela and Kerawalapitiyawill connect the expressway to theOuter Circular road. A1&A3 express ways and the road through thenew Kelaniya Bridgewill join the new expressway at Peliyagoda. It will join theTudella,Pamunugamaand Thalahena roads at Ja-Ela; and the A3 expressway will connect to theairport terminal road at Katunayake.
Thetotal cost of theColombo Katunayakeexpressway is estimated at Rs. 11.1 billion and theconstructionswill becompleted within 3 years.The number of vehicles passing through the expressway per day at Peliyagodaend isestimated to be28,000in 2005 and 37,000 in 2015.
Katunayake-Padeniya-Anuradhapura Road
Anuradhapura, an ancient capital of Sri Lanka, isacentral location inmany aspects. Not only does thecity have historical and cultural significance, but also religious and economic significance. Its geographic location hasmade it the nucleus linking northern regionswith other areasin the island.Dueto thesefactorsthereisagreat influx of tourists and pilgrims to theAnuradhapura area.
There are currently three routes from Colombo to Anuradhapura.However, even thesearenot adequatetomeet the transport requirements of today. The shortest available routesareafew Bgraderoadsandan A grade road beginning at Padeniya. Studieshaverevealed that these roadshave reached their maximum capacity.Under present conditions, theneed for a direct routefromColombo toAnuradhapura is essential.
Theproject will be implemented in two stages.The first stage consists of developing the existing Padeniya-Anuradhapura road (A28) of 84 km. It involves removing sharp bendsand broadening theroads, constructing culverts to drain out surfacewater and strengthening thestructure of bridges. Five new bridges will beconstructed including bridges over Deduru Oya,Kala Oya andMeeOya.
The second stage will be the construction of a new expressway fromKatunayaketo Padeniya. The first 9 km of thenew road from Katunayake to Madampella will include four lanesand the remaining 57 kmto Padeniyawill have two. Ten new bridgeswill be constructed with bridgesover MaOya and Kolamuna. The feasibility studiesof thisproject were finalise din 1996withKorean aid.The detailed technical study isscheduled to commence in 2002and constructions will begin in 2004.
Outer Circular Road.
The Outer-Circular road is a significant component of the new road network. It will betheroadmainly responsible for the reduction of trafficcongestionwithinColombocity limits.Trafficwithin thecity is currently dreadful. This is mainly due to thefact that all major roadsconnecting various parts of thecountry travel directly through the city. Hence, all vehicles travelling to the seareasmust travel viathe Colombo city. TheOuter-Circular road is expected to eliminatethese.This road will be constructed approximately 20 kmaway from the Colombo city. Initially consisting of four lanes, it will later beexpanded to six lanes when necessary. The road will link with Colombo-Galle(A2) road at Panadura, Colombo-Ratnapura (A4) road some where between Kottawa and Homagama and Colombo-Puttalam(A3) road at Welisara. Vehicles will be allowed to enter and exit fromthisroad only at a few specific points.
The construction of the road hasbeen planned in four stages: Bandaragama-Kottawa, Kottawa-Kadawatha, Kadawatha- KerawalapitiyaandBandaragama-Panadura.Theconstruction of theBandaragama-Kottawastage, 16.32kmin length,will begin asapart of theSouthern expressway project at acost of Rs. 6,234.9million. TheKottawa-Kadawathastage, 20 km in length, will also commencesimultaneously at a cost of Rs. 6,913.3million. The estimationsof theKadawatha- Kerawalapitiya stageof 8.13 kmand the Bandaragama-Panadura stageof 6.8 kmareRs. 4,187.6million and Rs.2,609million respectively. The transportation needs along this road has not been identified asurgent thus far. Hence, construction will begin depending on the demand for transport needs.
Colombo-Kandy Alternate Route
The second largest city in theisland, Kandy, in the Central Provinceis also considered to be oneof most enchanting and isdefinitely amajor centreof Sri Lanka’s cultural heritage.Only oneroad (A3) currently connects Colombo to Kandy. This road could beconsidered one of themost frequently used and busiest roads in the country. It is responsiblefor connecting theEastern, Northern andNorthCentral provinceswith thecapital. This alsomeans that major cities such asAnuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Trincomalee, NuwaraEliya, and Matale including numerousagricultural areasand economic centres arealso reached via theColombo-Kandy road. The transportation of goods,daily travellersandother passengers has caused heavy congestion along this fairly narrow road.Rapid urbanisation along thevicinity of theroad has only worsened thesituation. Thisone-way road travelling through mountainous terrain is simply not suitable for the present traffic. This isevident by the fact that it takes approximately threehours to travel a distanceof 72 km.While the new express way will remedy thecurrent traffic problems, itsconstruction also hopesto achievesomelongtermdevelopment objectives. It is hoped that the new expressway will boost business at the Free Trade Zone at Pallekellethat failed to producemuch foreign investment as was expectedmost probably dueto thepoor transport system.
