Southern Expressway promises economic benefits:

Galle - Colombo stretch opens in August

By Shirajiv SIRINAME

Come, end of August, people would get the opportunity to drive to Galle in less than 70 minutes with the opening of the much awaited and long overdue Colombo-Galle Expressway. The project has created several landmarks and would definitely take the country towards the goal of becoming the Wonder of Asia.

The Colombo-Galle Expressway would be the country's first toll highway with commuters having to pay for the use of the road.

However, this would be a saving to the drivers as the present travel time of three hours would be reduced by over 60 percent, resulting in a 50 percent reduction on fuel bills. Drivers who had to spend around Rs. 2,500 on fuel would now have to spend only half of that when using the highway. In addition the wear and fear on the vehicle is minimised while the saving of two hours of drive time are also advantages, thus justifying the toll.

Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation will manage the tolls. The speed limit on the highway is 120 Km per hour and it would be the only road in Sri Lanka where the traffic police would not issue a driver with a speeding ticket for high speed. In time to come, there may be rules penalising slow drivers on this highway!

The project's second phase involves the construction of a 59.5 km four- lane road between Kurundugaha Hethekma and Matara. Once the project is completed, the travel time between Colombo and Matara will be reduced from the present four hours to 1.5 hours.

Project Director, Southern Transport Development Project (STDP) Nimal Chandrasiri said that the final touches are being carried out on the first stage. "This would be 64 kilometres long as against the present 115 Km.

This too would be divided in to two segments with one stretch from Kottawa to Kurundugaha Hethekma and the second up to Pinnaduwa in Galle."

He said the 29 km (18 mile) outer circular road network will link this expressway to the Colombo_Katunayake and Colombo_Kandy highways. "We are hoping to have a temporary toll station in Kottawa and 10 more in the other access points", Chandrasiri said.

He said new techniques are being used in building the bridges. "This is called 'Balance Cantilever' and workers construct the bridge on top of it rather than carrying out construction from underneath it. This saves time and money. This technique was used when building the two bridges over the Kalu Ganga and Bentara Ganga", he said.

The aims of the project are to reduce poverty in the Southern region, integrate the Southern region with the rest of the country's economy, and promote regional development.

22 bridges

The expressway would also improve access to and from the Southern region and reduce traffic congestion and travel time and most importantly improve road safety. Special ambulance services too would be on standby and special points are being built for them.

A total of 22 bridges are being constructed along the expressway. As of 2009, three bridges have been opened: Kalu Ganga bridge, Welipenna Bridge and Benthara Ganga bridge. These bridges were opened, in part, to mitigate flooding in these areas.

Over 1,300 families have been moved to other areas because of this project and 550 families have been provided with new land for houses in addition to receiving compensation.

The project construction has been divided into two sections for financing purposes. The first section, from Kottawa to Kurundugaha Hethekma (66.5 Km), is funded by Japanese Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC). The second section is from Kurundugaha Hethekma to Matara Godagama (59.5 Km) and Galle port access road (5 Km) and is funded by Asian Development Bank (ADB). The Government will also fund the project.

When completed, the 126 km (78.2 mile) -long highway will link Colombo with Matara. There are also plans to further extend the highway to Weerawila. This would extend the highway by 100 km (62 miles).

The Southern Expressway has interchanges for motorists to access the highway from Makumbura, (from Colombo, Kotte and Dehiwela), Kahatuduwa (Moratuwa and Panadura), Gelanigama (Panadura and Wadduwa) Dodangoda (Kalutara and Matugama), Lewanduwa (Beruwala and Bentota) Kurundugaha Hethekma (Elpitiya, Balapitiya and Ambalangoda), Nayapamula (Hikkaduwa) and Pinnaduwa to access Galle.

Chandrasiri said they are currently building the access road from Pinnaduwa to Galle. Beyond Galle, the road will continue east for about 28 Km in Matara district, ending at Godagama. It will cross a series of minor roads running inland from Weligama, Matara, Dikwella and Tangalle, forming part of the fairly dense inland road network.

According to international rules, motor bikes, tractors, three-wheelers and bicycles are prohibited from entering the expressway while the debate on entertaining containers is being reviewed.

One of the Asian countries that has been successful in using a highway network in Malaysia and this has helped the country to woo more investors as well as tourists. Due to the country's superior highway networks one could also observe a reduction of domestic air fares and a strong outstation luxury bus service.

Chairman, Southern Development Authority, Ranjith Gunasekera said the project would bring numerous economic benefits to the area. "We have already received many inquiries for new projects and hoteliers in the area are also upbeat that they would get more tourists to the area as the travelling time is less." Development of tourism, fisheries, industries and agriculture too is on the cards due to the project.

Land prices too would go up and the project would create more hotels, restaurants and self-employment opportunities especially in areas close to the access points.

Due to half of the Galle-Colombo traffic using the highway, the Galle Road too would clear up, cutting down on travel time.

Nearly 50 percent of the Katunayake- Colombo expressway is also completed now and the entire expressway is expected to be completed by the end of 2012 and a driver would be able to drive to the airport from Galle without coming to Colombo using the highway network. President Mahinda Rajapaksa had said the Government had made the biggest allocation of Rs. 102 billion to the Highways Ministry in the past, with the intention of providing an efficient and systematic road network, thereby enhancing the quality of life. The President had said the maintenance of a proper road network is essential to carry out the development program in an efficient manner, to deliver the fruits of development to the people.

Many investors shunned Malaysia five decades ago as the country did not have a proper highway network and building of highways, a project initiated by former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed, saw investors flocking to Malaysia, resulting in the country being developed in less than a decade.

An expressway road network would also reduce the consumption of petrol and diesel, thus bringing huge savings on the country's fuel bill. Sri Lanka too is following this example and with the expressways to Galle and Matara, Colombo airport and Kandy, Sri Lanka too could look out for a better future.