Roads and bridges built in Trinco on fast track

By Mohammed NAALIR reporting from Verugal

Workers engaged in work on the Kantale-Allai road

Work in progress on the Verugal bridge

Trincomalee which prevailed as a ghost city for nearly three decades, has turned into a busy city in the region now. A charming coast became very popular for tourism. Fishing is one of the main occupations of the people in the region. Although the industries in the district were ruined, the district has begun to rise from the ruins.

The Trincomalee District which belongs to the Eastern Province is surrounded by Anuradhapura, Batticaloa and Mullaitivu districts. The population accounts to 412,457 persons belonging to 105,155 families. The land area covered by the district is 272,880 square kilometres.

There are 11 Pradeshiya Sabhas and 2 Urban Councils in the district, represented by 230 Grama Seva Divisions. The area is covered by water resources for around 98 square kilometres. The majority of the population indulge in agricultural and 44% of the land in the district is utilised for agricultural activities. Forest covers 30% of lands in the district.

Sixty percent are involved in agriculture while 30% is involved in fishing. Government servants comprise one percent of the population. Seven percent engage in self-employment and the rest are the private sector employees.

Road development in the district was neglected. With funds allocated through the Infrastructure Development Ministry, the Ministry of Nation Building, and the Ministry of Estate Infrastructure and the Maga Neguma program the construction of these roads were commenced.

There are A grade and B grade roads in the district. The Ambepussa-Trincomalee road via Kurunegala takes a significant place among these roads. Other than the Puttalam-Trincomalee Road and the Batticaloa-Trincomalee road which comes under the A grade category. Development Work on the Puttalam-Trincomalee road has been completed upto Anuradhapura and the road between Anuradhapura-Trincomalee is yet to commence, according to A.C. Nisardeen, Chief Engineer, Road Development Authority ,Trincomalee.

The Allai-Kantale road takes significance under the B category. The Pulmudai-Trincomalee road, and the Thampalagamuwa-Kinniya road are also important roads in the district, Nisardeen said.

All major roads in the district which help people in their day- to-day activities have already been renovated and reconstructed.

The Trincomalee-Pulmudai road was also reconstructed.

The Bogahawewa-Pulmude road which was in a dilapidated condition was reconstructed at a cost of Rs. 320 million out of Rs. 562 million allocated by the Highways Ministry. The Highways Ministry also spent Rs. 250 million for the reconstruction of the first seven kilometre of the Trincomalee-Pulmudai road.

The Government successfully reconstructed the bridges on these roads within a short period. Five bridges including Upparu, Iraalkuli, Veruga and Kayangkerni bridges on the Batticaloa-Trincomalee and Elle-Kantale roads were constructed at a cost of Rs. 10,400 million.

The construction work of the Trincomalee-Thirikkonduyadumandu road, Kantale-Seruwawila and Mawadichana-Lankapattanam in Eastern Province are in progress and will be completed by October this year, Chief Engineer Nisardeen said.

The Trincomalee-Thirukkondiyamadu road is 132 kilometres and ends at the 4th mile post, Trincomalee.

The construction work on the Kantale-Seruwawila and Mawadichana-Lankapattanam roads are also in progress.

Nisardeen said that road development in the district was delayed due to the recent floods. Any how it is expected to be completed by October. The Kantale-Trincomalee road will also be developed.

The three kilometre long road area between Kantale farm junction to Muttur junction also comes under this project.

He said that with a view to expediting construction; the project has been divided into four sections. One section will comprise 11 to 12 kilometres.

The overall project consists of three sections including the construction of the Trincomalee-Thirikkonduyadumandu road, extending B-10 road from Allai to Kantale, construction of the Ralithulai Bridge and Gaangi Bridge. The Road B-10 which extends from Allai to Kantale is being widened by 6.2 metres.

This major road development project would rapidly improve the living conditions and well-being of a large number of people restoring basic social infrastructure, community and public services, and livelihoods, the Highways Ministry said.

The reconstruction of the A15 road from Thirukkodiyamadu to Trincomalee, the B-10 road between Allai and Kantale and the C-Class Coastal road from Mawadichena to Ganeshapuram is currently under construction.

Once the on going road development projects and bridge construction are completed the travel distance between the Batticaloa District and the Trincomalee District will decline considerably.

The Verugal bridge will play a keyrole in connecting the Batticaloa district with the Trincomalee district.

The vehicles which ply to Trincomalee use the Batticaloa-Habarana road at present. it is very far and time consuming. After the opening of Thirukkondiyamadu-Trincomalee road the people can get to Trincomalee approximately in three hours. Until the erection of a temporary bridge, the people used ferry boats to cross the Verugal river. The temporary bridge was constructed by the RDA to bring construction raw material to the site. Now people and vehicles use this bridge to cross the river.