Katunayake Expressway ready for CHOGM

Construction work on the Colombo-Katunayake Expressway is nearing completion, and is due to open next month. Colombo-Katunayake Expressway Project Director Pushpa Gunarathne told the Sunday Observer that 95 percent of work on the Colombo-Katunayake Expressway has already been completed while the rest of the work, such as, traffic signals and other utilities, including communications, water, electricity, sewer and drainage, landscaping; microtunnels, street lighting is progressing at a rapid pace.

The Heads of States and other delegates arriving to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) and other allied Conferences to be held in Sri Lanka in November will be welcomed on this Expressway.

"We hope to plant trees indigenous to Sri Lanka on either side of the road, while protecting the marshy lands on either side of the Expressway," he said.

The 26 kilometre Colombo-Katunayake Expressway begins from Peliyagoda.

There are five interchange points in this six lane Expressway at the New Kelani Bridge, Peliyagoda, Kerawalapitiya connecting with the Outer Circular Highway, Ja-Ela and Katunayake.

Around Rs. 45 billion has been spent for the project so far, Construction work on the Expressway was implemented with a loan facility extended by China. The Expressway has 42 bridges and 100 large culverts to ensure the smooth flow of traffic.

"This would create a high mobility link between Colombo and the Bandaranaike International Airport enabling motorists to travel to the airport in 20 minutes," Gunarathne said.

He said sea sand was used for the filling of the road embankment and soft ground treatment techniques were adopted where the ground conditions were poor.

"This long awaited project will provide a number of benefits to the people. Among them are promoting outward migration of the public from the Colombo area, improving user benefits to the rapidly expanding transport traffic and improving mobility needs of the industrial development areas in the vicinity and the associated container traffic," he said.