Expressway construction, near Negoda
Looks like the Southern Expressway is happening. I saw them building huge 20 foot tall bunds near Kalutara. They say this will make it possible to get to Matara in one-and-a-half hours (!) and should be completed by end 2010. This will be sweet. The problem with Galle Road is that it is both a highway and the main street of every little town it passes through. This means that someone going to Galle is on the same road as a guy pushing a garbage cart a hundred meters down the lane. In Hikkaduwa drunk people are dawdling and eating roti on the side of the road. This is obviously untenable.
Being a provincial beach dweller I rarely venture off the coast (much to my shame). With an expressway one could pass through these lands at 100 clicks per hour on the way to somewhere else. These projects usually go pear-shaped and drag on forever, which is why I was surprised to see active construction. According to an old PRIU newsletter the thing is envisioned as a toll road, which I think would make sense. People can still take the Galle Road, or pay extra to get their faster and transport cargo or whatever. Dunno if this is any longer the case.
Again, these things often get messed up, but I would be a happy camper if the RDA et al manage to complete even a fraction of their road development plans within my (enjoyable) lifetime. Then if the Enviromental Agency would allow the duty-free import of hybrid/electric cars I would be entirely shape.
Totally agree with you there. It is a pain even to think of the time it takes to go to Galle or Mathara on the Galle road. Also it’ll be cool if they build the Colombo-Kandy road soon. What a waste of time and money traveling back and forth atm betn Kandy and Colombo.
But about the development, one thing I give to this govt is their road development. Even while the war was going on they kept on doing it. So perhaps this too will in fact be done in time. Lets hope so.
As long as these don’t start falling down like some have already done. I think a school kid was killed by one such collapse and everybody passed the buck on responsibility.
This and the expressways to the Airport and Kandy have been planned, ‘built’ and talked about since Sirimavo put up the first span at the end of Kelaniya bridge in 1971 – still visible as a natabun. Let’s hope it gets done this time, notwithstanding the 70 liable to collapse bridges already paid for in the Southern Expressway. For anything to actually get completed we need to move away from the mentality of celebrating the laying Foundation Stones replete with Ministers, and like the Germans, celebrate when the topping off happens. If our Ancestors celebrated Foundation Stones we would not have A’Pura, Polonnaruwa and Sigiriya. I bet they celebrated the pinnacle laying and not the Foundation Stone laying. Future Archaeologist will find today’s Sri Lanka as a land of buried Foundation Stones.
Hey, I live along the route of the southern highway . It is definitely been built. There is a huge motivation for the southern highway to go through linking with the southern port etc. We were quite skeptic about our new neighbor at first but now it has become a part of our lives and sheer joy to see the progress each day. Each section is being worked at different levels as opposed to getting a start to finish approach.
it’ll get built… and soon. Because the President is from the South. Hopefully, when electric cars are allowed in duty free, they’ll also build recharging stations. That whole range extender little engine thingy is cool and all, but why burn hydrocarbons when there’s a better and cheaper way.