Sri Lanka's first express way
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- Published on Monday, 07 February 2011 18:52
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Sri Lanka today usher in the grand opening of its first expressway - the E- 01 Southern Expressway by President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
The 97 km long Southern Expressway – the ‘Gateway to Wonder’ is the most tangible dividends of mega development projects launched under Mahinda Chinthana policy program.
This toll levy expressway completed from Kottawa to Galle under its first stage will be later extended up to Hambantota and Kataragama.
The four-lane expressway which is to be opened up to Pinnaduwa will enable motorists to reach the port city of Galle within one hour at a maximum speed of 100 Km per hour.
The road will be open for the public at 6 pm on Sunday after the end of the opening event. The toll for the complete journey for a car will be Rs. 400.
"We expect motorists to use the expressway from tomorrow,” an official of the Road Development Authority said
This mega project at a cost of Rs 70 billion was launched with the financial assistance of the Government of Japan and the ADB and for today's opening ceremony the Japanese peace envoy to Sri Lanka Yasushi Akashi will also participate as a special guest. Japan provided 36.3 Japanese Yen (Rs. 47 billion) for the first 66 Km section from Kottawa to Kurundugahahetapma.
The Asian Development Bank and the Government of Sri Lanka also financed the massive project.
With the official opening of the expressway by President Rajapaksa who is also the Highways Minister, Sri Lanka’s first expressway categorized as E-01 will be open to the public from 6 pm Sunday.
Source - News.lk
President will open the access road to the Expressway from the Pinnaduwa interchange in southern Galle port city. But he will mark the opening of the country’s first Expressway by unveiling the commemorative plaque at Welipenna, one of the eight interchanges on the toll road.
A public rally to mark the opening of the Expressway will also be held at the Karandeniya public grounds under the patronage of President Rajapaksa.
