Southern Expressway to be declared open by the President on Nov. 27
November 8, 2011 at 9:50 am · Close Watch
The Southern Expressway, which is the first ever expressway in Sri Lanka, will be declared open by President Mahinda Rajapakse on November 27. The total distance of the expressway is 98 kilometers, Chairman of the Road Development Authority R.W.R. Premasiri said. The public will be able to travel from Kottawa to Galle with less than 90 minutes. Generally, it takes nearly 4 hours to travel to Galle from Colombo.
A sum of Rs.400/- will be charged from a car travelling in the expressway. Other vehicles have been categorized into 4 sections. The amount of money that will be charged from each vehicle category will be different according to the distance it has traveled. However, motorbikes and three wheelers will not be allowed to travel in the expressway. Furthermore, the minimum speed limit for all vehicles will be 100 km/ph.
Around Rs. 70/- billion were spent for the construction of the Southern Expressway. Majority of the money were given away by the government itself. Rest were granted by the Asian Development Bank and JICA organization.
Meanwhile, a special programme has been implemented to prevent the accidents that could occur in the expressway. Drivers of all vehicles will be informed in this regard. A special division of the traffic police dedicated to control vehicles entering the Southern Expressway is also to be established.
(JNW)