(COLOMBO, LANKAPUVATH) – A part of the first stage of the Central Expressway will be opened for public within this year, the Road Development Authority said.
The section that is expected to be complete before the end of the year is the Kurunegala to Meerigama segment which is a distance of nearly 40 kilometers. The time to travel this section will take 20 minutes.
“We are reaching more than 60 percent of this project now. So with that progress very easily we can say by the end of this year we can complete,” project Director V. Mohan said.
The system of expressways which are being constructed to cover the all nine provinces in the island is scheduled to be completed by the year 2025. The Central Expressway is one of the leading projects in the system.
The Expressway is being constructed in two stages. In first stage the road will be built from Kadawatha to Dambulla. The section from Pothuhera to Kandy also belongs to this stage. Construction of the first stage which comprises of four sections is being carried out now.
The four-lane Central Expressway at a cost of Rs. 158.4 billion will be completed in four segments.
The first quarter is from Kadawatha to Meerigama (37.09 km), second quarter from Meerigama to Kurunegala (39.70 km), the access road (9.7 km) running up to Ambepussa is included, third quarter from Kurunegala, Pothuhera to Galagedara (32.50 km) and fourth quarter from Kurunegala to Dambulla (60.30 km).
Construction of the section from Meerigama to Kurunegala has been completed 60 percent. This section comprises of five interchanges.
Northern and Eastern provinces will be connected under the second stage of the project.
