Southern expressway
As the Colombo is being considered as the major city which assists to the economy of Sri Lanka in the highest margin, it was necessary to have a quicker way to reach the Colombo from other parts of the island. Southern part of the country is rich in many sources that could improvise the country’s heart from its pickings. Even though the basic concept was to build a highway to bring the agricultural products from the Southern region of the country, now it has become more complicated and useful when considering the fascinating destinations for the tourists as well. Southern expressway was one of the steps that came true to be a relief to those efforts in recent history. After so many efforts it was achieved as a basic step of a long project. Though the primary and conceptual steps were taken in 1980s, it took several decades to be a reality.
From History to the present
The Southern Expressway Project was conducted by Road development Authority under the supervision of Ministry of Highways. It was supposed to have an expressway from Colombo to Matara connecting attached cities to the expressway. The estimated construction length was 133km.
The Expressway had included 10 interchange points as well. North end of the highway was supposed to be built in Kottawa and the Southern end had been planned to build in Godagama. Then it had been planned to extend the project step by step up to Mattala Rajapaksha International Airport and the end result would be connecting it with the Bandaranayake International Airport.
Research & Planing
An environmental research was conducted in 1997 and the results were handed over to the government in 2003 by the Moratuwa University. The commencement of the project was 2003 when the government had achieved the basic requirements and the funds for the project. However, it took almost a decade to have a progress as the completion of the project was achieved until Galle.
Opening for the public
The Southern expressway was opened to the public from Colombo to Galle on November, 2011. The next and the last step of the primary project was completed in March, 2014 connecting the Matara and attached cities. So, it was the conclusion of the Southern Expressway Project that allowed the passengers to have a rush to their capital.
The total distance from Colombo to Matara along the highway is about 145km and that can be crossed in less than one and half hours. It usually takes more than 4 hours to get to Colombo along A2 highway.
Connecting Cities
The Southern Expressway was one of the largest projects ever that concluded in the recent history that connected such huge cities like Panadura, Kalutara, Matugama, Bentota, Alpitiya, Ambalangoda, Galle, and Matara with Colombo.
Extension of the project
After the completion of the primary stage of the Southern expressway project, the same project was extended up to Mattala International Airport. This part was commenced in July, 2015. This part was partially completed in last year and opened from Barawakumbuka to Mattala for the public.
However, the entire expressway is supposed to open for the public on 23rd February, 2020 for the public. After that it is expected to get to one international airport to another (Mattala to Katunayake) in two and half hours.
