Southern Expressway (Sri Lanka)

The Dakshina Lanka Distributor E01^[1] also known as the Southern Lanka Express Highway or Southern Lanka Distributor or simply the Southern Expressway (in Sinhala : දක්ෂිණ ලංකා අධීවේගි මාර්ගය in Tamil : தென்னிலங்கை அதிவேக நெடுஞ்சாலை) is Sri Lanka's first E Class highway. The 126 km (78 mi) long highway will link the Sri Lankan capital Colombo with Matara, a major city in the south of the island. Construction on the highway began in 2006 and it was expected to be completed in August 2011 at the cost of $600 million, however the public opening was scheduled towards the end of November. The expressway reduces the time taken to travel from Colombo to Matara to one and a half hours from the current four hours.

Construction

As of December 2006, the first phase of construction is underway from Matara to Kurundugahahetekma. The second phase of the construction will be from Kurundugahahetekma to Kottawa. There are also plans to further extend the Highway to Weerawila and beyond as far as Batticaloa.^[2] This would extend the highway by approximately 100 km (62 mi).

Some 1300 families have been moved because of this project. Of these, 550 families have been provided with new land to build their houses. In November 2011, this expressway as the nation's first, was inaugurated from Colombo to Galle, is 4-lanes and $700 million, and is expected to significantly reduce travel times over the congested coastal route.^[3]

Intersections

Gallery

See also

• Transport in Sri Lanka

References

• Sri Lanka govt extends Colombo-Matara Highway to Weerawila
• RDA - Southern Expressway
• [1]
• Consultancy