The $ 300 million Asian Development Bank (ADB) funded Port Access Elevated Highway will commence construction work next week, a top official confirmed.

“The construction work of the Port Access Elevated Highway linking the Kelaniya new bridge with Colombo Port City will commence on 10 September,” RDA Chairman Nihal Ranjan Sooriyarachchi told the Daily FT.

He said the new elevated highway will connect Inguru Kade junction to Port City is expected to ease traffic congestion, improve connectivity, and facilitate trade logistics in the country.

In addition, he said the proposed dry port at Kerawalapitiya is believed to relieve the current traffic congestion at Orugodawatte.

“Right now it takes around 45 minutes to inspect containers at Orugodawatte. However, with the development of the Kerawalapitiya dry port, it will take only 10 minutes to reach the port,” he added.

The RDA Chairman also admitted that most of the roads in the country are not designed for the heavy vehicles.

“When the roads are built without a design it means that the breakages are more which leads to frequent, heavier traffic. It erodes economy in many ways,” Sooriyarachchi stressed.

Half of new expressways to be done by year end: RDA