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Monday, 10 February 2014 00:14 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
It is a section of the Outer Circular Highway (OCH) located in the Colombo Metropolitan Region and passes through Colombo and Gampaha Districts. This highway runs around 20 km away from the city centre of Colombo, connecting radial routes and has a total length of 29.2 km.
The northern end of the highway is located at Kerawalapitiya on the Colombo-Katunayake Expressway.
The southern end is located in Kottawa on the Colombo-Ratnapura-Wellawaya-Batticaloa (A004) road where the Southern Expressway meets OCH.
The Highways Ministry is constructing the Kottawa-Kaduwela Expressway under the direction of local engineers on the advice of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The speed limit is 100km per hour on the new expressway, which also has an entry point in Athurugiriya.
This expressway is the third of its kind, according to Minister Rajapaksa, who also said that by mid this year, the Kaduwela-Galle and Galle-Matara Express would be built. Thereafter it would become one expressway from Katunayake to Matara passing the Gampaha, Colombo, Kalutara and Galle Districts.
The second stage of the Southern Expressway and the Colombo-Katunayake Expressway will be the stretch from Kaduwela to Kadawatha and from Kadawatha to Kerawalapitiya. The 8.9km-long stretch from Kaduwela to Kadawatha will be completed this year while the 9.3km-long Kadawatha-Kerawalapitiya section will be completed next year.
Sri Lanka’s longest bridge and flyover will be the 3.3km-long Mahawewa Bridge on the Kottawa-Kaduwela Expressway. The objective of these constructions is to reduce traffic congestion in the Western Province and encourage the development of highly-populated urban areas in the Western Province. The volume of vehicular traffic in these areas is around two million per day and most of them are compelled to move via Colombo city due to lack of alternative roads.
Work on the Northern Expressway has already begun and its first stage will be from Enderamulla to Ambepussa, the second stage from Meerigama to Pallandeniya and the third from Ambepussa to Kandy.
Among those who participated in the inspection tour were Environment and Renewable Energy Minister Susil Premajayanth, Deputy Ministers Lasantha Alagiyawanna and Dulip Wijesekera, Kaduwela Mayor G.H. Buddhadasa, Maharagama Mayor Kanthi Kodikara and Highways Ministry Secretary Ranjit Premasiri.
