Access Engineering wins pilling work in Wetiya, Andarawewa under Southern Expressway Extension Proj

Pilling work of the Southern Expressway Extension project 

( Section 3 ) – in Progress

The construction of the Southern Expressway Extension Project was inaugurated recently under three segments from Matara to Hambantota and pilling contract for the segment Wetiya – Andarawewa (15 Km) was awarded to Access Engineering PLC. 

The proposed Southern Expressway Extension Project which is spearheaded by the Road Development Authority under the Ministry of Higher Education and Highways includes construction of a 96Km road stretch from Matara to Hambantota connecting Hambanota Harbour to Colombo. The project which is funded by Exim Bank of China is to progress under three main sections; Section 1 - Matara to Beliatta (30km), Section 2 – Beliatta to Wetiya (26km) and Section 3 – Wetiya to Andarawewa (15 Km) 

Pilling work in section 3 Wetiya to Andarawewa was entrusted to Access Engineering PLC by the main contractor China State Construction Engineering Corporate Ltd.; one of the leading construction companies from China.  

The piling work entrusted to Access Engineering PLC includes construction and testing of 228 No. of cast-in-situ piles of 1500mm and 1800mm in diameter which will be driven up to hard rock. And these piles support superstructures of the Walave River Bridge, Sooriyawewa Interchange Bridge, Wetiya Interchange Bridge and five other overpass bridges. A comprehensive fleet of BG pilling machines and equipment are in place at site along with specialised expertise by Access Engineering PLC to be deployed for the challenging task ahead. 

“Part of the project requires piling for the Walave River Bridge where a viaduct traverses across the Walave River. This consists of 19 piers and each pier on the river will require 4 No. 1800 mm diameter piles. Rock socketing will also be needed for each pile to a depth of 8m which will reach the hard bed rock strata. Thus special rock drilling techniques will be employed to anchor the bridge piers to the deep rock. And to make the activities further challenging, the flood level of the Walawe River is expected to rise up to 3m during the course of the project. ” said the Project Manager of pilling works of southern Expressway Extension Project (Section 3) Pivithiri Jayasinghe.