Kandy highway second stage to open in Dec

Friday, 8 March 2019 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

By Ashwin Hemmathagama – Our Lobby Correspondent

The Government plans to open the second stage of the Central Expressway between Meerigama to Kurunegala for vehicle movement by the end of this year, with completion of construction by the end of August 2019.

The Minister of Public Enterprise, Kandyan Heritage and Kandy Development and Leader of the House of Parliament Lakshman Kiriella, updating the House on the progress of the Central Expressway, held that the Chinese company in charge of the section connecting Kadawatha and Meerigama aims to finish construction work in 2020 despite the section between Meerigama to Kurunegala being completed this year.

“Another part of the Central Expressway connecting Pothuhera and Galagedara will start soon. With the completion of the Meerigama to Kurunegala section, we will have a new road to reach Kandy. It took 10 years to complete the Southern Expressway. Making use of this Meerigama to Kurunegala section the time taken to reach Kurunegala and Kandy via Pasyala will be reduced considerably,” he said.

The Expressway Project has several phases to suit the transport requirement of the country. Under Phase One of the project, stage one will connect Kadawatha and Meerigama over a distance of 37.1km. Stage two will be to connect Meerigama to Kurunegala and stage three Pothuhera to Galagedara. The last stage will be to connect Kurunegala and Dambulla. According to the plan, the Kandy link will branch off at Pothuhera and terminate at Galagedara, which is about 10km away from Kandy City.