The proposed Ruwanpura Expressway will be Sri Lanka’s 7th expressway, reaching from Kahatuduwa to Pelmadulla via Ratnapura, and linked to Sri Lanka’s expressway network at Kahatuduwa. Construction of the new Ruwanpura Expressway was launched in May 2021 by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa at an inauguration ceremony for the first phase from Kahatuduwa to Ingiriya.
Once complete, the 72km expressway will pass through 10 DS Divisions across two Provinces, and is expected to boost efficiency, promote economic development, and improve access and opportunities for communities and industries in the Colombo, Kalutara, Ratnapura, Badulla, Nuwara-Eliya, Monaragala, and Hambantota Districts. Expected to reduce travel-times to Ratnapura to less than an hour, the highway would reduce congestion on other highways leading to Colombo, improve accessibility, and also serve to strengthen the tourism sector in the long-term. Sri Lanka’s improved road network has played a key role in the socio-economic growth of the country, with areas adjacent to the country’s expressway network showing high rates of development and the network becoming the preferred route of transport.
The project comes under the purview of the Road Development Authority (RDA) as the employer. RDA engineers, experts, and consultants have been involved in the project design and trace demarcation in consultation with a range of government departments, and will continue to supervise the project’s progress. Maga Engineering was awarded the contract to construct the first phase of this megaproject, from Kahathuduwa to Ingiriya (24.3 km).
The first phase is expected to completed by the end of 2023 and involves the construction of a four-lane two-way expressway supporting speeds up to 110km/h. The project also involves construction of 3 interchanges, 4 viaducts, 7 express bridges, 10 overpasses, 25 underpasses, 79 box culverts, additional service roads, pedestrian-ways, traffic, safety, security systems, and other necessary road infrastructure.
