OCH from Kaduwela to Kadawatha opening shifted till July

19 June 2015 08:53 pm

The opening of the second phase of the Colombo Outer Circular Highway (OCH) linking the Southern Expressway from Kaduwela to Kadawatha was postponed, Project Director Ms. T. S. H. Abewickrama said yesterday.

Speaking to the Daily Mirror she said the Expressway which was scheduled to be open today (June 20) would be open in mid July.

Construction is being completed at the moment, the Project Director said. “According to the contract, July 18 is the deadline. Though it was said to be opened on June 20, small scale constructions such as traffic signals are still being done,” Ms. Abewickrama said.

She hoped they would be able to finish all the constructions by July 15. However, she said that the exact date was not decided as yet, as they have not been instructed by the relevant authorities.

The OCH will be in three phases, including Phase I from Kottawa to Kaduwela, which was opened earlier by the previous government, Phase II from Kaduwela to Kadawatha and Phase III from Kadawatha to Kerawalapitiya.

Meanwhile, she said due to accidents and difficulties people had to face while travelling on other expressways. New technical and strategic methods had been fixed in building the second phase of OCH.

The construction of Phase II commenced in 2012 at an estimated cost of Rs. 49 billion. The 4-lane expressway will have 3 toll buildings and 6 toll plazas.

According to the Road Development Authority (RDA) plan, the OCH will be developed as a 4-lane highway with provision for future expansion to six lanes. The design speed of the highway is 100 km/h. (Piyumi Fonseka)