New bridge link for Sri Lanka

A new bridge spanning Sri Lanka’s Mahaweli River and close to the city of Kandy has been officially opened. The bridge link connects the neighbouring villages of Dodanwala and Halloluwa in Sri Lanka’s Central Province and was opened by Maithripala Sirisena, the country’s president. The bridge is nearly 105m long and replaces a 75 year old suspension bridge that was no longer fit for purpose. The old structure carried pedestrian traffic only while the new bridge carries two lanes of vehicle traffic, as well
January 10, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
A new bridge spanning Sri Lanka’s Mahaweli River and close to the city of Kandy has been officially opened. The bridge link connects the neighbouring villages of Dodanwala and Halloluwa in Sri Lanka’s Central Province and was opened by Maithripala Sirisena, the country’s president. The bridge is nearly 105m long and replaces a 75 year old suspension bridge that was no longer fit for purpose. The old structure carried pedestrian traffic only while the new bridge carries two lanes of vehicle traffic, as well as having double cantilever foot walks. The new bridge is a modular steel type made from a Mabey Compact 200 system while the pedestrian provision is protected by the new Mabey SmartEdge System.

With the opening of the new bridge the distance to drive between the two villages will be reduced by 10km. The new link will also lower traffic volumes on other routes, as well as helping to increase tourism in the area, a sector on which Sri Lanka’s economy relies heavily.
Road Structures

Related Content

  • Building Norway's longest suspension bridge
    March 2, 2012
    AT 1.38KM LONG, the new €213 million Hardanger Bridge crossing Hardangerfjord, Norway's second largest fjord, will be the country's longest suspension bridge. The structure, designed by Norway's Forum Arkitekter, will be a new landmark with its 200m high concrete towers and steel construction.
    Read More
  • Kenya port suspension bridge project makes progress
    January 15, 2019
    A new suspension bridge in Kenya’s key port city, Mombasa, will help unlock potential – Shem Oirere reports Plans for the construction of a US$200 million suspension bridge in Kenya heva moved a notch higher. The country's urban roads agency recently announced the shortlisting of three bidders for the design, finance, construct, operate, maintain and transfer public private partnership (PPP) contract model. Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) is a state agency that manages, develops, rehabilitates and mai
    Read More
  • More on the Newmarket Viaduct replacement
    June 15, 2012
    When it was completed in 1965 – just six years after the Auckland Harbour Bridge – the six-lane Newmarket Viaduct with its tall, slender piers was something of an engineering wonder, the first of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. Forty years on it had become a much-maligned contributor to Auckland’s chronic traffic congestion, too weak seismically to withstand the heaviest loaded trucks let alone a severe earthquake, so narrow in the shoulders that any accident stopped traffic flow and made it difficult
    Read More
  • Auckland Harbour bridge celebrates 50 years
    February 22, 2012
    The bridge over Auckland Harbour celebrates its half century this year, and it has been given a major upgrade to ensure that safety is maintained in New Zealand's largest city. Mary Searle reports. Auckland is New Zealand's largest city, home to nearly a third of the entire country's population. It's a sprawling metropolis, and its 1.3 million people are spread over 637km² of city, suburbs and islands. The Auckland Harbour Bridge, which celebrates its 50th birthday in May, is a vital link in the city's road
    Read More

Highlighted Content