Golden Gate Kalyani- the six lane new Kelani Bridge connecting the Colombo City was vested in the public by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa on Wednesday (November 24).
The state of the art cable stayed bridge built with advanced technology is funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). After the opening, the President and the Prime Minister with Chief Government Whip and Minister of Highways Johnston Fernando activated the state of the art lighting system set up at both sides of the bridge.
The bridge was built to ease the traffic congestion on the Kelani bridge due to vehicles entering and leaving Colombo.
Initial plans for the bridge were prepared by the Government and JICA in 2012 and the feasibility study was conducted in 2013 when Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa was the President and the Minister of Highways to cater to the high volume of traffic following the opening of the Colombo-Katunayake expressway,
The Cabinet approved the construction of the bridge in 2014 and the agreements were signed in the same year.
Work on the bridge began in 2017 after providing houses for the affected people and alternative places for the public and private institutions that were affected by the project. The cost of the project is Rs. 55,000 million and it took four years to complete the project. The new bridge is an engineering design known as extradosed type which uses stay cables to connect two main pylons with the bridge deck and to share weight of the loads from the bridge deck.
The bridge consists of six lanes from the entrance of the Colombo-Katunayake Expressway towards the Bandaranaike Roundabout and from that point onwards, the flyover will be four lanes towards Orugodawatte and the Ingurukade Junction. This will enable access to the elevated expressways from Ingurukade Junction to the Colombo Port City and from Orugodawatta to Athurugiriya.
It is significant that the bridge has been constructed in such a way that it does not obstruct the flow of the Kelani River and that many species of plants including Koboneela, Esala, May -Mara, Mee and Kumbuk have been planted on both sides of the main road to protect the beauty of the environment. The new bridge would be the main attraction that would amplify the beauty of the commercial capital of the country and also the exquisiteness of the Kelani river. Engineers have illuminated the new bridge using new technologies of lighting systems from other countries to make it a local and foreign tourist attraction.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa told the ceremony to declare open the “Golden Gate Kalyani,” that during the tenure of President Mahinda Rajapaksa from 2005 to 2010, a massive development took place in the country. The President assured that sustainable solutions will be provided for all other issues as well.
President Rajapaksa said despite the Covid-19 pandemic, a number of infrastructure development projects have been initiated. All these activities will continue, and that all the promised projects will be completed if there are no other lockdowns in the country in the future.
He said intelligent people should always be on the alert. Do not leave any room for lies. Highways Minister Johnston Fernando said that the Opposition should not be allowed to sabotage the development program being carried out by the Government in the face of the Covid-19 challenge.
Japanese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Mizukoshi Hideaki said the ‘Golden Gate Kalyani’ is another symbol of Japan-Sri Lanka friendship. He said Japan will continue to provide assistance to Sri Lanka.