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Colombo-Katunayake Expressway ceremonially opened today by President Rajapaksa
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Expressway by night: Public enjoy a walk on the highway before its official opening. Pic by Mangala Weerasekera
Sri Lanka’s second expressway, the Colombo-Katunayake Expressway (CKE) will be ceremonially opened by President Mahinda Rajapaksa today morning. Vehicles will be allowed to travel along the expressway from 6.00 pm today. Construction of the 25.8-km CKE, which commenced in 2009, was completed recently.
Once opened, the four-lane highway with a designed speed of 100 kmph, will create a mobility link between Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake and Colombo. The user-fee-levying highway will have interchanges at Peliyagoda, Ja-ela and Katunayake. Travel time from Katunayake to Colombo will be reduced from an exhausting one-hour drive to a speedy 20 minutes.
Those taking the CKE will be able to witness the beauty of the Muthurajawela marshes and the Negombo lagoon.The toll for cars, jeeps and small vehicles will be Rs 300, while for buses and lorries it is Rs 600. From tomorrow (28), the Sri Lanka Transport Board is expected to start a luxury bus service from Colombo to Ja-ela, Katunayake and Negombo. The charge from Colombo to Ja-ela will be Rs.100, from Colombo to Katunayake Rs. 130 and Rs 150 from Colombo to Negombo.
