Marine Drive work to go on continuously to ease Galle Road congestion

The foremost task of the government was to expedite the development projects suspended by the yahapalana regime, Chief Government Whip and Highways Minister Johnston Fernando said yesterday .

Speaking to journalists during an inspection visit to the marine drive extension site, the Minister said: “The construction of the Marine Drive has been going on for years. The yahapalana government could not build a short extension of the road. This road is a viable solution to the problem of traffic congestion on the Galle Road and the Duplication Road. Under the leadership of Mahinda Rajapaksa most of the work of the Marine Drive had been completed. If there had been no regime change in 2015, today the Marine Drive would have been long completed.”

The Minister said that the construction of the Marine Drive had been expedited despite the difficulties caused by the pandemic. The government had extended its fullest support to the contractors to complete their work.

“Traffic congestion will soon be a thing of the past. We are building a flyover to help ease traffic at the entryway to Kaudana. The work of the elevated highway from the New Kelani Bridge and the expressway from the New Kelani Bridge to the Port City will contribute immensely to solve the traffic congestion problem,” Minister Fernando said.

The construction work would go on round the clock, seven days a week, the Minister said, adding that the Marine Drive would be extended up to Panadura.

“On the other hand, we are expanding the existing Marine Drive through an underground tunnel through the Galle Face Green, which will then be connected to an elevated highway on the Port City, linking up to the New Kelani Bridge,” he said.