The first phase of the Outer Circular Highway (OCH) from Kottawa to Kaduwela was declared open by President Mahinda Rajapaksa today (March 8).
The 11 km Kottawa - Kaduwela section of the OCH has been constructed at a cost of Rs. 27 billion with financial assistance from Japan.
The government says that this highway provides an orbital beltway to bypass the city of Colombo and reduce traffic congestion in the Western Province, and encourage the development of highly populated urban areas in the Western Province.
The objective of the OCH is to connect the Southern Expressway, the Katunayake - Colombo Expressway and Colombo - Kandy or Colombo-Northern Expressway enabling motorists using these roads to bypass Colombo to reach their destinations.
It is Sri Lanka’s longest bridge and flyover located on the Kottawa-Kaduwela section.
The construction of the OCH is carried out in three phases - Kottawa-Kaduwela, Kaduwela-Kadawatha and Kadawatha-Kerawalapitiya.
The first section from Kottawa to Kaduwela was initiated in December 2009 and work on the second part of the highway from Kaduwela to Kadawatha is still progressing.
