President commissions Kinniya, Irakkandi bridges today

Irangika Range

Sri Lanka’s longest bridge, the Kinniya bridge and the Irakkandi bridge constructed at a cost of Rs.790 million and Rs.713 million respectively will be commissioned by President Mahinda Rajapaksa today.

Highways and Road Development Minister T.B. Ekanayake told the Daily News that the Kinniya bridge will link Trincomalee with Kinniya enabling civilians to cross the Kinniya lagoon to reach Kinniya and Muttur areas.

The Irakkandi bridge will link Trincomalee with Pulmodai. The bridge was constructed in replacement of the old bridge destroyed by the tsunami. The project commenced on a special directive of President Mahinda Rajapaksa to overcome the difficulties faced by the civilians in the Eastern region who had to cross the lagoons by ferries earlier,” he said.

The two bridges were constructed under the Eastern Province Reawakening Program to provide transport facilities to the people living in the Eastern Province who have undergone a number of hardships for the past 30 years.

The Kinniya bridge is the longest bridge constructed in Sri Lanka across a lagoon. The 396 metre long and 10 metre wide bridge was constructed on the A-15 highway. It provides 7.4 metres width for vehicles and 1.5 metres for pedestrians.

The bridge was built by the China Auto Caiec Ltd with financial assistance from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

He said that the Irakkandi bridge, which is 300 metres in length spans the Irrakkandi Lagoon. It is seven metres wide with two lanes for pedestrians of 1.5 metres.

The Spanish government had donated funds in support of the Mahinda Chinthana concept to implement a number of Tsunami aid projects.

The project targeted to spur economic growth in Sri Lanka while assisting local communities in the Eastern Province to restart their economic activities and recover from the devastating tsunami and the long-term armed conflict.

The public transport in Batticaloa and Trincomalee districts would be hassle free by the use of these bridges and, the people of these areas will be overjoyed on hearing that these bridges are completed,” he further said.

The project was supervised by the Highways and Road Development Ministry and the Road Development Authority.