Widening the 18 - Hairpin Bend road:

Smooth journey on the road to development

Dharma Sri Abeyratne

Infrastructure development is regarded a key factor of the overall development in a country. Recently, a media team representing all media institutions on the invitation of the Information Department toured the Central Province. During the tour, media persons visited several places in and around the ancient Kandy city to see the development activities and infrastructure development programs in the Province.

The Government has taken steps to widen and carpet the well-known 18 hairpin bend road to Mahiyanganaya from Kandy to ease the high traffic congestion while reducing the dangerous nature of the road due to the narrowness and precipitous sourroundings. This ancient road was constructed by the British during the colonial era. However after decades the road has become a bottleneck for motorists as it is not wide enough to ensure smooth flow of traffic. Constant heavy traffic congestion exists on the road throughout the whole day.

The road which is popularly known as the Dahaata Wanguwa Para will be widened and carpeted upto Ududumbara, Hunnasgiriya at a cost of Rs. 4,078 million to meet the future requirement.

“Rehabilitation of the Dahaata Wanguwa, the18 sharp winding bends on the Kandy – Mahiyangana road is now in progress. This is an ancient and historic road for over centuries since it is the main link between the upcountry and Uva-Wellassa.

As anyone is aware, when we go down memory lane, the historic Uva-Wellassa rebellion erupted against British who travelled on this road. The road runs through hilly areas such as Udu-nuwara, Hunnasgiriya, Ududumbara creating a panoramic view,” Central Province Chief Minister Sarath Ekanayake said.

The South Korean and the Sri Lankan Governments will jointly fund this road development project of 42 kilometres in length and 40 feet wide. As it has been scheduled, the 18 ancient sharp winding bends will remain even if the road is widened.

According to sources, before the road was initially constructed during the colonial era. there had been a narrow foot path and the people had to walk through difficult passes and terrain. However, no widening or large scale renovation process had been carried out for decades until the present Government took steps to widen the road.

The road project is conducted by a Korean construction company. The project is targeted to conclude in the middle of 2010, a work study engineer attached to the project said.

”Special attention has been drawn to the environment during construction. Steps have been taken to minimise the damage caused to the environment owing to the construction. The company has been advised to pay special attention to protecting the environment,” the Chief Minister said. The road will consist of two lanes which can fairly ease the traffic congestion.

It is difficult to drive especially heavy vehicles on the road since now it is only nine feet wide. However, lands are being acquired to facilitate four lanes considering future demands.

“The Government has taken steps to upgrade the road network of the country since we are moving towards development.

The Government has allocated millions of funds on the road development projects throughout the country,” Media Minister Laksman Yapa Abeywardena said.