Prelude to tragedy

Sri Lanka’s one of the first overhead bridges, one that spans over the rail track near Lake House for over 150 years is in danger of collapsing. Iron rafters on the floor of the bridge being exposed to elements have corroded and water seeps through during rains weakening the entire structure. According to the Sri Lanka Automobile Association over 500,000 vehicles pass over the bridge every day.

The Road Development Authority says repairing the bridge is the responsibility of the Colombo Municipal Council.

The Chief Municipal Engineer could not be contacted though several attempts were made to get his response to this state of affairs.

He was always busy.

Pictures by Ruwan de Silva Text by Shirley Wijesinghe