The Road Development Authority (RDA) has conducted a feasibility study on constructing an open tunnel connecting the Marine Drive from the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Colpetty to the Colombo Port City via a flyover along the coast.
RDA Project Engineer of the Marine Drive extension project Baskaran Sudharman said this will be the first open tunnel road to be constructed in Sri Lanka.
The project has been designed to expand 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.
Meanwhile, the four-lane extension on the Marine drive constructed from the Colpetty Railway Station to the Grand Hyatt Hotel and from Fraser Road in Dehiwala until the Dehiwala Railway Station will be declared open soon.
The RDA is looking at extending this stretch of the road further until Panadura, while the acquisition of properties and a feasibility study is currently underway in this regard, he added.
Baskaran Sudharman further said the RDA expects to complete the road extension and construction projects in the next five years, by 2026. (NewsWire)