Severe traffic congestion has built up at several entrance and exit points across Sri Lanka’s expressway network, the Road Development Authority said on Wednesday.
The RDA named four locations: the Mattala exit on the Southern Expressway, the Kadawatha exit on the Outer Circular Expressway, and both the Mirigama entrance and the Yaggapitiya exit on the Central Expressway. Daily Mirror reported the congestion at Mirigama as the most severe of the four.
Holiday traffic
The RDA attributed the backlog to the increased volume of vehicles travelling during the long weekend holiday, which began on Wednesday with the Milad-un-Nabi public holiday.
Drivers using the affected routes have been advised to consider alternative roads, to remain attentive while driving, and to expect delays and plan journeys accordingly, according to Hiru News and Daily Mirror.
The pattern is consistent with a departure surge rather than a localised incident: three of the four points are exits, and the affected interchanges sit on the main routes out of the Colombo area toward the south, the north-western corridor and the hill country. No accident or road closure was reported as a cause at any of the four locations.
Heavy commuter crowds were reported the same morning at the Makumbura Multi-Modal Transport Centre, the main interchange for southbound expressway bus services.
None of the three newsrooms reported an estimated clearance time or delay length at any interchange.
