Traffic on the Galaha–Deltota road in the Kandy district has come to a complete standstill after a section of a bridge collapsed during heavy rain, police say.
The right bank section of the structure gave way while development work was in progress at the Galoya Kanuwa culvert, Hiru News reported. Traffic on the route remains fully halted and drivers have been advised by police to use alternative roads.
No injuries have been reported.
The rain context
The collapse comes during a sustained wet spell. The Disaster Management Centre said this week that rain had affected 4,363 people across 17 districts, with four deaths recorded, even as drought continued to affect 164,348 people elsewhere in the country.
Upcountry transport has been repeatedly disrupted by the weather. On Sunday, a rockfall derailed a Colombo-bound express between Gangoda and Kadigamuwa, suspending upcountry rail services three days after the line had reopened — and railway station masters have since questioned whether services resumed without NBRO clearance.
One point to note
The single available account describes the location in two ways — as the Galaha–Deltota road in its headline and opening line, and as the Peradeniya–Deltota road when naming the culvert where the work was being carried out. The two names may refer to connecting stretches of the same route through Deltota, but the report does not reconcile them.
Not reported
It is not stated when the collapse happened, how long the road is expected to stay closed, which agency was carrying out the development work, or whether the work itself is being examined as a factor. No alternative route has been named. Ada Derana also filed on the collapse, but its site has returned a CloudFront block for 13 days and that report could not be retrieved for comparison.
