Sri Lanka’s expressway network generated more than Rs. 536 million in tolls between 10 April and 20 April, the Ministry of Transport said on Tuesday, closing out the 2026 Sinhala and Tamil New Year travel window with one of the strongest festive collections on record.
The 10-day total extends an earlier nine-day tally of Rs. 441 million released by the Road Development Authority on 19 April, implying that 19 and 20 April — the final return-travel weekend — added roughly Rs. 95 million between them as holidaymakers streamed back to Colombo ahead of the school and office reopening.
Revenue was collected across the Southern Expressway, the Colombo Outer Circular Expressway, the Colombo–Katunayake Expressway and the Central Expressway. The earlier RDA breakdown showed traffic peaking on 10 April as travellers left the capital, dipping sharply on the two principal Avurudu observance days of 13 and 14 April, and climbing back through the second week.
The figure comfortably clears the midway four-day checkpoint of Rs. 196 million issued on 14 April and underscores the expressway system’s growing role as the default long-distance travel corridor during public holidays. Motorists paid tolls electronically and at manual booths; the transport ministry has previously flagged digital-lane adoption as a priority ahead of the 2027 tourism season.
Accident data for the period has not yet been published in full, but separate reports this month noted a fatal lorry crash on the Southern Expressway and ongoing police CCTV speeding enforcement.
