A Journey through the Southern Expressway

Southern Expressway

On 23^rd and 24^th of this month I had the opportunity to travel on the Southern Expressway (E 01) for the first time. I traveled from Maharagama to Galle by the expressway. I have traveled in expressways of other countries so, automatically I happened to compare and contrast. Mostly it was contrasting.

Naming and signs had been done well with the hoardings erected by the roadsides. A procedure of entering and exiting was similar to any other country. The police patrol cars were patrolling and some of the laborers were working by the roadside.

There was a mesh protecting animals coming to the expressway but I counted at least two dogs in the middle of the expressway.

I was surprised that the motorbikes were not allowed in the expressway. This is sheer discrimination.

Mobile signals of both Dialog and Mobitel were working throughout the journey. That is encouraging.

With some patches of newly laid tar in some parts of the road made the surface of the road uneven with some slight bumps. They should have done it without any bumps with today’s technology.

There were no roadside lights except for near the bridges. This is dangerous.

This is a good start though with some drawbacks. Hope to see more expressways connecting the distant destinations of the country.