National Road Network of Sri Lanka comprised of more than 4,800 bridges across major rivers, streams, reservoirs and canals all over the country. Some of the brides built during colonial era, more than 120 years old still stand as giants remembering us the comprehensive transportation systems Sri Lanka has owned. The main objective of this article is to elaborate a few salient features of some of these bridges giving due recognition to their significant architectural or technological aspects.
Also, this article attempts to highlight the need of preserving these national treasures for the benefit of future generations with the assistance of proper management systems while reviewing some of the findings of the bridge study recently concluded with the assistance of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
Historically valuable bridges
There are some existing ancient bridges which have been identified as landmarks of good planning taken place in ancient Sri Lanka (then Ceylon). The British Colonial era was a very significant period for bridge construction in Sri Lanka since most of them are still being used by people without any trouble. The history of bridge construction by British goes back to 1820’s built mainly for military purposes. But soon after they were utilized for commercial traffic specially to transport goods and services to plantations run by British entrepreneurs and to carry economic produces and agricultural products back to Colombo.
The construction of first trunk road, Colombo - Kandy Road (A1) took approximately 10 years. Dowsons’ Tower near Kadugannawa Railway Station is a tribute to the British garrison engineer who steered the construction work in a difficult terrain, under trying conditions and succumbed to death after stung by a poisonous snake. During this period some unique bridges were constructed by British rulers. The Bridge of Boats over Kalani River, Mawanella Bridge and Peradeniya Bridge are some of the bridges with unique features. A brief introduction of these are given below.
The regular mail coach service between Colombo-Kandy was inaugurated in 1833. The Colombo-Galle mail coach commenced in 1838. But it was used not only for delivery of mail but for normal passenger transportation as well. The regular connection between towns were enhanced day-by-day. The mail coach from Colombo took 14 hours to reach Kandy due to steepness of the road and difficult climb. Also, it has taken 12 hours to return to Colombo at the beginning.
There are many old and historically valuable bridges which have been used for many generations and they have become a part of people’s day to day life in Sri Lanka. Historically valuable bridges are important in attracting tourist as well. They are national assets for the promotion of cultural-tourism harmony and should be preserved for future generations.
Historically valuable bridges are not only attracting foreign tourists, but local travellers and nearby people too. All the bridges, including the ones located in your area are very important and taking care of them is considered as everyone’s responsibility.
Evolution of the bridge over Kelani River
Bridge of Boats, Victoria Bridge and Friendship Bridge (1822, 1895, and 2000)
The Kelani River is the widest river in Sri Lanka. Therefore, a unique structural design has to be selected to construct a bridge to cross the river. The first Kelani Bridge was a pontoon bridge. In 1822 the Bridge of Boats was constructed by placing a timber deck on 21 boats to make 150 m span. Each boat located 7m distance from each other.
The advantage of this structure is no deep foundation required for the bridge. The disadvantage is the instability of the bridge. It could be washed away in a heavy flood situation or easily damaged, resulting in high maintenance costs. Part of this bridge was opened to traffic across the river daily. In 1895 the bridge was replaced by then Victoria Bridge which was an iron Bridge. The original location of the “Bridge of Boats” was near Thotalanga Market, 150 m up Stream of Victoria Bridge.
Then Victoria Bridge also deteriorated due to the movement of increased traffic. Subsequently, a new bridge was constructed in 1994-2000 under JICA funding assistance considering the increase in demand. It is called Sri Lanka - Japan Friendship Bridge.
Two spans of Victoria Bridge have been re-used to construct the Borupona Bridge connecting two important sub-urban areas.
Borupana Bridge
Today we can see more than 120 years old bridge in Borupana, Ratmalana.
Mawanella Bridge (1832)
This bridge is very popular due to its appearance with fine brick arches. The bridge was built in 1832 over Maa Oya. It consists of 4 spans and each arch is 15 m in length. This is an orthodox type of structure.
Bridge of Boats in Kelaniya (1822) and Peradeniya Bridge (1833) couldn’t survive for more than 74 years. But Mawanalla Bridge is still standing for more than 185 years.
Peradeniya Bridge (1833, 1905)
The Peradeniya Bridge is one of the important bridges on Colombo - Kandy road and it was constructed over Mahawelli River in 1833. The bridge was built by timber and no single nail used for assembling. Arch consists of 62 m span and width of 6.7 m. The 62 m long single span completely made of timber and it held the total strength of the bridge. Therefore, this design and construction became unique among other bridges. Main part of the structure was prefabricated in Colombo and brought to the site. The Construction of the bridge has taken more than 6 years.
This bridge was lasted for 72 years and then replaced by current steel arch bridge in 1905.
There are 3 steel bridge spans with 22 m length and the steel span is shorter than the original timber bridge span. 22 m to 30 m is the standard span length of steel arch at that time.
Keisho Bridge (1847) and Ulapane Bridge (1903)
Keisho Bridge is located in Gurudeniya on Kandy-Hanguranketha road. Beautiful Keishou Bridge is still standing in the village. It is a two-span brick, arch bridge constructed with the support of natural rock besides. Top of the parapet and parapet wall is formed by special kind of round shape bricks. The year 1847 has been mentioned as the construction year at the middle of the bridge.
Ulapane Bridge is impressive of its unique shape. The span length of this bridge is 52 m and the width is 3 m.
This is an inverted bowstring lattice truss type bridge. This kind of iron bridges were assembled in a government factory established in 1849 in Colombo.
Since the existing concrete bridge was constructed parallel to the old bridge, the iron bridge has not been utilized. But still the mirror image of this unique structure remains unfading on the Mahaweli River.
Bridges – Under JICA project
During last 20 years JICA has been involved in bridge construction projects in Sri Lanka. These bridges were subjected from planning stage to the maintenance of the bridges. The condition of the most of the bridges is still good. Even though some damages to surface of decks, sidewalks and drainage are observed. Regular inspection and repairs help to keep bridges in good condition. We expect these bridges to be in use for a long period of time.
Review of bridge maintenance and management
(1) Maintenance budget
The bridge maintenance required a separate budget. The stock of bridges in Sri Lanka is rapidly increasing. Accordingly, maintenance cost shall be increased.
It is essential to assure the quality of construction from the very beginning. Because making low quality structures will result in severe safety issues to the users and also will lead to inconveniences and unnecessary maintenance cost. We must consider the initial cost of construction as well as the maintenance cost of the bridge throughout its life span. It is called Life Cycle Cost (LCC). The life span such as 50 years or 120 years and the life span cost should be estimated according to the function of the Bridge. If the initial cost is higher we should choose lower maintenance cost plan.
Through the proper inspections we can assess the condition of bridges and based on the accurate inspection data we can make a proper maintenance plan. It will support to reduce the excessive maintenance cost.
It is evident that the problem is most of the public utilities do not have proper maintenance plan or a schedule due to budgetary constraints.
Importance of maintenance of structures
In Colombo there are some old, yet significant buildings. For an example, Cave’s building in Kompannaveediya (Slave Island) is an attractive structure. The building has not been maintained for a long time. Likewise there are a large number of bridges all over the country with historical values and technological importance, but neglected over the years without any maintenance.
The large sign boards erected in the surroundings of many structures are obstructing its appearance. Beautiful sights of some have been subdued due to high grown trees on the streets/roads. These situations occur due to the lack of interest and knowledge of the significance of the relevant structures. Therefore, the concerned government agencies and community should understand the value of such assets, as these are part of a nation’s history and cultural heritage.
Undertaking necessary improvements to such structures will enhance its attraction and enhance the beauty of the living environment of the citizens of the near vicinity while minimizing the unnecessary maintenance costs.
Haphazard garbage dumping problem
Dumping of garbage haphazardly has become a major environmental problem in Sri Lanka. The severity of the problem is indicative by the progressive spread of dengue and resultant deaths year after year. Dumping of garbage underneath the bridges is another issue which directly contributes to the deterioration of bridges and constraint to regular inspection of bridges as huge garbage piles obstruct close inspections.
We have cleaned some bridge sites in Colombo area as an additional public relation activity under our project. More than 100 volunteers participated to clean the bridge sites on every Saturday in August 2017 and more than 250 garbage bags were filled each day with the debris (Plastic and Polyethylene) collected from the sites.
Even though cleaning bridges is a task of the local administrative authorities and RDA, the public awareness should be raised regarding the consequences of the garbage dumping at the bridge surroundings.
Bridge engineer
The proper maintenance can be carried out by a crew of professional and skilled engineers. The problem in Sri Lanka is lack of professionals in the respective discipline. Sri Lanka needs more bridge engineers.
The regular site visits are included in the usual site policy followed even by chief engineers in Japan. It’s called “Genba-syugi” in Japanese.
Sri Lankan engineers should understand that the problems are not arising in the office, but at the site. Therefore, visiting site is a must to identify and acknowledge the problems.
Relating to this I think number of engineering graduates passing out from universities is not sufficient. And majority of graduates are from arts and related streams, science graduates too are small in number. The most of these graduates cannot contribute much to the economic development of the country in the current global context.
Future of bridge maintenance
There are 4,800 bridges under the management of RDA. The inspection of all those bridges will be completed within 2017. So, the first hurdle of identifying all the bridges managed by RDA in Sri Lanka has been achieved. Then the next target is how to maintain the bridges in a sustainable manner. Development of a conducive environment and appropriate mechanisms is very important to put a proper maintenance system in place.
The area surrounding a bridge should not be polluted by dumping garbage. The vicinity of a bridge should be maintained as a beautiful site for recreational activities of the residents of the area close to the bridge.
There are some bridges which are historically valuable and enhance the aesthetic value of the environment where the bridge is located. The value of those bridges should be appreciated and protected by the local people who live nearby. It is our responsibility as public to protect and care for such structures. Starting there, you can develop Sri Lanka.
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