Expressways For Sri Lanka?

"The thinking of our advisers to the government is easy to understand. The rationale is simple, when there is congestion, build more roads to accommodate the vehicles. These new roads to be prestigious schemes and politically to be visible, expressways can be the answer. Since small-scale improvements are not politically visible the advisers think of the biggest way - the expressway.

These costly projects lead to more construction costs, more earth works, more studies, more foreign involvements etc. etc. that, finally may lead to more commissions and attractive packages to the politicians. Expressways can be justified if the country is economically sound and when the majority of people do have vehicles, which are fit to travel on expressways and can afford to pay the tolls.

Where the majority of people cannot afford to have expressways fit vehicles but only have bicycles, three-wheelers, poor conditioned cars, diesel vans and buses or no vehicles at all, will they ever justify expressways going across their villages for them to be staring at the speeding vehicles on the expressway with gaping mouths. "

Thanks to Abhijeet Chavan