Mahaiyawa underpass reaches 80% completion, set to open before December

Sri Lanka’s new Mahaiyawa pedestrian and vehicular underpass in Kandy has reached around 80% completion, with the government aiming to open the project to the public before December 2026.

Minister of Transport, Highways and Urban Development Bimal Rathnayake inspected the final-stage construction work of the project on September 21, 2026.

During the inspection, the Minister held discussions with project officials and engineers on completing the remaining construction work as quickly as possible.

The underpass is being constructed between kilometre points 2+064 and 2+097 on the Kandy-Jaffna main road as part of efforts to ease traffic congestion in Kandy city.

The structure is 31.7 metres long, 21 metres wide and 6.15 metres high, while approximately Rs. 650 million is being spent on the project.

According to the Ministry, the project is expected to make daily travel easier for people entering Kandy city and improve transport facilities for vehicles travelling towards Wattegama, Matale, Kurunegala, Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa and Jaffna.

The Ministry said the target is to complete the remaining work and open the underpass to the public before December 2026.