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Negombo's crooked bridge

By Risidra Mendis

The beautiful Negombo beach stretching for miles and the hundreds of fishing boats lined up on the shore is a breathtaking sight. But as the sun is about to set and fishermen line up their nets to set out to sea, another side of this beautiful city shows up.

A ten minute walk from this beautiful beach and what catches your eye is a sorry sight. A perfectly normal bridge that today has turned out to be a crooked mess.

This is a story of a bridge going wrong. The bridge in question is connected to Cemetery Road on one side and the Chilaw Road on the other. According to Q. C. Quyn, a resident of Negombo, the decision to broaden the road and build the bridge was undertaken by the previous regime in 1994. However work on the bridge was stalled until the UNF government came into power in December 2001.

Private contract

Residents of the area say that the completion of the bridge was then given over to a private company.

Before building the bridge a decision was taken by the authorities to broaden the Kurana to Pankada junction road known as Templers Road, Pankada junction to the Periamulla junction known as Mosque Road and the section from the Periamulla junction to the bridge known as Andrews Road. According to Quyn all these roads were widened on both sides.

Work then commenced on the bridge, that needed to be completed soon. The bridge is situated on the prominent Cemetery Road that leads to some of the well known hotels in Negombo.

Not straight

"However once the authorities got to the point of the bridge instead of building it straight a sharp bend was included in the plan" the residents said.

The bridge was completed six months ago. But the problems of the Negombo residents are far from over. Quyn went on to say that when the authorities came to the point of the bridge the road was widened only on one side, thereby creating a sharp bend.

"Large coaches transporting tourists to the hotels are a constant sight on this road. Visitors spending a night out at one of the hotels also use the same road on their way back home. Therefore it is only a matter of time before a serious accident takes place on this bridge" the residents said.

Hazards

Apart from the bridge serving as an important cross over point residents are also faced with an environmental hazard. The two drains that run parallel to the bridge have come to a dead end resulting in rainwater stagnating for days.

The residents complained that the Negombo Municipl Council(NMC) has not cleaned these drains for months thereby resulting in a breeding ground for mosquitoes and flies. "It is up to the municipal authorities to clean drains and spray them with insecticide when necessary" the residents said.

 "Due to the irresponsible decisions taken by the PA, the UNF and the  (NMC) today we have to pay for their mistakes" Quyn said.

According to Quyn NMC Mayor Newton Fernando had visited his sister's house and requested them to allocate three and half perches of land to remedy the present situation.

 "A bridge is usually built straight. I can't understand why such a decision was taken" Quyn said.

Negombo Mayor Newton Fernando was at a meeting and not available for a comment.

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