Manampitiya Bridge is the second longest bridge in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

with a length of . It comprises two bridges, an early-twentieth-century

steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

bridge which is used for railway and a newly built bridge carrying two lanes of highway. Before the Kinniya Bridge was declared open in 2009, it was the longest bridge in Sri Lanka. The steel bridge was built in 1922, during the

colonial rule Colonialism is the control of another territory, natural resources and people by a foreign group. Colonizers control the political and tribal power of the colonised territory. While frequently an imperialist project, colonialism can also take ...

. It is long and less than in width. The bridge is located east of Maradankadawala, along the A11

Habarana Habarana (; ) is a small city in the Anuradhapura District of Sri Lanka. The location has some mid-range and up hotels aimed at package tourists, and is a departure point for other nearby locations of greater interest. Habarana is a popular tou ...

-Thirikondiyadimadu road in

Polonnaruwa District Polonnaruwa District (; ) is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative division of the country. It is also one of the two districts of North Central Province and has an area of 3,293 km2. The district is adminis ...

, linking North Central Province with Eastern Province over

Mahaweli River The Mahaweli River (, literally "Great Sandy River"; 'mahawali gangai'', is a long river, ranking as the longest river in Sri Lanka. It has a drainage basin of , the largest in the country, which covers almost one-fifth of the total area of the ...

. The new bridge in Manampitiya was built with financial assistance of

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, hence the name Sri Lanka-Japan Friendship Peace Bridge.

Japan International Cooperation Agency The Japan International Cooperation Agency (), also known as JICA'','' is a governmental agency that delivers the bulk of Official Development Assistance (ODA) for the government of Japan. It is chartered with assisting economic and social gr ...

(JICA) provided LKR 1.3 billion on behalf of the Japanese government. Bridge was declared open on 25 October 2007 by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Mahinda Rajapaksa Mahinda Rajapaksa (; ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the sixth President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to 2015; the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 2004 to 2005, 2018, and 2019 to 2022; the ...

. The new 50 Sri Lankan Rupee note depicts the Manampitiya Bridge.

References

{{reflist 1922 establishments in Ceylon 2007 establishments in Sri Lanka Bridges completed in 1922 Bridges completed in 2007 Bridges in Polonnaruwa District Japan International Cooperation Agency Railway bridges in North Central Province, Sri Lanka

See also

References