Treatment of Junctions- Volume I: Final Report

Treatment of Junctions

FINAL REPORT

Volume I

Section 2: Handala Junction

Transportation Research and Study Centre

University of Moratuwa

Sri Lanka

15 th January 2010

Treatment of Junctions- Volume I: Final Report

Table of Contents

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ...... 1-5

1.1 Study Area ...... 1-7

1.2. Scope ...... 1-12

CHAPTER 2 DATA COLLECTION ...... 2-1

CHAPTER 3 Traffic Analysis ...... 3-1

3.1 Turning Movement Counts ...... 3-1

3.2 Pedestrian Movements ...... 3-7

3.3 Bus Halting Analysis ...... 3-9

3.4 Speed and delay ...... 3-10

3.5 Accident Studies ...... 3-14

3.6 Road Infrastructure ...... 3-15

3.7 Highway Geometry of the Study Area ...... 3-17

3.8 Summary of Problems ...... 3-18

CHAPTER 4 Proposed Solutions ...... 4-1

4.1 Option 1 ...... 4-1

4.1.1 Integration and signalization of the junctions ...... 4-1

4.1.2 Signal Design ...... 4-3

4.1.3 Bus stops and priority Lane ...... 4-6

4.1.4 Other supplementary improvement to signalization ...... 4-6

4.2 Option 2 ...... 4-6

4.2.1 Flyover ...... 4-6

4.2.2 Impact of Flyover on Urban Landscape ...... 4-8

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CHAPTER 5 ECONOMIC Analysis ...... 5-1

5.1 Costs ...... 5-1

5.2 Benefits...... 5-1

5.2.1 Traffic Analysis ...... 5-1

5.2.2 Economic Benefits ...... 5-2

5.3 Cost-Benefit Analysis ...... 5-6

5.2.3 Signalization Option ...... 5-6

5.2.4 Flyover Option ...... 5-8

5.4 Non-Quantifiable Benefits ...... 5-10

CHAPTER 6 CONCLUSIONS ...... 6-1

CHAPTER 7 RECOMMENDATION ...... 7-1

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List of Tables

Table 2-1: Details of Surveys Carried Out ______2-1

Table 3-1: ADT at Junctions ______3-1

Table 3-2: ADT on Links ______3-3

Table 3-3 : Motorized vehicle Flow from Hunupitiya Road to Elakanda Road ______3-7

Table 3-4: Motorized vehicle Flow from Elakanda Road to Hunupitiya Road ______3-7

Table 3-5: Sample Pedestrian Movements per Hour ______3-8

Table 3-6: Bus Halting Analysis Summary (per hour) ______3-10

Table 3-7: Summary of Link Travel Speeds (km/h) ______3-13

Table 4-1: Cost Estimates for Signalization and improvements to the Roads in the Study Area ______4-3

Table 4-2: Cost Estimates for Flyover construction and improvements to the Roads in the Study Area ______4-7

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Table of Figures

Figure 1-1: Hendala Junction Study Area ______1-6

Figure 1-2: Map of Study Area ______1-8

Figure 1-3: Typical Road and Traffic Conditions in the Study Area ______1-11

Figure 3-1 : Hourly Link Traffic Flow for Junction TM8 – Hunupitiya Road Intersection _ 3-2

Figure 3-2 : Hourly Link Traffic Flow for Junction TM9 – Elakanda Road Junction _____ 3-3

Figure 3-3: Traffic Flow Diagrams (ADT by major vehicle groups) ______3-5

Figure 3-4: Hourly pedestrian movement at the two junctions in the study area ______3-9

Figure 3-5: Travel Time Survey Points ______3-11

Figure 3-6: Road Link and Lane configuration of Handala Junction Area ______3-17

Figure 4-1: Lane configuration and extent of improvements to roads.______4-1

Figure 4-2: Longitudinal Section of the proposed flyover ______4-7

Figure 7-1- Map of Hendala Study Area showing recommended improvements ______7-2

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Section B2: Handala Treatment of Junctions- Volume I: Final Report

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

Handala Junction is found in the Wattala town area between the 4th km post and the 5th km post on the Colombo-Negombo Road (A3) and is in one of the busiest locations along the Colombo-Negombo road. The Hendala junction is actually a double T junction with one T junction to the west towards Elakanda (B152) and another junction just 80 metres to its south which connects the road to Hunupitiya (B151) on to its east. The study area is taken including these two junctions and the areas that are affected by them.

This area comprising of these town junctions is the first town centre on the Colombo- Negombo Road after leaving the Colombo Municipal Council area. Hendala Junction is in the Wattala-Mabole Urban Council area which has predominantly mixed areas. It has highly residential areas but also many industrial and transport activity centers such as Container Depots. The Colombo-Negombo Road passing the Hendala Junction connects important transport nodes such as the Colombo Harbor and the Bandaranaike International Airport at Katunayake (Figure 1.1). This has resulted in a large number of commercial vehicles, especially container truck movements at this junction.

This road (Colombo-Negombo Road) is the only major road corridor in the north-south direction and a number of important collector roads in the east-west direction are connected to it at regular intervals along the highway. The present daily traffic flow at Wattala is around 60,000 vehicles. The Colombo-Negombo Road at Wattala is four lane width road divided by a centre median made of mountable rumble strips. There are short sections of raised curb centre medians close to the Hendala Junction

In the Hendala area which is being studied in this report, there are two junctions close to each other on the Colombo-Negombo Road. Even so, the junctions are basically uncontrolled and cause traffic congestion regularly, particularly during the am and pm peaks. Only lane markings are used to control traffic at these junctions. The road surface condition on the Colombo-Negombo Road is quite good, but all the connector roads at these junctions are in poor condition and add to the congestion due to the reduction in capacity and lower operating speeds.

The junction is regularly congested during peak hours. The conflict levels are severe during the mid day peak as well and regular disturbances can be seen even during off peak hours. The scope of the study is to examine the possible short term and long term solutions that are cost effective in solving the traffic congestion.

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Figure 1-1: Hendala Junction Study Area

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1.1 Study Area

Considering the impact area of the traffic congestion arising from these two junctions, the study area can be defined as the area enclosing to the two junctions:

• Negombo-Colombo Road (A3) / Hunupitiya Road (B151)Junction

• Negombo-Colombo Road (A3) / Elakanda Road (B152) junction

The distance between these two junctions is less than 100 meters. No other major junctions or traffic generators or attractors are found in close vicinity to these two junctions. Hence the study area can be selected to extend approximately 500 meters on each direction of the road system from the midpoint of these two junctions.

Six-lanes have been provided on the Negombo-Colombo Road within the study area. This has given a curb to curb road width of around 20 meters on average, which includes a 1m centre median. There are raised sidewalks varying in width from 3m to 5m available on either side of the Negombo-Colombo Road between the two junctions. These walkways have been provided with hand rails and the pedestrian crossings are provided with bollards to prevent the movements of three wheelers and motor bicycles on to the sidewalks. There is a buffer zone between the walkways and the shop frontage at most of the places along the Negombo- Colombo Road. Therefore there is a total wall to wall width of 32 meters to 40 meters which is available for carrying out improvements without any demolition of structures.

Almost all the buildings have their road frontage to the Negombo-Colombo Road or to the other two roads falling within the study area. Some of these building are recently built multi- storey buildings. One of the major traffic attractors is the Hemas Hospital which is on Negombo-Colombo Road around 200m southwards from the Hunupitiya Road Junction. The Timex Garments Ltd is situated on the Old Negombo Road (by-pass road) and is also a significant traffic attractor. The Urban Council of Wattala Mabole is located at the Hunupitiya Junction between Hunupitiya Road and the Old Negombo Road. There is also the Peoples Bank, NSB, Nations Trust Bank located within the study area with road frontage to the Negombo-Colombo Road. There are also two international schools namely, the OK International and Atami International on the Hunupitiya Road, in close proximity to the junction. A national school named St Anthony’s is also located in the same area. Therefore, a large amount of school traffic is found turning to and from the Hunupitiya Road.

There are no specific on-street parking areas provided on the Negombo-Colombo Road within the study area. The only exception is a single parking bay for around seven cars

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Section B2: Handala Treatment of Junctions- Volume I: Final Report located on the land side of the road in between the two junctions which is presently occupied by three wheelers. Since this area is well laid out with wide sidewalks there does not seem to be a significant impact from on street parking to the free flow of traffic.

The bridge on the Elakanda Road (B152) located around 100 metres from the junction is under construction and there are frequent traffic blocks throughout the day. Since a large number of container trucks and gas bowsers use this route, there are traffic blocks up stream of the bridge site which lasts for a very long time after each pass of a heavy vehicle. The tail part of the queue of the out-bound traffic on the Elakanda Road regularly extends to the junction on the Negombo-Colombo Road. Even though this is a short term effect due to the construction of the bridge, the present road width of the Elakanda Road (B152) too cannot be considered as being adequate for the heavy movement of container and other trucks.

The map showing the study area is given in Figure 1.2. The condition of roads and the condition of the traffic in the study area is shown in Figure 1.3.

Figure 1-2: Map of Study Area

The pedestrian crossings are located across the road sections, but at most places there are no centre islands provided to facilitate a safe road crossing for the pedestrians. Therefore, there

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Section B2: Handala Treatment of Junctions- Volume I: Final Report are conflicts between pedestrians and the moving traffic on the other directions even though they cross the immediate lane waiting for gaps to occur.

There are on average 5 to 7 medium size buses parked on the Old Negombo Road near the Hunupitiya Junction. All of them move towards the Hunupitiya Road and do not need to cross the A3 Road. Hence the impact to the intersection is minimal. The bus stops on Negombo-Colombo Road in both directions are located north of the Elakanda Junction. The width of bus bays is partially adequate. However, the number of lanes reduces to 4 lanes from 6 lanes at this section and furthermore a center median is also placed, therefore this section always creates a bottle neck to the moving through traffic on both directions of Negombo- Colombo Road.

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Wider Pedestrian Crossings discourage the pedestrians Bus Park on the Old Negombo Road near the Junction

Right Turns of Multi-axel Trucks from Elakanda Road to A3 Parking bays and Bollards with Pedestrian Sidewalk Road

Wider Sidewalks and guard rails along A3 Road Bus bays on A3 Road north to Elakanda Junction

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Traffic queues on A3 Road due to queuing up stream of the Hemas Hospital on the A3 Road bridge construction on Elakanda Road

Condition of the Old Negombo Road Hunupitiya Road Junction on A3 Road

Bus Stops on A3 Road (North to Elakanda Jn) Pedestrian Crossings on A3 Road

Figure 1-3: Typical Road and Traffic Conditions in the Study Area

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1.2. Scope

The scope of work reported herein as agreed upon with the Road Development Authority, include the following:

• Analysis of Turning Movement Counts, Pedestrian Counts, Traffic Delay Counts or a full traffic survey of the local area as the case may be, in order to obtain a clear picture of the cause of the traffic congestion and to identify the remedies. • Comprehensive analysis of traffic patterns including movement of pedestrians, parking bus circulation, in and out movements of bus stands and bus halting. • Analysis of traffic accidents at such junctions. • Consider the influence of other problems such as heavy inflows, out flows of traffic from and to adjacent by-roads, misuse of road space etc. • Identify the problems in existing set up such as erroneous road markings, signs, signal lights with faulty phases, lack of capacity for turning circles, inadequate lane widths etc. • Calculation of benefits for technically feasible alternatives. • Calculation of economic benefits for the above alternatives • Based on the above, recommend suitable solutions for each location which will include, solutions such as new or improvements to signals, roundabouts, flyovers, over passes, traffic management schemes, etc. • If over passes/ flyovers are required, conceptual designs of them with appropriate dimensions, required legs etc. • Report on the impact on Urban architecture

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CHAPTER 2 DATA COLLECTION

The Table 2-1 shows the details of survey locations and type of surveys carried out pertaining to this study. The surveys were carried out using a pool of 20 university students who were specifically trained and worked in groups under an experienced survey supervisor. The details of how the surveys were carried out will be given in the Appendix of the Final Report: Volume B.

Table 2-1: Details of Surveys Carried Out

Survey Date Locations

5 Aug 2008 TM8 : Turning Movements at Elakanda Road Junction Turning Movement Counts TM9 : Turning Movements at Hunupitiya Road Junction

Pedestrian Counts 5 Aug 2008 On A3, Hunupitiya and Kerawalapitiya Road links

6 Aug 2008 From Wattala Police Station Junction to Hekitta Road Travel Time Survey Junction

Registration 5 Aug 2008 At TM8 and TM9 junctions (right turn from Number Plate Kerawalapitiya Road and left turn to Hunupitiya Road) Survey

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CHAPTER 3 TRAFFIC ANALYSIS

3.1 Turning Movement Counts

The results of the turning movement counts which show the movements by vehicle type at the two (2) main intersections in the study area are given in Appendix. The tables and graphs given therein show the following:

o Hourly total of all vehicle types for each approach and ADT o Graph showing the variation of flow by each vehicle type for each approach o Graph showing the variation of flows by each approach for all vehicle types

The summary of these flows are given in the following tables:

Table 3-1: ADT at Junctions

ADT Junction Private Buse Goods Non Motorized Total Passenger s Vehicles Vehicles Vehicles TM8 : Elakanda Road (B152) 50,142 3,832 9,073 605 63,652 Junction

TM9 : Hunupitiya Road (B181) 54,907 3,883 10,150 980 69,920 Junction

It can be seen that both the Hunupitiya Road junction (TM8) and Elakanda Road Junction (TM9) have an Average Daily Traffic (ADT) of over 60,000 vehicle movements per day. Of this flow, private vehicles make up a percentage as high as 75%. It was observed that there is around 18 %-(a comparatively high percentage) of freight movements on the Negombo- Colombo Road, due to many container yards being located in close proximity to the study area.

The variation of the traffic flow throughout the day time is shown in Figures 3.1 and 3.2. It can be seen that the hourly flow on the Negombo-Colombo Road varies between 3,300 to 5,000 vehicles per hour in one direction, while the flow in each of the connecting roads, as in the Elakanda road(also referred to as Kerawalapitiya Road) as well as the Hunupitiya Road records less than1,000 vehicles per hour entering the intersections.

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Figure 3-1 : Hourly Link Traffic Flow for Junction TM8 – Hunupitiya Road Intersection

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Figure 3-2 : Hourly Link Traffic Flow for Junction TM9 – Elakanda Road Junction

The ADT of the links connecting these junctions are shown in Table 3.2. The main links on the Negombo Road have traffic flows of 56,000 to 65,000 within this area. Other roads which connect to the junctions namely the B152 Elakanda Road has around 8,500 ADT while the B151 Hunupitiya Road has around 12,000 ADT.

Table 3-2: ADT on Links

Road ADT

Junction

Private Private Passenger Buses Goods Vehicles Non Motorize Total

TM8 : Elakanda Negombo Road (A003) [A] 45,045 3,236 7,801 90 56,172 Road Junction Negombo Road (A003) [B] 49,414 3,821 8,843 521 62,599

Elakanda Road (B152) [C] 5,825 608 1,502 598 8,533

TM9 : Hunupitiya Negombo Road (A003) [A] 49,507 3,821 8,722 620 62,670 Road Junction Hunupitiya Rd (B151) [B/C] 9,238 83 2,217 584 12,120

Negombo Road (A003) [D] 51,069 3,862 9,363 757 65,051

TM 8 TM9

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The summary from the analysis of the turning movements is given below:

A: ADT of Passenger Vehicle Flows in the B: ADT of Non-Motorized Vehicle Flows in the study area study area

C: ADT of Bus Flows in the study area D: ADT of Goods Vehicle Flows in the study area

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E: ADT of Total Flows in the study area

Figure 3-3: Traffic Flow Diagrams (ADT by major vehicle groups)

The ADT of all movements at the Hunupitiya Road Junction (A3/B151) is around 70,000 vehicles. The ADT at the Elakanda Road Junction (A3/B152) is also around 65,000 vehicles per day. The total ADT on the Negombo-Colombo Road between the two junctions (TM8 and TM 9) is recorded as 63,812 which should be considered as a very high traffic flow.

The total of right turns made at both junctions is recorded as 7,416 vehicles and the total amount of all left turns is 13,398vehicles. Therefore total right turns are approximately 40% of the total turns at these two junctions. Out of the total right turns, 5,090 (70%) are turning into Negombo-Colombo Road from the two connecting B roads. The through traffic needing to pass both the junctions can be estimated at around 56,328 vehicles.

The private motorized passenger ADT of the Hunupitiya Road Junction and Elakanda Road Junction are 55,780 and 51,220 respectively. This is an average of 80% of the total traffic in these junctions. The percentage through trips at the above junctions on the Negombo- Colombo Road is 83% and 88% of all movements. Therefore higher percentage of passenger vehicles are moving as through traffic compared to the other modes.

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The non-motorized ADT of the Hunupitiya Road Junction and the Elakanda Road Junction are 878, and 614 respectively. These are less than 1.25 % and 1% of the total ADTs at each location. Unlike in the motorized flows, approximately 75% of this traffic is from turnings at the two junctions and very few could be seen as passing through both the two junctions on the Negombo-Colombo road.

The daily flow of goods vehicles at Hunupitiya Road Junction and Elakanda Road Junction is 10,230, and 9,143 respectively. This works out to 15% and 14% respectively, of the total ADT which is comparatively high value for goods vehicle movements. It is important to note that 80% of all goods vehicles are multi axe trucks at the Hunupitiya Road Junction and 77% at the Elakanda Junction. This is mainly due to the container truck through movements on the Negombo-Colombo Road. There are around 5,200 multi-axel truck movements a day.

There are also around 4,022 and 3,976 buses movements at Hunupitiya Road Junction and Elakanda Junction respectively. There are no route bus movements to or from the Hunupitiya Road (B181) or the Old Negombo Road to the Negombo-Colombo Road. This is because the buses serving the Hunupitiya Road stop on the Old Negombo Road in front of the Urban Council, Hence there is no necessity for them to cross the Negombo-Colombo Road. However there are 613 bus movements to and from Elakanda Road (B152) which makes up around 16% of all bus movements at that junction.

There are an estimated 868 motorized vehicle trips from Elakanda Road turning to the Hunupitiya Road (Table 3.3). This is 35% of the total motorized trips making right turns from Elakanda Road. Around 40% of this consists of heavy trucks and buses. There are an estimated 206 motorized trips from Hunupitiya Road to Elakanda Road (Table 3.4). This is only around 15% of the total motorized trips from Hunupitiya Road to the Negombo- Colombo Road. Therefore, there is a heavy impact on the two junctions from the movements of vehicles from the Elakanda Road to the Hunupitiya Road.

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Table 3-3 : Motorized vehicle Flow from Hunupitiya Road to Elakanda Road

From Elakanda Road Estimated ADT Vehicle Type To Peliyagoda Hunupitiya Rd Elakanda Rd to Elakanda Rd to Sample % Sample % Peliyagoda Hunupitiya Rd Motor Bike 54 79 14 21 514 133 3 Wheelers 59 73 22 27 561 209 Car/Van/ Jeeps/Pickup 82 76 26 24 723 229 Buses 34 97 1 3 288 8 Goods Vehicle 30 58 22 42 393 288 Total 259 75 85 25 2478 868

Table 3-4: Motorized vehicle Flow from Elakanda Road to Hunupitiya Road

From Hunupitiya Road Estimated ADT Vehicle Type To Ja Ela Alakanda Rd Hunupitiya Rd Hunupitiya Rd Sample % Sample % to Ja Ela to Elakanda Rd Motor Bike 128 84 24 16 275 52 3 Wheelers 115 85 21 15 320 58 Car/Van/ Jeeps/Pickup 205 87 31 13 399 60 Buses 2 67 1 33 10 5 Goods Vehicle 116 82 26 18 137 31 Total 566 85 103 15 1140 206

3.2 Pedestrian Movements

Sample pedestrian counts were carried out at three locations on the Negombo-Colombo road, Elakanda road and the Hunupitiya road. Counts were done on pedestrian crossings as well as those walking on the sidewalks within the study area during the three peaks. The summary of the pedestrian analysis is given in the Appendix to the Final Report. The average number of pedestrians per hour walking alongside the road at specific points and those crossing the road at those locations are summarized in Table 3.5. It was observed that the pedestrian activities seem to be very high in this area. The pedestrian demand for walking along the Negombo Road seems to be somewhat constant ranging between 210 to 385 movements per hour with the highest flows observed near the Elakanda Road junction and the Hunupitiya Road junction.

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Table 3-5: Sample Pedestrian Movements per Hour

Hourly Flow Daily Flow Location Alongside Across Alongside Across Near Junction on Hunupitiya Road (B151) 792 375 14,256 6,667 Near Junction on Elakanda Road (B152) 621 210 11,203 3,758 Near Elakanda Rd Towards Negombo on 572 385 Negombo Road (A3) 10,318 6,919 Average Pedestrian Flow per hour 221 107 3,975 1,927

Accordingly we can estimate 7,000 pedestrian crossings per day across the the Negombo- Colombo road at the crossing nearest to the junctions which is at a distance of 30 meters north of the Elakanda Road Junction. The estimated crossings of the Hunupitiya Road are 6,700 per day and that of the Elakanda Road are 3,700 per day. Therefore there are approximately 17,000 pedestrian movements made within the study area which are in conflict with the 70,000 vehicle movements. The pedestrian movements on the sidewalks or shoulders alongside the Negombo-Colombo road, Hunupitiya Road and Elakanda Road are 572, 792 and 572 pedestrians per hour respectively. However wider walkways with good surfacing have been provided on either sides of the Negombo-Colombo road but the condition of facilities available on these sidewalks of the approach roads and the frequent obstructions on them are not conducive for walking alongside any of the approach roads to both the junctions.

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Figure 3-4: Hourly pedestrian movement at the two junctions in the study area

3.3 Bus Halting Analysis

A Bus Halting survey was carried for durations of between 30 to 45 minutes during each of the three peak periods. The analysis of bus halting within the town has been summarized in Table 3.6. This shows that on average there were 211 bus stops per hour at the 3 main halts which are in close proximity to the junction on the Negombo Road. The highest number of stops are made by buses arriving from the Colombo direction at 74 buses per hour where 66 passengers alighted while 216 passengers boarded per hour. However, the south bound buses show the highest alighting where 65 buses per hour were stopped and 343 passengers per hour alighted, while 149 passengers boarded per hour. The average boarding/alighting per stop is around 5 passengers per bus.

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Table 3-6: Bus Halting Analysis Summary (per hour)

Directi Roa No. No. of Passengers on d Location of Boardin Alightin Buse g g s North A003 1. Near Ceypetco (between Bound Hunupitiya Road Junction 71 82 150 and Old Negombo Road Junction) - Upstream A003 2. Around 30 m northward from Alakanda Road 74 216 66 Junction - Upstream South A003 3. Around 30 m northward Bound from Alakanda Road 65 149 343 Junction (towards Paliyagoda ) - downstream TOTAL (per Hour) 210 447 559

3.4 Speed and delay

Travel Time Surveys were obtained using 20 individual travel passes across the Study Area from (A) ‰ (B) ‰ (C) ‰ (D) ‰ (E). These locations are shown in Figure 3.5.

Near Wattala Police station towards A Negombo B Elakanda Road (A3/B152) Junction

C Hunupitiya Road (A3/B181) Junction D A3 Road and Old Negombo Road Junction

E Hekitta Road junction

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Figure 3-5: Travel Time Survey Points

The travel time survey carried out on the Negombo-Colombo road along the points shown in Figure 3.5 is summarized in Table 3.7 and Table 3.8.

The overall speeds of through movements observed through a Registration Number Plate survey, are shown in Table 3.8.

The summary of findings are as follows:

• The average speed of approaching the first junctions from either direction of travel on the Negombo-Colombo road is 19- 20 km/hr.

• The average speed on the Colombo-Negombo Road between the two junctions is between 5-8 km/hr.

• It has taken a total of 221 seconds and 231 seconds to travel in North and South directions respectively to cover the 1.58 km section of the study area as shown in Figure 3.3. This returns an average speed of 25km/hr.

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• During peak periods the speeds on the approach to the first junction of either side reduces to below 10 km/hr intermittently. Even during the off-peak periods this happens occasionally. These are instances where the Hunupitiya Road/A3 junction gets blocked due to heavy turnings particularly of long vehicles.

• The primary reason why Elakanda junction gets blocked is the queuing of vehicles which are turning left from the Negombo-Colombo road north bound to Elakanda Road which gets blocked due to the narrow entrance to Elakanda Road and sometimes due to the construction of the bridge.

• The speed of moving between Elakanda Road and Hunupitiya Road and vice-versa is between 5 to 8 km/hr throughout the day. This movement takes on average 85 seconds to complete.

• Police are always visible at the junctions during the peak periods and generally around during the other times as well to intervene when there is a block.

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Table 3-7: Summary of Link Travel Speeds (km/h)

Speeds in South Direction on A3 Trial No Start Time A -B B - C C - D D - E Trial 1 10:31:30 11 24 36 10 Trial 2 10:47:28 7 12 40 24 Trial 3 12:16:50 23 24 33 31 Trial 4 12:27:30 6 33 40 33 Trial 5 16:40:10 26 40 37 26 Trial 6 16:48:54 19 33 33 46 Trial 7 17:29:10 20 13 38 45 Trial 8 17:41:10 26 10 42 40 Trial 9 17:49:30 30 33 44 35 Trial 10 17:57:15 18 20 30 42 Trial 11 18:07:29 22 33 42 30 Length of Section (m) 345 100 615 520 Average Speed (km/h) 19 25 38 33 Coefficient of Variation 41 40 12 32

Speeds in North Direction on A3 Trial No Start Time E - D D - C C - B B - A Trial 1 10:42:10 26 30 12 27 Trial 2 10:54:15 28 37 30 32 Trial 3 12:22:10 27 20 7 32 Trial 4 12:36:54 21 33 23 25 Trial 5 16:45:03 24 34 30 38 Trial 6 16:53:10 28 32 33 35 Trial 7 17:35:20 29 25 5 33 Trial 8 17:45:24 33 26 24 26 Trial 9 17:53:20 29 24 33 41 Trial 10 18:01:35 25 18 8 28 Trial 11 18:12:33 36 23 11 26 Length of Section (m) 520 615 100 345 Average Speed (km/h) 28 27 20 31 Coefficient of Variation 15 22 56 17 Legend Point Location of Travel Time Survey Points A Near Wattala Police Station Towards Negombo B Elakanda Road (A3/B152) Junction C Hunupitiya Road (A3/B181) Junction D A3 Road and Old Negombo Road Junction E Hekitta Road Junction

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Table 3.8: Speeds for typical movements (km/hr)

Average Travel Time and Speed Time Period Peak Time Off Peak

Total Average 6.30 - 8.30 11.30 - 13.30 16.30 - 18.30 Other time Travel Time Distance Speed Movement Time Speed Time Speed Time Speed Time Speed km km/hr

Through (B-C) 13 28 17 21 23 16 18 0.100 21 Through (C-B) 34 11 28 13 21 17 28 0.100 13 Elakanda Road to Hunupitiya Road 106 5 91 6 108 5 82 7 97 0.160 6 Hunupity road to Elakanda Road 66 9 74 8 78 7 69 8 71 0.160 8

3.5 Accident Studies

A limited amount of accident statistics could be collected from the Hendala Police Station regarding accidents recorded in the study area. A summary of this is shown in Table 3.9. This shows that for the first 8 months of the year 2008, there have been around 12 fatalities, and 19 grievous injuries on the Negombo Road between the Kattiyawatta Road Junction (which is 2 km north from the Hendala Junction) and Hunupitiya Road Junction (a distance of 7.2 km). Additionally there have been 52 light injuries and 158 damage only accidents on this section of the Negombo Road (A3).

According to the accident data collected, the most vulnerable ‘black spots’ appears to lie be between the Kattiyawatta Road Junction and A3/Hunupitiya Road(B151) Junction. This data also reveals that this road section seems to be more vulnerable with having 12 fatalities for the first half of the year 2008.

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Table 3-9: Summary of Road Accidents in Study Area (Jan to Aug 2008)

Location Approxi Accident Type mate Distance Griev Light Property Road From To (m) Fatal ous Injuries Damages Total A003 – Negombo Kattitiyawatta Elakanda Road Road Road Junction Junction 2000 2 15 37 54 A003 – Hunupitiya Negombo Elakanda Road Cross Rd Road Junction Junction 80 0 1 16 17 A003 – Negombo Hunupitiya Cross Old Negombo Road Rd Junction Road 540 0 3 4 7 A003 – Negombo Old Negombo Hekitta Road Road Road Junction 550 1 4 15 20 B152 Elakanda A003 Handala Road Junction Elakanda 2661 2 6 12 20 B 151 Hunupitiya A003 Negombo Hunupitiya Road Rd Junction Road End 1350 0 3 4 7 to 8/31/2008 Total number of accidents in Police Station Area 12 19 52 158 241 2007 Total number of accidents in Police Station Area 19 24 93 274 410

3.6 Road Infrastructure

The Colombo-Negombo Road (A3 Road), Hunupitiya Road (B181), the Old Negombo Road and Elakanda Road (B152) are the roads that are involved in this study area. The Colombo- Negombo Road is an important road link as it serves the Bandaranaike International Air Port in Katunayake which is located a further 25 km to the north of Wattala. The Colombo- Negombo Road has a 4 lane undivided configuration with wide shoulders through this length between Peliyagoda and Negombo. However near certain junctions and the road configuration this changes to 6 lanes with raised sidewalks. The present condition of the entire length of road surface is very good specially the condition of the lane markings.

The Hunupitiya Road (B151) carries the main traffic from the area of Hunupitiya located to the east of the Hendala Town. It has a sub standard 2-lane configuration. It does not have adequate shoulder width or pedestrian facilities in many places. This road is not connected directly to the Colombo-Negombo Road, but is connected to the Old Negombo Road at a distance of around 30 meters from the Colombo-Negombo Road. The Old Negombo Road is

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Section B2: Handala Treatment of Junctions- Volume I: Final Report a wider road, but functions as a two lane road with some parking and commercial activities that has been allowed on either side of the road. Its surface condition as is the lane marking is not in a satisfactory condition.

The Elakanda Road (B152) carries traffic from the areas of Elakanda, Hendala and Alwis Town to the Colombo-Negombo Road. This road is also of a sub-standard 2-lane configuration and also lacks facilities for pedestrians or for parking in most places thus creating traffic blocks at numerous places along the way. The condition of the road is also quite poor at present. The re-construction of the bridge over the Dutch Canal presently hampers the free flow of traffic.

The cross sectional dimensions of these roads are given in Table 3.10.

Table 3-10: The cross sectional details of the road links in the study area

Width of Road Sectional Elements (m) Map Item # Gap to Total Road Name and Section Reference Centre Walkway/ No Lanes Lane Drain Building (Wall to No Median Shoulder Edge Wall) 1 New Colombo - Negombo Road (A3) A-A 6 3.35 1.00 3.00 0.60 4.00 36.30 2 Old Colombo - Negombo Road B-B 2 4.70 3.20 0.60 17.00 3 Hunupitiya Road C-C 2 3.80 2.00 0.60 12.80 4 Elakanda Road D-D 2 3.50 2.00 11.00

The lane configuration of the road network in the study area is shown in Figure 3.6. Generally parking is not allowed on the Colombo-Negombo Road within the study area. Only the parking bay shown in the figure can accommodate around 6 -7 cars but is presently occupied by three wheelers. It is observed that there is width to provide more than one right turning lane from the Old Negombo Road to the Colombo-Negombo Road. This is required to accommodate the heavy vehicular right turns, including that of large truck movements during the peak periods.

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Figure 3-6: Road Link and Lane configuration of Handala Junction Area

3.7 Highway Geometry of the Study Area

All the road links in the study area have straight alignment at the junction. There are no curvatures of a significant nature that affects the traffic movements in the study area.

Since the Colombo-Negombo Road is used by VIPs travelling to and from the airport on- street parking other than in the single parking bay is disallowed by the geometric design itself. The sidewalks of adequate width are provided which segregates moving vehicles from pedestrians through guard rails and raised sidewalks. The pedestrian crossings also appear to be located at the correct places hence illegal crossings do not taken place across the main road. A solid center median has been provided between the junctions and most part of the study area to avoid the right turns and “U turns” on the Colombo-Negombo Road. The other areas are provided with crossable rumble strips to maintain lane-discipline and to discourage particularly the local traffic from making frequent crossings and U turns.

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The Hunupitiya Road Junction (A3/B151) is adequately designed with a large inner turning radius to facilitate the high percentage of heavy vehicle turns to and from the Colombo- Negombo Road. However the capacity of the Hunupitiya Road entrance is not adequate to carry the required two-way traffic. Moreover, the turning of traffic from the Old Negombo Road and the traffic on the Hunupitiya Road queued to enter the Colombo-Negombo Road are in conflict with each other. This causes capacity constraints and dysfunction of the entire junction.

While the capacity for turning of traffic from the Hunupitiya Road to the Colombo-Negombo Road north bound is adequate, these vehicles as they have to make a left turn to Elakanda Road have to merge 3 lanes to get to the left most lane. This merging action especially for heavy/long vehicles reduces capacity at this junction as these right turns have to cross 5 lanes if they need to turn on to Elakanda Road within a relatively short distance of 80 meters distance.

Unlike the Hunupitiya Junction which has a 17 m wide road entrance from the Colombo- Negombo Road, the width of the Elakanda Road junction is only 11 metres (Table 3.10) The traffic heading to Elakanda Road will begin to queue on the Colombo-Negombo Road up stream of the Elakanda Junction since the rate of clearing traffic from the Elakanda Junction is much slower than that of the Hunupitiya Junction.

3.8 Summary of Problems

The following is a summary of problems identified in this section:

• The junction is made up of two separate 3-arm junctions located 80 metres from each other along the Colombo-Negombo Road.

• There are around 70,000 vehicle movements at each junction. The ADT on the Colombo-Negombo Road is around 62,700. The ADT on the Elakanda Road is 8,500 and the ADT of the Hunupitiya Road is 12,120.

• There are around 20,000 pedestrian movements crossing the roads within this study area.

• The heavy vehicle percentage in the traffic flow at these junctions is around 18%, which is almost double than that of other sub urban junctions.

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• There are around 1100 or 23% of the turns to and from the Hunupitiya Road cross the Colombo-Negombo Road to travel on to the Elakanda Road. These are actually crossing the movements of the Colombo-Negombo Road, but have to undergo a weaving movement since the two east-west arms are staggered to a distance of about 80 metres from each other. The speed of this maneuver ranges between 5 to 8 km per hour throughout the day.

• There are no problems arising from bus movements or that of bus passengers that affect the free movements of traffic on the Colombo-Negombo Road within the study area. Bus bays are provided on the Colombo-Negombo Road which are satisfactorily used.

• While the road condition on the A3 can be termed as being satisfactory, the conditions of the other roads are poor and these impact the capacity and speed of each such road.

• There are sidewalks of adequate capacity between the two junctions but most of the approaches to the junctions do not have sidewalks.

• In these sections pedestrians mostly use either the unpaved shoulder weaving in between parked vehicles and kiosks or the road carriageway.

• The pedestrian crossings across the Colombo-Negombo Roadare satisfactorily situated and used very well. There are around 10,000 pedestrians that cross at two pedestrian crossings marked on the Colombo-Negombo Road Road daily.

• Since parking has not been provided on the Colombo-Negombo Road within the study area, there are no parking related impacts on the movement of traffic on the Colombo- Negombo Road.

• The primary issue at these junctions is the heavy trucks and other right or left turns at the two junctions situated in close proximity to each other.

• The overall average speed through the Hendala Study area passing the junction is 24 km per hour. The speed up to the first junction in either direction is between 19 to 20 km/hr.

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• The primary reason why this junction gets blocked is the queuing of vehicles which are turning left from the Colombo-Negombo Road north bound to Elakanda Road which gets blocked due to the narrow entrance to Elakanda Road and sometimes due to the construction of the bridge.

• The road right of way widths vary for each approach. In the case of the A3 road, it is between 21 to 23 metres and function as a six lane highway divided by a mountable centre median. In the case of the Elakanda approach the width is 11 metres, and provides for only 2 lanes. The Hunupitiya Road which is around 12 metres wide also operates as a sub-standard two lane road which joins the Old Negombo Road just 30 metres away from the Colombo-Negombo Road. The Old Negombo Road has a 17 metre wide entrance at the junction.

• The lane marking at the junction is satisfactory as is the guard rails to prevent pedestrians travelling on to the carriageway.

• However, neither of these junctions are controlled by any means other than by Police personnel who are always seen during peak periods and generally around during the other times as well to intervene when there is a block.

• The am peak hour load at the Hunupitiya Road junction is 5,045 vehicle movements and 800 pedestrian movements. The pm peak load is 5,047 vehicle movements. The am peak hour load at the Elakanda Road junction is 4,628 vehicle movements and 675 pedestrian movements. The pm peak load is 4,611 vehicle movements.

• According to the accident data analysis, it was found that the road safety is another major issue on the study area. There have been 12 fatalities between the Kattiyawatta Road Junction and A3/Hunupitiya Road (B151) Junction during the first 8 months of the year 2008. This indicates that the increased accidents arising from intense conflicts between pedestrian and vehicular movements on the Colombo-Negombo Roadbetween these two junctions.

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Section B2: Handala Treatment of Junctions- Volume I: Final Report

CHAPTER 4 PROPOSED SOLUTIONS

4.1 Option 1

4.1.1 Integration and signalization of the junctions

The two junctions created by the Hunupitiya Road and the Elakanda Road can be signalized as a medium term solution for the vehicular delay by the conflict of turnings. The two junctions of 78 meters apart (center to center) should be integrated for efficient functioning of signalization. The capacity of the approach roads (Elakanda Road, Hunupitiya Road and Old Negombo Road) should be adequate to carry the vehicular and pedestrian flows after improvements to the junctions by signalization. Therefore it is recommended that improvements be done to those roads up to a distance of 100 meters from the junctions. The proposed lane configuration for the integrated signalization is shown in Figure 4.1. The cost estimate to the same is given in Table 4.1.

Figure 4-1: Lane configuration and extent of improvements to roads.

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According to the above improvements the Elakanda Road and the Hunupitiya Road has been widened from the present 2 lane capacity to a 4 lane capacity for a length of 100 meters. These improvements ease the traffic on the Elakanda Road beyond the bridge which is under construction at the moment. There are capacity constraints on the Hunupitiya Road for turning vehicles at the entrance from the junction. Therefore, improving the road to a 4 lane capacity within the first 100 meters gives more options for turning vehicles to avoid conflicts. The Old Negombo Road which has intermediate lanes at present also can be improved to 4 lanes for the first 100 meters to improve the junction capacity

It is proposed that the conflicts between the movements on the Hunupitiya Road / Old Road junction are to be managed with stop signs and clear lane markings and especially a yellow- painted junction box. Details are given in Figure 4.1.

Moreover it is proposed that the signalization of the two junctions should be coordinated considering the flow levels to make sure the overall signalizing is efficient. The cost estimates for all above improvements together is given in Table 4.1. It was observed that more than two third of the cost is to be spent on compensation of the building properties.

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Table 4-1: Cost Estimates for Signalization and improvements to the Roads in the Study Area

Widening of Roads at the Study Area and Signalization of Item Description Unit Rate (Rs) Junctions ItemNo Qty Amount (Rs) 1.0 Land Acquisition, & Demolition and Reconstruction 1.1 Road Length m 600 1.2 Single Storey m2 40000 140 5,600,000.00 1.3 Two Storey m2 100000 530 53,000,000.00 1.3 Total Land m2 75000 670 50,250,000.00 Sub Total 1 108,850,000.00

2.0 General Civil Cost 2.1 Preliminaries Sum 3,000,000.00 2.2 Clearing m2 80 530 42,400.00 2.3 Demolistion of Structures Sum 3,500,000.00 2.4 Base & Sub Base m2 850 2775 2,358,580.00 2.5 Asphalt Surfacing m2 2,300 5053 11,621,440.00 2.6 Walk Ways m2 900 2263 2,036,520.00 2.7 Kerbs m 1,450 1214 1,760,300.00 2.8 Drains m 4,600 620 2,852,000.00 2.9 Fencing and Barricades m 14,000 300 4,200,000.00 2.10 Road Markings m 100 3222 322,200.00 2.11 Sign Boards Nos 35,000 40 1,400,000.00 2.12 Traffic Signal Unit Nos 6,000,000 2 12,000,000.00 Sub Total 2 45,093,440.00

Total 153,943,440.00 Add for Variations (20%) 30,788,688.00 Grand Total 184,732,128.00

4.1.2 Signal Design

Both junctions can be signalized with two phase systems since there are separate right and left turn lanes which have been provided in the geometric design. Also it is convenient to have a two phase system when two junctions need to be integrated. There is a single right turn lane from the Elakanda approach while it was given two right turns at the Hunupitiya/ Old Road approach. This is to have higher storage capacity at the junction as right turns from both the Hunupitiya and Old Road should be accommodated here. However the signal analysis was carried out considering a single right lane from the Hunupitiya Road direction.

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The signal cycle time at both locations can be kept at an average of between 60 to 90 seconds for two phase arrangements except during short periods of time during the peaks. The storage length between the two junctions on the Colombo-Negombo road is 80 meters. Therefore an average of 6 – 10 seconds can be delayed between signal phases of these two junctions. It is convenient if a single chip can be used for programming the signal phase arrangement for both junctions together.

It is recommended t to allow a minimum green time for right turns from the Colombo Negombo Road at both junctions even though the two phase system is well adequate with small figures as right turns. This is possible by arranging signal timing with leading green at the Hunupitiya Road Junction and lagging green at the Elakanda Junction

The project affected area can be treated as only from the Wattala Police Station to the A3 Road / Old Road Junction at the south end (Points A to D as in Figure 3.3). The average travel time in this entire section is 153 s and 163 s in north and south directions respectively giving an average speed of 24km/h over a length of 1.06km. If there are no conflicts by turnings at the two junctions we can assume that a minimum speed of 40km/h can be maintained over this stretch. Hence the travel time will be 95 seconds. Therefore, there will be an average of 63((163+153)/2-95) seconds saved for each vehicle traveling on the Colombo Negombo Road within this stretch. Since there is an average of 53,905 ADT as through traffic on the Colombo Negombo Road, the total travel time savings is 943 (53905 * 63/3600) vehicle hours a day.

The total delay due to the signalizing of two junctions with coordinated signal timing calculated as 261 vehicle hours per a 12 hour period. Therefore the net savings from signalization is 603 (943-1.3*261) vehicle hours a day.

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Adjusted Cycle Time (Hunupitiya Road Junction)

200 180 160 140 120 100 80 Cycle Time Cycle 60 40 20 0 06.45 07.15 07.45 08.15 08.45 09.15 09.45 10.15 10.45 11.15 11.45 12.15 12.45 13.15 13.45 14.15 14.45 15.15 15.45 16.15 16.45 17.15 17.45 ------06.30 07.00 07.30 08.00 08.30 09.00 09.30 10.00 10.30 11.00 11.30 12.00 12.30 13.00 13.30 14.00 14.30 15.00 15.30 16.00 16.30 17.00 17.30 Time

Adjusted Cycle Time (Elakanda Road Junction)

Figure 4.2: Calculated variation of Signal Timing during the day at two junctions (Blink 2005)

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4.1.3 Bus stops and priority Lane

Existing bus stops on the Colombo Negombo road are located north of the Elakanda Road in both directions. However, the proposed new location of the bus stops on the Colombo Negombo road is located (Figure 4.1) in front of the market complex (around 60meters to south of the Hunupitiya Road Junction). This new location will reduce significant number of unnecessary pedestrian movements across the Hunupitiya Road and the Elakanda Road since most of the important city buildings (Market, Town Hall, Urban Council, Hemas Hospital, Timex Garment etc,) are located near to this new location. Also it will reduce the average walking distance of the commuters.

4.1.4 Other supplementary improvement to signalization

All the connector road links to the Colombo Negombo Road at both junctions are improved to have a 4 lane capacity over a 100meter length (Figure 4.1). Lane markings and stop signs are proposed at both junctions in addition to signalization of the two junctions for better functioning of the signals as detailed in section 4.1.1.

4.2 Option 2

4.2.1 Flyover

The average hourly flow of through traffic on the Colombo Negombo Road is over 1700 vehicles per hour. This is above 2100 vehicles per hour during peak hours. Therefore, if it is to construct a flyover across these two junctions on the Colombo Negombo Road, it is required to have at least two lanes in each direction to carry the through traffic. The minimum length required is 360meters to pass both junctions with minimum vertical clearance of 5.5m under both junctions.

The flyover needs to have four lanes and need approximately 15meters width. There is a need of two access roads of 5.5m wide to allow overtaking at either sides of the flyover at ground level. If a 3m wide walkway is provided at the building frontage of the shops a minimum width of 32meters is required to accommodate the flyover. This could be provided without demolition of any commercial buildings since this width is available on the Colombo Negombo Road within the study area. However it is required to widen the carriageway and new walkways are to be constructed within the entire length. Also the improvements shown to all approach roads of the prior option of signalization needs to be added with this option too to make sure the turning movements at ground level is efficient. The longitudinal section

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Section B2: Handala Treatment of Junctions- Volume I: Final Report of the flyover across the two junctions is shown in Figure 4.2. The cost estimate of the flyover is given in Table 4.2.

Figure 4-2: Longitudinal Section of the proposed flyover

Table 4-2: Cost Estimates for Flyover construction and improvements to the Roads in the Study Area

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Widening of Roads at the Study Item Description Unit Rate (Rs) Area and Flyover Construction

ItemNo Qty Amount (Rs) 1.0 Land Acquisition, & Demolition and Reconstruction 1.1 Road Length m 600 1.2 Single Storey m2 40000 140 5,600,000.00 1.3 Two Storey m2 100000 530 53,000,000.00 1.3 Total Land m2 75000 670 50,250,000.00 Sub Total 1 108,850,000.00

2.0 General Civil Cost 2.1 Preliminaries Sum 10,000,000.00 2.2 Clearing m2 80 530 42,400.00 2.3 Demolition of Structures Sum 4,500,000.00 2.4 Base & Sub Base m2 850 5590 4,751,500.00 2.5 Asphalt Surfacing m2 2,300 8300 19,090,000.00 2.6 Walk Ways m2 900 3710 3,339,000.00 2.7 Kerbs m 1,450 1340 1,943,000.00 2.8 Drains m 4,600 620 2,852,000.00 2.9 Fencing and Barricades m 14,000 60 840,000.00 2.10 Road Markings m 100 2160 216,000.00 2.11 Sign Boards Nos 35,000 20 700,000.00 Sub Total 2 48,273,900.00

3.0 Cost of Flyover (4 Lane) m 6,076,389 360 2,187,500,000.00

Total 2,344,623,900.00 Add for Variations (20%) 468,924,780.00 Grand Total 2,813,548,680.00

4.2.2 Impact of Flyover on Urban Landscape

Hendala junction could be noted as one the busiest on the Colombo-Negombo road. It is one of the major nodes of city life along this rather significant traffic artillery which connects the North and South. Yet, the domination of the road is such, this node has become almost non- existent. The sprawl along the road and the architectural wall that only responds to the moving traffic seem to have reduced this junction into one of the busiest junctions that hardly contains a city life. Land utilization is quite typified as commercial activities which dominate the town centre. However, the built forms do not respond to the need for a town centre and as such do not provide any in-between spaces where city life could occur. As a whole, one could see that Hendala town centre has become a mere junction.

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Considering the scale of the buildings, number and nature of vehicles that pass through, type of activities accommodated and the busyness of the junction, one could note that this as a possible site for a flyover in order to reduce traffic. We find that in terms of space and time, flyover will not look out-of-place. However, the construction of flyover will further deteriorate the container quality of the junction, and will further strengthen its sprawl. As such, the inclusion of a flyover will have an impact on the living spaces of the town centre.

One cannot also ignore the space underneath the flyover. It must be noted that this dark, often dirty, and dead space dominated by heavy constructions will certainly cause the deterioration of urban aesthetics. The human quality of the town centre will mostly be lost as a result of the flyover, and one who enters the town centre will feel like entering into a yard, engineering site, etc but not to a town centre. Although, the traffic problem is eased on this particular spot, the flyover will have an impact on the nearby junctions/town centres by releasing the traffic too quickly and as such creating an imbalance in their development. As we have experience, this will create uneven urban development and misuse of urban land, again threatening the aesthetics.

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CHAPTER 5 ECONOMIC ANALYSIS

5.1 Costs

The cost of the improvements proposed in the above chapter will include the following

• Signalization of the intersection including acquisition • Access Control around the intersection. • Widening and Improving the approach roads, realignment, construction of signs and road markings.

The following general works are also recommended.

• Improvements to the carriageway and resurfacing of approach roads up to the intersection. • Reconstruction and improvements to Walkways on the above sections • Improvements to Traffic Management measures in the study area including access control, guard rails, bus stop relocation, construction of bus bays etc.

The construction cost for each option is given in Tables 4.2 and 4.2.

5.2 Benefits

Economics benefits from this project are many fold. For the purpose of this study we will include the following benefits:

• Reduction in Vehicle Operating Costs for vehicles using the Colombo Negombo Road, Hunupitiya and Elakanda Roads • Value of Travel Time Savings for vehicles on the Colombo Negombo road, Hunupitiya and Elakanda Roads • Saving from Reduction of Accidents

5.2.1 Traffic Analysis

In computing the above benefits the traffic analysis has considered the following.

The present travel speeds reported in Chapter 3 can be summarized as follows: • Colombo Negombo Road Through Traffic approaching from Negombo direction – 20 km/hr • Colombo Negombo Road Through Traffic approaching from Colombo direction – 26 km/hr

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• Hunupitiya Road approaching Traffic – 15 km/hr • Elakanda Road approaching Traffic – 18 km/hr

The two options considered along with the other traffic management measures that have been recommended will improve the speeds of these two flow movements in particular. The increase in the left and right turns on both directions can be calculated using the signal timing delay.

The signalization delay for the 3 phase arrangement was estimated at 1,362,115 vehicle seconds. This works out to around 27 seconds per vehicle. When adjusted for the average speed gain it translates to improvement of speed from the Negombo direction to 24.7 km/hr, which we shall assume as 25 km/hr and the speed from the Colombo direction to 28 km/hr.

The corresponding delay reduction translates to speeds of 20 km/hr on both the Hunupitiya and Elakanda Roads.

In the flyover option, it was shown in Section 4.1 that the estimated average demand would be around 56,000 vehicles per day, with an average flow rate of 900 vehicles per lane per hour. After adjusting for capacity reduction factors with respect to lane width, gradient and heavy vehicles (and low horse powered vehicles) we get a volume to capacity ratio of 0.6 which translates to average speeds of around 40 km per hour for a maximum speed limit of 50 km/hr and free flow speed of 70 km/hr. However, low horse powered vehicles such as three wheelers, and some motor cycles as well as heavy vehicles such as trucks and buses are unlikely to attain this speed especially on the gradient. Since these vehicles constitute nearly 50% of the flow, the average speed may have to be considered as 35 km/hr for the flyover. With respect to the turning movements from the Colombo Negombo road, we will not assume any change.

5.2.2 Economic Benefits

Table 5.1 and Table 5.2 show the computation of economic costs and benefits for the signalization and flyover options respectively. The calculations are based on a ‘before and after’ traffic flow estimate taking into account the flow estimates given in Section 5.2.1 for private vehicles, goods vehicles and buses separately. The cost estimation uses unit values

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Section B2: Handala Treatment of Junctions- Volume I: Final Report from ‘Assessing Public Investment in the Transport Sector’ 1. These include vehicle operating costs at given speeds wherein the roughness was assumed at IRR =3. The Value of Time for passengers was taken after considering Vehicle Occupancy Rates (VOR) and the Value of Time (VoT) from the above reference after adjusting for price escalation using CCPI. All estimates shown in Table 5.1 and Table 5.2 are in SLR in 2008 prices.

Accident savings are computed assuming that 20% of the accidents presently occurring at the Hendala study area can be reduced by signalization. We will assume only a marginal reduction since the area reported by the Police covers a much longer section of road and the percentage is taken by pro-rating the distance and taking 50% reduction. In the case of a flyover which will separate many conflicts and make it safer for both pedestrians as well as vehicle users this has been assumed at 40%. The economic cost of accidents also has been taken from the same source. 2

1 National Planning Department, Authored by Kumarage A.S., Ed Storm, T.L. Gunaruwan et al, 1999

2 Ibid

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Table 5-1: Economic Analysis for Signalization Option

Travel Time Costs ADT length speed VOT(Rs/hr) Ann. Cost Private Bus Truck Total km km/hr Private Bus Truck Rs Mn Approach A3 Approaching from Colombo 23,231 2,332 3,335 28,898 0. 445 20 204 1116.9 57.2 A3 Approaching from Negombo 22,736 2,344 4,538 29,618 0.715 26 204 1116.9 69.8 B151 Approaching from Hunupitiya 4,998 19 1,281 6,298 0. 200 15 204 1116.9 4.9 B152 Approching from Elakanda 2,758 306 809 3,873 0.200 18 204 1116.9 3.5 135.4

VOR VOT Private 1.2 170 Bus 30 1116.9

Travel Time Costs ADT length speed VOT(Rs/hr) Ann. Cost Private Bus Truck Total km km/hr Private Bus Truck Rs Mn Approach A3 Approaching from Colombo 23,231 2,332 3,335 28,898 0.445 25 204 1116.9 45.8 A3 Approaching from Negombo 22,736 2,344 4,538 29,618 0.715 28 204 1116.9 64.9 B151 Approaching from Hunupitiya 4,998 19 1,281 6,298 0. 200 20 204 1116.9 3.6 B152 Approching from Elakanda 2,758 306 809 3,873 0.200 20 204 1116.9 3.2 117.4

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Table 5-2: Economic Analysis for Flyover Option

PRESENT SCENARIO-2008 Vehicle Operating Cost ADT (Average) length speed VOC(Rs/km) Ann. Cost Private Bus Truck Total km km/hr Private Bus Truck Rs Mn Section A3 Approaching from Colombo 23,231 2,332 3,335 28,898 0.445 20 29.07 56.40 52.38 152.9 A3 Approaching from Negombo 22,736 2,344 4,538 29,618 0.715 26 27.45 46.38 45.00 234.5 B151 Approaching from Hunupitiya 4,998 19 1,281 6,298 0. 200 15 31.59 67.75 62.28 16.7 B152 Approching from Elakanda 2,758 306 809 3,873 0.200 18 30.51 60.9 53.34 10.2 414.3 Travel Time Costs ADT length speed VOT(Rs/hr) Ann. Cost Private Bus Truck Total km km/hr Private Bus Truck Rs Mn Approach A3 Approaching from Colombo 23,231 2,332 3,335 28,898 0. 445 20 204 1116.9 57.2 A3 Approaching from Negombo 22,736 2,344 4,538 29,618 0. 715 26 204 1116.9 69.8 B151 Approaching from Hunupitiya 4,998 19 1,281 6,298 0. 200 15 204 1116.9 4.9 B152 Approching from Elakanda 2,758 306 809 3,873 0.200 18 204 1116.9 3.5 135.4 VOR VOT Private 1.2 170 Bus 30 1116.9

SCENARIO WITH IMPROVEMENTS Vehicle Operating Cost ADT length speed VOC(Rs/km) Ann. Cost Private Bus Truck Total km km/hr Private Bus Truck Rs Mn Approach A3 Approaching from Colombo 23,231 2,332 3,335 28,898 0.445 35 26.07 42.12 39.90 130.4 A3 Approaching from Negombo 22,736 2,344 4,538 29,618 0.715 35 26.07 42.12 39.90 218.3 B151 Approaching from Hunupitiya 4,998 19 1,281 6,298 0. 200 20 29.07 56.40 52.38 14.9 B152 Approching from Elakanda 2,758 306 809 3,873 0.200 20 29.07 56.40 52.38 9.8 373.4 Travel Time Costs ADT length speed VOC(Rs/km) Ann. Cost Private Bus Truck Total km km/hr Private Bus Truck Rs Mn Approach A3 Approaching from Colombo 23,231 2,332 3,335 28,898 0. 445 35 204 1116.9 32.7 A3 Approaching from Negombo 22,736 2,344 4,538 29,618 0. 715 35 204 1116.9 51.9 B151 Approaching from Hunupitiya 4,998 19 1,281 6,298 0. 200 20 204 1116.9 3.6 B152 Approching from Elakanda 2,758 306 809 3,873 0.200 20 204 1116.9 3.2 91.4

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5.3 Cost-Benefit Analysis

The benefits computed in Tables 5.3 and 5.4 are as follows:

• Savings in Travel Time Costs

• Savings in Vehicle Operating Costs

• Savings in Accident Costs

In the case of economic benefits due to generated traffic, no increase in the economic activity of the area has been assumed since the project is of a very local nature and unlikely to generate regional development. Based on the estimates in Table 5.1 and Table 5.2, an economic analysis has been performed to obtain the Economic Internal Rate of Revenue (EIRR). This is shown in Table 5.3 and Table 5.4 for the signalization and flyover options respectively.

This analysis is based on:

1. The assumption that value of vehicle operating costs, travel time and maintenance costs will increase but in a manner that they will remain constant in real terms over the project life.

2. Project Life for the signalization is taken as 10 years after commissioning, and for the flyover option it is taken as 20 years, where construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2010.

3. Traffic growth has been assumed at a very conservative 3% growth rate. This is much less than the 4 to 6 percent growth seen in urban areas.

The following conclusions can be reached from this economic analysis:

5.2.3 Signalization Option

The summary of the costs and benefits that have been discussed in earlier sections have been summarized and discounted over the project life in Table 5.3

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Section B2: Handala Treatment of Junctions- Volume I: Final Report

Table 5-3: Cost Benefit Analysis for Signalization Option

Cost Benefit Capital Recurrent VOC VOT Accidents Generated Total Net 2008 0 0 2009 184.7 2010 3.7 41 18 8 0 66.7 63 2011 3.8 42 19 8 0 68.7 65 2012 3.8 43 19 8 0 70.8 67 2013 3.8 45 20 9 0 72.9 69 2014 3.9 46 20 9 0 75.1 71 2015 3.9 47 21 9 0 77.3 73 2016 4.0 49 21 9 0 79.7 76 2017 4.0 50 22 10 0 82.0 78 2018 4.0 52 23 10 0 84.5 80 2019 4.1 53 23 10 0 87.0 83 223.7 764.7 726 Total

Discount Rate 0.0 Generated Traffic 0.0 NPV 725.7 Rs Million B/C 3.2

Based on the Table 5.3 it is seen that with the Signalization Option the following conclusions can be reached:

1. On the above assumptions it returns an EIRR of 25.8% which can be termed a moderate return on investment for an urban road project.

2. At a discount rate of 0% it returns a Net Present Value of Rs 725.7 million over 10 years.

3. At undiscounted prices it returns a Benefit to Cost Ratio of 3.2.

The following sensitivity tests have been also performed:

1. If construction costs increase by 50% in real terms the project returns an EIRR of 17% which shows that the signalization project is robust to absorb cost variations.

2. If benefits reduce by half over the project life period, returns an EIRR of 11.5% showing it is robust to absorb reduction in benefits.

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Section B2: Handala Treatment of Junctions- Volume I: Final Report

5.2.4 Flyover Option

The summary of the costs and benefits that have been discussed in earlier sections have been summarized and discounted over the project life in Table 5.4

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Section B2: Handala Treatment of Junctions- Volume I: Final Report

Table 5-4: Cost Benefit Analysis for Flyover Option

Cost Benefit Capital Recurrent VOC VOT Accidents Generated Total Net 2008 0 0 2009 2,814 -2,814 2010 56.8 41 44 16 0 100.6 44 2011 57.4 42 45 16 0 103.6 46 2012 58.0 43 47 17 0 106.7 49 2013 58.6 45 48 17 0 109.9 51 2014 59.1 46 50 18 0 113.2 54 2015 59.7 47 51 18 0 116.6 57 2016 60.3 49 53 19 0 120.1 60 2017 60.9 50 54 19 0 123.7 63 2018 61.5 52 56 20 0 127.4 66 2019 62.2 53 57 20 0 131.2 69 2020 62.8 55 59 21 0 135.2 72 2021 63.4 57 61 22 0 139.2 76 2022 64.0 58 63 22 0 143.4 79 2023 64.7 60 65 23 0 147.7 83 2024 65.3 62 67 24 0 152.1 87 2025 66.0 64 69 24 0 156.7 91 2026 66.6 66 71 25 0 161.4 95 2027 67.3 68 73 26 0 166.3 99 2028 68.0 70 75 27 0 171.2 103 2029 68.7 72 77 27 0 176.4 108 4064.9 2702.8 -1,362 Total

Discount Rate 0.0 Generated Traffic 0.0 NPV -1362.1 Rs Million B/C -0.3

Based on the Table 5.4 it is seen that with the Flyover Option the following conclusions can be reached:

1. On the above assumptions it returns a negative EIRR which does not indicate that the project is economically viable.

2. At a discount rate of 0% it returns a Net Present Value of negative Rs 1,362 million.

3. At undiscounted prices it returns a Benefit to Cost Ratio of only 0.3.

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Section B2: Handala Treatment of Junctions- Volume I: Final Report

5.4 Non-Quantifiable Benefits

There are several other benefits that have not been included in the economic analysis which will greatly favour the construction of the signalization project. These may be identified as:

1. Introduction of modernization to the Hendala city centre 2. Improvement to an important National Highway. 3. Marginal priority for buses.

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Section B2: Handala Treatment of Junctions- Volume I: Final Report

CHAPTER 6 CONCLUSIONS

The following conclusions on the above analysis based on the primary option of flyover versus the signalization can be tabulated as follows:

Feature of Impact Signalization Option Flyover Option

Cost of Construction Rs 184.7 million for signaling Rs 2,814 million for a 2 x 2 both junctions with a single lane flyover of 360 metres processor no widening is required on the A3 but widening and acquisition required from both Hunupitiya and Elakanda Roads.

Urban Landscape No adverse Impact Considered too dominant for a small suburban town centre such as Hendala.

Other General Improvements Short Bus Lanes, lane Lane Markings markings

Increase in Travel Speed Through traffic speeds on the Overall junction speed will A3 Road will increase from increase from 20-26 km per 20-26 km per hour to 25-28 hour to 35 km per hour. km per hour

Acquisition Will require acquisition from Will require acquisitions at Hunupitiya and Elakanda the toe of the junction approaches of about 7-9 metres to make both roads 4 lane with sidewalks.

Economic Benefit-Cost EIRR is 25.8% and NPV is NPV at 0% discount rate is Analysis Rs 758 million with a negative Rs 1,362 million and Benefit-Cost ratio of 3.2. the Benefit-Cost Ratio is 0.3.

Safety Will improve marginally. Will improve due to grade

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Treatment of Junctions- Volume I: Final Report

Estimated 20% reduction. separation . Estimated 40% reduction.

Level of Service Signal Timing for existing Width is inadequate for flow returns an acceptable acceptable Level of Service Level of Service on a two lane undivided flyover. Therefore 4 lanes are required. Ramp gradient may have to be restricted to 4%.

Adequacy of Capacity Will be adequate for the next Two lane undivided flyover 10 years and up to 20 years if will not be adequate for more public transport is improved than 5 years. Four lanes will and CKE is available be adequate for over 20 years.

Delays during Construction Relatively small as Heavy since the construction construction duration will length is long and centre also be very short median piers have to be constructed. There are no roads adequate for by pass. Heavy congestion will prevail, unless a pre fabricated structure is located.

Bus Operations from Need Improvements and Needs Improvements and Terminals proper location. proper location.

Bus Stopping No change. Bus stops will be on ground level.

Pedestrian Facilities Required as identified

Parking Facilities Off Street parking facilities Some parking can be required accommodated under the flyover.

This analysis clearly shows that the signalization option is viable as against to the flyover.

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Treatment of Junctions- Volume I: Final Report

CHAPTER 7 RECOMMENDATION

The following measures to improve the traffic flow in the Hendala Junction can be recommended based on the economic viability and other issues discussed earlier.

• The two junctions at Hendala can be successfully controlled using traffic signals controlled by a single processor. This will require widening of the approach roads from Hunupitiya and Elakanda to 4 lanes with sidewalks.

• Bus bay on both north bound and south bound directions of the Colombo Negombo road can be made to a bus lane for easy movement of buses.

• Provision of pedestrian facilities with raised sidewalks along both Hunupitiya and Elakanda Roads is recommended.

These measures will result in

• Improvement of the average speed within the Hendala Study area from the exiting average of 20 km per hour to an estimated 25 km/hr.

• It will also lead to a marginal reduction of accidents as intersections are better controlled and pedestrian crossings are better managed.

• There will be some modernization to the city.

The project is estimated to cost around 185 million rupees but its benefits will far outweigh the costs in terms of an EIRR of 25.8% and an NPV at 0% discount rate of Rs 725.7 million and a Benefit-Cost ratio of 3.2.

The project will remain quite stable even if there are unexpected cost variations or reduction of benefits.

In contrast, a flyover of 360 metres which will cost Rs 2,814 million, does not return the scale of benefits to make it viable. The NPV is found to be negative.

The summary of the recommendations is shown in the Figure 7-1.

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Figure 7-1- Map of Hendala Study Area showing recommended improvements

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