He said there was a similar flood situation last year as well. But, this year, damages to the national road network and highways are minimal compared to last year, due to the precautions taken by the RDA.RDA engineers and officials visited the affected areas by road and by air to identify the reasons for the floods and inspect the damages caused to bridges and roads.

Having taken into consideration last year’s experience, precautions were taken to remove bridge barriers and blocks on roads and highways with the support of all relevant government organisations.This has helped prevent the severe flooding of highways this year,” he added.

Only eight roads and two bridges in the entire island had gone under water and damaged due to soil erosion. One section of Nagoda in Wanduramba- Athumale main road experienced an earth slip. “We have estimated a sum of around Rs.100 million for clearing debris from inundated roads. When floodwaters recede, the affected areas are often blanketed in silt and mud. Therefore, we need to clear and clean these areas.

Sections of the Ratnapura- Idangoda-Ayagama road, Panadura - Nambapana – Ratnapura road, Kelaniya- Mudungoda road, Hanwella-Urapola road via Kohilawatta, Welihinda junction in Negambo-Girulla road, Makavita section in Ja-ela-Ekala road and sections in Thoppuwa-Nattandiya-Madampe roads have been inundated.Meanwhile,the bridge in Dandagamuwa,Kuliyapitiya and the approach road to the Kaduwela-Biyagama bridge damaged due to soil erosion are being reppaired.He said the damage to the Kaduwela-Biyagama bridge was not severe and repairs can be completed by tomorrow. He said a temporary bridge will be erected to replace the damaged approach road.He requested the people to use the Hotlines of 1968 for non highways and 1969 for highways to inform about road difficulties.