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Identify the Social and Economic Impact of the Rajagiriya Flyover Construction

Received: 19 November 2022    Accepted: 15 December 2022    Published: 20 July 2023
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Abstract

Well-organized delivery of urban services and an efficient transportation system can be considered the keystones on which the success of a metropolitan area primarily depends. An appropriate and adequate transport system is a main requirement for the sustainable economic and social development of cities. The Rajagiriya flyover has direct and indirect beneficial impacts on the economy of Colombo, which is in the main district of Sri Lanka. But the construction of these kinds of structures is close to populated town areas, and they are surrounded by a natural environment. And also, they will have some unfortunate impacts on the social, physical, and ecological environments. The main objective of this study was to identify the social and economic impact of the Rajagiriya flyover construction. Hence, to achieve the target, 50 commuters, 50 traders, both permanent and mobile, surrounding the flyover, and 50 householders were selected through the purposive sampling method. Focus-group discussion and questionnaire surveying techniques were used to collect primary data from around the Rajagiriya junction, while other secondary data sources such as traffic and land use data were also collected. The study found heavy congestion along the Sri Jayawardenapura Mawatha between 07:30 h and 09:00 h in the morning and 16:30 h and 19:45 h in the evening, with the majority of the sample being daily commuters. During the construction period, fuel consumption was higher than before. People encountered two major issues: fuel waste and having to stay in the flyover for an extended period of time. Before the flyover construction, 85% of the customers visited their shops. But after the construction, the number of customers was as low as 25%, the traders said. Finally, the researcher found that the number of vehicles is higher than before the construction. As a result, traffic congestion has increased even more than before. Moreover, this study demonstrated that the construction of the flyover project was a failure due to an insufficient feasibility study.

Published in Research & Development (Volume 4, Issue 2)
DOI 10.11648/j.rd.20230402.15
Page(s) 68-74
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Commuters, Feasibility, Peak Time, Socio-Economic

References
[1] Amila Sandaruwan, T. K. (2019). Carpooling: A Step to Reduce Traffic Congestion in Sri Lanka. Conference: 13th International Conference of Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies (EASTS) (p. 356). Battaramulla,: At: Waters Edge.
[2] Arefin, S., Rashid, T. and Habib, D. (2019) Infrastructural Development and Vulnerabilities: A Sociological Study of Two Selected Flyovers in Dhaka City, Bangladesh. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 7, 18-29. https://doi.org/10.4236/jss.2019.77003
[3] Dammulla R, Mudunkotuwa R. Analysis on the Road Traffic Congestion in Colombo Metropolitan Area. CINEC Academic Journal. 2022; 5 (1): 15–22. DOI: http://doi.org/10.4038/caj.v5i1.70
[4] Emer, T. Quezon. A Study on the effects of flyover Construction on Traffic Flow, The Case of Metro- Manila, University of Philippines. (https://www.academia.edu.com) 30.12.2019
[5] Hiremath V. S., Vengadeshwari R. S., ANALYSIS AND DESIGN OF FLYOVER SUB-STRUCTURE, International Advanced Research Journal in Science, Engineering and Technology ISO 3297: 2007 Certified, ISSN (P) 2394-1588.
[6] Hussain, S.; Maqbool, R.; Hussain, A.; Ashfaq, S. Assessing the Socio-Economic Impacts of Rural Infrastructure Projects on Community Development. Buildings 2022, 12, 947. https://doi.org/ 10.3390/buildings12070947
[7] Kumarage, A. S. (2004). URBAN TRAFFIC CONGESTION: THE PROBLEM. Economic Review.
[8] Mututantri, P. L., Abesinghe, W. D. P., Wijewardhana, L. S. S. (2015) Design of a flyover and Roundabout underneath it to ease the traffic congestion at the Rajagiriya Junction, Engineer: Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka, 48 (4), pp. 33–47. DOI: http://doi.org/10.4038/engineer.v48i4.6879 30.12.2019.
[9] Narabodee, S. & Pichai, T. (2015) A Study of a flyover–Bridge – improved Intersection, Engineering Journal 19 (1): 1-12pp DOI: 30.12.2019.
[10] National Road Master Plan (2021 – 2030), Main Report, Road Development Authority, 2022.
[11] P. L. Mututantri, S. W. (2015). Design of a Flyover and Roundabout underneath it to ease the Traffic Congestion at the Rajagiriya Junction. Engineer - Journal of the Institution of Engineers, 33-47.
[12] Thissa. U. Liyanage (2009 September),” Flyover as Measure to improve Intersection Capacity” The Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka.
[13] Traffic impact Assessment Khilgaon Flyover (Dhaka), Nafis Anwari M. D. Rakibul Islam and M. D. Shamsul Hoque. (https://researchgate.net>publication), 12.11.2019.
[14] Traffic study for impact Evaluation of proposed flyover at Rajagiriya Intersection at Welikada – Rajagiriya, Ministry of Higher Education & Highways of Sri Lanka, Road Development Authority of Sri Lanka 12.11.2019.
[15] Tucho, G. T. A review on the socio-economic impacts of informal transportation and its complementarity to address equity and achieve sustainable development goals. J. Eng. Appl. Sci. 69, 28 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s44147-022-00074-8
[16] Weerasinghe, T. D and Karunarathna, D. I. M. and Subashini, B. L. C., Effect of Road Traffic Congestion on Stress at Work: Evidence from the Employees Working in Metropolitan Areas of Colombo, Sri Lanka (November 19, 2020). Proceedings of the International Conference on Business & Information (ICBI) 2020, Available a SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3853900 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3853900
[17] Yuan S., Zhao X, An Y., Identification and optimization of traffic bottleneck with signal timing, Journal of Traffic and Transportation Engineering (English Edition), Volume 1, Issue 5, 2014, Pages 353-361, ISSN 2095-7564, https://doi.org/10.1016/S2095-7564(15)30281-6.
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    Hansi Piyumi Nisansala Karadugoda Kankanamge. (2023). Identify the Social and Economic Impact of the Rajagiriya Flyover Construction. Research & Development, 4(2), 68-74. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.rd.20230402.15

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    Hansi Piyumi Nisansala Karadugoda Kankanamge. Identify the Social and Economic Impact of the Rajagiriya Flyover Construction. Res. Dev. 2023, 4(2), 68-74. doi: 10.11648/j.rd.20230402.15

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    AMA Style

    Hansi Piyumi Nisansala Karadugoda Kankanamge. Identify the Social and Economic Impact of the Rajagiriya Flyover Construction. Res Dev. 2023;4(2):68-74. doi: 10.11648/j.rd.20230402.15

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  • @article{10.11648/j.rd.20230402.15,
      author = {Hansi Piyumi Nisansala Karadugoda Kankanamge},
      title = {Identify the Social and Economic Impact of the Rajagiriya Flyover Construction},
      journal = {Research & Development},
      volume = {4},
      number = {2},
      pages = {68-74},
      doi = {10.11648/j.rd.20230402.15},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.rd.20230402.15},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.rd.20230402.15},
      abstract = {Well-organized delivery of urban services and an efficient transportation system can be considered the keystones on which the success of a metropolitan area primarily depends. An appropriate and adequate transport system is a main requirement for the sustainable economic and social development of cities. The Rajagiriya flyover has direct and indirect beneficial impacts on the economy of Colombo, which is in the main district of Sri Lanka. But the construction of these kinds of structures is close to populated town areas, and they are surrounded by a natural environment. And also, they will have some unfortunate impacts on the social, physical, and ecological environments. The main objective of this study was to identify the social and economic impact of the Rajagiriya flyover construction. Hence, to achieve the target, 50 commuters, 50 traders, both permanent and mobile, surrounding the flyover, and 50 householders were selected through the purposive sampling method. Focus-group discussion and questionnaire surveying techniques were used to collect primary data from around the Rajagiriya junction, while other secondary data sources such as traffic and land use data were also collected. The study found heavy congestion along the Sri Jayawardenapura Mawatha between 07:30 h and 09:00 h in the morning and 16:30 h and 19:45 h in the evening, with the majority of the sample being daily commuters. During the construction period, fuel consumption was higher than before. People encountered two major issues: fuel waste and having to stay in the flyover for an extended period of time. Before the flyover construction, 85% of the customers visited their shops. But after the construction, the number of customers was as low as 25%, the traders said. Finally, the researcher found that the number of vehicles is higher than before the construction. As a result, traffic congestion has increased even more than before. Moreover, this study demonstrated that the construction of the flyover project was a failure due to an insufficient feasibility study.},
     year = {2023}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
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    AU  - Hansi Piyumi Nisansala Karadugoda Kankanamge
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    AB  - Well-organized delivery of urban services and an efficient transportation system can be considered the keystones on which the success of a metropolitan area primarily depends. An appropriate and adequate transport system is a main requirement for the sustainable economic and social development of cities. The Rajagiriya flyover has direct and indirect beneficial impacts on the economy of Colombo, which is in the main district of Sri Lanka. But the construction of these kinds of structures is close to populated town areas, and they are surrounded by a natural environment. And also, they will have some unfortunate impacts on the social, physical, and ecological environments. The main objective of this study was to identify the social and economic impact of the Rajagiriya flyover construction. Hence, to achieve the target, 50 commuters, 50 traders, both permanent and mobile, surrounding the flyover, and 50 householders were selected through the purposive sampling method. Focus-group discussion and questionnaire surveying techniques were used to collect primary data from around the Rajagiriya junction, while other secondary data sources such as traffic and land use data were also collected. The study found heavy congestion along the Sri Jayawardenapura Mawatha between 07:30 h and 09:00 h in the morning and 16:30 h and 19:45 h in the evening, with the majority of the sample being daily commuters. During the construction period, fuel consumption was higher than before. People encountered two major issues: fuel waste and having to stay in the flyover for an extended period of time. Before the flyover construction, 85% of the customers visited their shops. But after the construction, the number of customers was as low as 25%, the traders said. Finally, the researcher found that the number of vehicles is higher than before the construction. As a result, traffic congestion has increased even more than before. Moreover, this study demonstrated that the construction of the flyover project was a failure due to an insufficient feasibility study.
    VL  - 4
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Author Information
  • Department of Geography, University of Colombo, Colombo 10, Sri Lanka

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