treatment of junctions - amal kumarage · 2015. 3. 19. · treatment of junctions- volume i: final...

Treatment of Junctions

Volume I

FINAL REPORT

Section B5: Maharagama Town

Transportation Research and Study Centre

University of Moratuwa

Sri Lanka

15th

January 2010

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Table of Contents

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

1.1 Location ............................................................................................................................... 1-1

1.2 Land Use .............................................................................................................................. 1-1

1.3 Transport Node .................................................................................................................... 1-1

1.4 Road Network ...................................................................................................................... 1-3

1.5 Pedestrian Facilities ............................................................................................................. 1-3

1.6 Traffic Management ............................................................................................................. 1-4

1.7 Parking ................................................................................................................................. 1-4

1.8 Railway Gate Closure .......................................................................................................... 1-5

1.9 Bus Terminals & Stops ........................................................................................................ 1-5

1.10 Scope .................................................................................................................................... 1-8

1.11 Data Collection .................................................................................................................... 1-9

CHAPTER 2 TRAFFIC ANALYSIS ............................................................................................ 2-1

2.1 Road Infrastructure .............................................................................................................. 2-1

2.2 Link Flows ........................................................................................................................... 2-4

2.3 Flows at Junctions ................................................................................................................ 2-8

3.4 Speed and delay ................................................................................................................. 2-10

2.4 Pedestrian Flows ................................................................................................................ 2-13

2.5 Bus Stands .......................................................................................................................... 2-14

2.6 Railway Station and Passengers ......................................................................................... 2-15

2.7 Accident Studies ................................................................................................................ 2-16

3.11 Summary of Problems ........................................................................................................ 2-17

CHAPTER 3 PROPOSED SOLUTIONS ...................................................................................... 3-1

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3.1 Option 1: Signalization of Clock Tower Junction with Two-way traffic on A4 Road ........ 3-1

3.1.1 Signal Design ............................................................................................................... 3-3

3.1.2 Other supplementary improvement to signalization .................................................... 3-5

3.1.3 Centralization of the Bus Terminals ............................................................................ 3-5

4.2 Option 2: Flyover ................................................................................................................. 3-8

3.1.1 Impact of Flyover on Urban Landscape ..................................................................... 3-10

CHAPTER 4 COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS ................................................................................. 4-1

4.1 Benefits ................................................................................................................................ 4-1

4.2 Traffic Analysis ................................................................................................................... 4-1

4.3 Economic Benefits ............................................................................................................... 4-2

4.4 Cost-Benefit Analysis ........................................................................................................ 4-11

4.4.1 Signalization Option .................................................................................................. 4-11

4.4.2 Flyover Option ........................................................................................................... 4-13

4.5 Non-Quantifiable Benefits ................................................................................................. 4-14

CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSIONS ...................................................................................................... 5-1

CHAPTER 6 RECOMMENDATION ........................................................................................... 6-1

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List of Tables

Table 1-1: Details of Surveys Carried Out _____________________________________________ 1-9

Table 2-1: The cross sectional details of the road links in the study area ______________________ 2-1

Table 2-2: ADT on Links __________________________________________________________ 2-5

Table 2-3: ADT at Junctions ________________________________________________________ 2-9

Table 2-4:Summary of Link Speeds(km/h) ___________________________________________ 2-11

Table 2-5: Details at different Bus Terminals in the study area ____________________________ 2-15

Table 2-6: Accidents Recorded within Study Area (8 months of 2008) ______________________ 2-16

Table 3-1: Items and the Quantities for Improvement in the Study Area ______________________ 3-2

Table 3-2: Cost Estimates for Signalization and improvements to the Roads in the Study Area ____ 3-3

Table 3-3: Cost of the Proposed Bus Stand and the Bus Park Development ___________________ 3-7

Table 3-4: Cost Estimate for Flyover _________________________________________________ 3-9

Table 4-1: Economic Analysis for Signalization Option __________________________________ 4-3

Table 4-2: Economic Analysis for Flyover Option _______________________________________ 4-7

Table 4-3: Cost Benefit Analysis for Signalization Option _______________________________ 4-12

Table 4-4: Cost Benefit Analysis for Flyover Option ____________________________________ 4-13

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Table of Figures

Figure 1-1: Area Map showing Dehiwala, Nugegoda, Battaramulla areas _____________________ 1-2

Figure 1-2: Map of Study Area ______________________________________________________ 1-4

Figure 1-3: Typical Road Conditions in the Study Area ___________________________________ 1-8

Figure 2-1: Road Link and Lane configuration of Maharagama City Area ____________________ 2-2

Figure 2-2: Pedestrian paths between High level Road and the Old Road _____________________ 2-3

Figure 2-3: Traffic Flow Diagrams (ADT by Major Vehicle Groups) ________________________ 2-8

Figure 2-4: Total daily one-way (Outwards )Movements of Buses from each bus stops of the Study

area ___________________________________________________________________________ 2-9

Figure 2-5: Travel Time Survey Points _____________________________________________ 2-10

Figure 2-6: Speeds (km/hr) for Typical Movements (P.M. Peak) __________________________ 2-12

Figure 2-7: Hourly pedestrian movements across the Main Roads at Pedestrian Crossings ______ 2-14

Figure 2-8: Location of Bus Terminals in Maharagama Town _____________________________ 2-15

Figure 2-9: Locations of accidents within Study Area ___________________________________ 2-17

Figure 3-1: Lane configuration and extent of improvements to roads. ________________________ 3-2

Figure 3-2: Estimated Two way traffic at Clock Tower Junction ________________________ 3-4

Figure 3-3: Cycle time of the two phase system during the day time at Clock Tower Junction 3-5

Figure 3-4: Linkage between Bus Terminal, Bus Park and Railway Station ___________________ 3-6

Figure 3-5: Proposed Bus Stand and Proposed Bus Circulation Plan _________________________ 3-8

Figure 3-6: Longitudinal Section of the proposed flyover _________________________________ 3-9

Figure 6-1 (a to c)- Map of Maharagama Study Area showing recommended improvements ______ 6-3

Treatment of Junctions- Volume I: Final Report

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Section B5: Maharagama

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Location

Maharagama Town is located between the 13th km and 14th km on the Colombo –Ratnapura-

Wellawaya-Batticaloa or (A4) Road. This road is also known as the CRWB Road as well as the High

Level Road. In this report we shall refer to it as the A4.

The A4 Road has two lane width beyond Nugegoda. Maharagama is the town centre that connects

roads to several other suburban cities such as Dehiwala via Boralesgamuwa, Nugegoda, Homagama

and Battaramulla via Pamunuwa and also Piliyandala. The Maharagama City is also served by the

Kelani Valley Railway which is a single track line. (Figure 1.1)

1.2 Land Use

The land use in the Maharagama Town area is mainly commercial. There are a number of vocational

training centres such as the Maharagama National Youth Services Centre and the Teacher Training

College. Pamunuwa Road (B504) is very popular shopping area for textiles and the entire road length

of about 1 km from the junction has wholesale and retails textile shops. As a result this road is always

full of pedestrians throughout the year even resembling a pedestrian mall during the festival seasons

such as New Year and Christmas. The larger shopping complexes are on either side of the A4 Road.

There are also few high-rise large buildings on the Dehiwala Road (B094) from Maharagama. This

road also has a number of important activities such as the market complex, Cargills Supermarket. It

also has a large number of pavement hawkers which often creates traffic congestion when compared

to all the other links.

1.3 Transport Node

Maharagama is a busy suburban transport node on one of the major truck roads which also serves as a

commuter link to Colombo. It is a transfer location for many bus passengers from surrounding areas

including from other towns in the vicinity such as Piliyandala, Boralesgamuwa etc. The transport

network at Maharagama is made up of both road and rail transport. For road traffic it is a junction

where 3 feeder roads connect to the main artery- the A4. For the railways it is one of the largest

stations on the Kelani Valley (KV) line which in turns depends particularly on bus access for its

passengers to get to and from the station which is also coated at the very centre of Maharagama.

Maharagama is also the terminus for a large number of No 138 buses that provide direct connections

on A4 to the Colombo city centre- Pettah. It also is the terminus for several popular routes on each of

the other roads such as Route No 119 to Dehiwala, Route No 341 to Piliyandala and Route No 212 to

Pamunuwa.


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Figure 1-1: Area Map showing Dehiwala, Nugegoda, Battaramulla areas


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There are on average of 12 to 15 up and down train movements through Maharagama on a week day.

There are 323 state and private buses assigned to start their trips from the Maharagama town on 12

different bus routes. These buses make an estimated 2,520 trips in and out of the town centre daily.

However, there is no central bus terminal in the city and presently buses operate from six stands

mostly as on-street bus stops along the different roads. This diffusion of bus transit activity creates

heavy pedestrian flows from one road to another resulting in heavy flows across the A4 road as well

as along the Dehiwala Road, Old Bazaar Road as well as along the A4 itself. These pedestrian

movements cause severe disruptions to the traffic flow.

1.4 Road Network

The main roads that connect the Maharagama town are:

• Colombo-Ratnapura-Wellawaya-Batticaloa [CRWB Road (A4)]- also known as the High

Level Road

• Dehiwala- Maharagama Road (B094)

• Pamunuwa Road (B504)

• Piliyandala Road (B367).

There is also the 3-lane, Old Bazaar Road (B335) which runs parallel to the A4 in the Maharagama

town area which carries one-way traffic away from Colombo. The opposing flow towards Colombo

uses the A4 which has 5 to 6 lanes within the town area. There is an imbalance in the flow in this area,

and usually two lanes on the A4 are used for parking at any given time. This two roads form a

clockwise traffic loop around the town centre. It is around 1.4 km in length.

The Dehiwala Road is a two-lane asphalt paved road with wide sidewalks in the town area. However

the entire length of the sidewalks is acquired by vendors who are attracted by the large flow of

pedestrians moving to and from the bus terminals. Therefore pedestrians often are forced to use the

carriageway thus creating traffic congestion. Also the shoulder areas have been allocated for three

wheeler parking thus depriving pedestrians of any facilities.

1.5 Pedestrian Facilities

The Old Bazaar Road also does not have any facilities for pedestrians and they share the carriageway

thus creating a very dangerous situation along this road. The design work for improvements to the A4

Road is undertaken by the RDA which in consultation with the Urban Development Authority is to

design a pedestrian underpass at the main Clock Tower Junction. The road improvement does not

include any widening of the road in the town area, but only a re-design for divided 4-lanes. These

improvements also include the signalization of the Clock Tower Junction allowing two-way traffic on

the A4 Road. However no movements have been considered to and from the Old Road across the

Cross Road to the Dehiwala Road.


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Figure 1-2: Map of Study Area

1.6 Traffic Management

The primary feature of the traffic management of Maharagama Town is the one way traffic system in

operation embracing a very large part of the town extending (0.8 km) from the Bo-Tree junction at the

north-western side to the Presidents College at the south-east part of the town. The town area extends

beyond the Bo Tree Junction up to the beginning of the Old Bazaar Road a distance of around 0.7 km

where a large number of commercial activities can be seen along the road frontage.

1.7 Parking

Even though the A4 Road is made one-way, parking on both sides can be seen during most of the day.

The parking demand consists mostly of passenger cars, trucks and groups of three weelers awaiting

hires which are placed intermittently along the road. There is wide spread un-regularized parking and

ad-hoc temporary commercial activities along the Dehiwala Road (B094) from the Clock Tower

Junction to the Piliyandala Road Junction and intermittently along another 500 metres beyond the

junction. This problem is less on the recently improved Piliyandala Road where the density of

commercial activities is still low but parking still causes an impact on the free flow of traffic. On the

other hand, the Pamunuwa Road on the eastern edge of the town has many traffic related problems


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arising from the rather ad-hoc textile trading and other commercial activities which are quite densely

located along this road. Pedestrian hand rails have been placed to prevent the parking of vehicles on

the sidewalks but this has not prevented frequent parking taking place on either side of these hand

rails. One three wheeler park is situated on the A4 road at the Clock Tower Junction near the cross

road between the A4 road and Old Road.

1.8 Railway Gate Closure

The railway line crosses the Pamunuwa Road at the very beginning adjacent to the junction with Old-

Bazaar Road causing traffic blockages both on Pamunuwa Road as well as on the Old Bazaar Road

during railway gate closures. Since the frequency of train movements is quite low this is still not a

major issue. However if railway services were to improve, then gate closures would become an issue.

1.9 Bus Terminals & Stops

Having on-street bus terminals at several locations within the city has resulted in two severe impacts

on the functionality of the town centre, On the one hand it encourages extensive pedestrian

movements which causes capacity reductions on roads in the city area by frequent road crossings and

by congesting the side walks. On the other hand, the bus terminals themselves take up road space

causing more congestion within the city. This is identified as one of the biggest problems with respect

to the smooth functionality of the town center.

The buses on Routes 138 and 112 in the Colombo direction stop on the A4 Road at the southern end

of the town area near the entrance to the Library Road. This is also the bus stop for long distance

buses to Colombo. There is a bus terminal for Routes 124, 280 & 993 lcoated on Old Bazaar Road

near the Bo-Tree Junction. The long distance bus stop in the out bound direction from Colombo is

also located in close vicinity to this bus terminal. These two activities often create disruption to free

flow of traffic on Old Bazaar Road by creating a bottle neck.

Some illustration by photographs of the condition of roads and traffic in the study area are given in

Figure 1.3.



Excess Road Capacity at Maharagama City Centre

with two lanes taken up for parking

Parking on One-way Road (A4)

Imbalanced capacity problem Space on One-way Road (A4)

Volume I: Final Report

Maharagama City Centre – 5 lanes

with two lanes taken up for parking

Three Wheeler Parking at City Centre

way Road (A4) Number 138 and 112 Bus Halt (Stand)

centre

way Road (A4) Pedestrian movements on carriageway of A4

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Parking at City Centre on A4 Road

138 and 112 Bus Halt (Stand) south of the city

on carriageway of A4 Road


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Congested Traffic Condition on Dehiwala Road

Unauthorized Vendors and Walkways

Obstructions to Pedestrians (Walkways on Dehiwala

Road)

Walkway Facilities has been occupied by Venders and

Parking

Uncontrolled Pavement Activities

Traffic, Parking and Temporary Buildings


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Route No: 119 Bus Stand near Bo Tree Junction

Route No: 119 Bus Stand and Cargils Exit

On-Street Bus Stand to Piliyandala

One-way control at Boe Tree Junction (A4)

Bus Stand at Bo Tree Junction (Old Road)

Pamunuwa Road Entrance from City

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

1.10 Scope

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

following:


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• 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.

o Comprehensive analysis of traffic patterns including movement of pedestrians, parking bus

circulating, in and out of bus stands and bus halting.

o Analysis of traffic accidents in the study area.

o 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.

o Identify the problems in the existing set up such as erroneous road markings, signs, signal

lights with faulty phases, lack of capacity for turning circles, inadequate lane widths etc.

o Calculation of benefits for technically feasible alternatives.

o Calculation of economic benefits for the above alternatives

o Based on above, recommend suitable solutions for each location which will include, solutions

such as new or improvements to signals, roundabouts, flyovers, over passes, by passes, traffic

management schemes, etc.

o If over passes/ flyovers required conceptual design of them with appropriate dimensions,

required legs etc.

o Report on the impact on Urban architecture

1.11 Data Collection

The Table 1-1 shows the details of the survey locations and type of surveys carried out pertaining to

this study. 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 on how the surveys

were carried out are given in the Volume II: Appendix to this Report.

Table 1-1: Details of Surveys Carried Out

Survey Date Locations

Turning Movement Counts

(Classified)

19 Aug 2008 TM13: Clock Tower Junction TM14 : Bo Tree

Junction

TM15 : Pamunuwa Rd. Junction

TM16 : Police Station Junction

Travel Time Survey 20 Aug 2008 Maharagama Town area (from Bo-tree junction to

Police Station Junction)

Pedestrian Counts

Pedestrian OD Bo Tree Junction, Dehiwala Road, High Level

road (near Shopping Complex), Near Bus Stand

Registration Number Plate Survey

Dehiwala Road (both directions), High Level

Road (to Colombo), Old Bazaar Road (to Kottawa

– near private bus stand and near Temple)

Bus Occupancy Survey


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CHAPTER 2 TRAFFIC ANALYSIS

2.1 Road Infrastructure

The important road links within the study area and their cross sectional properties are given in Table

2-1. The A4 Road has traditionally been the major artery passing the Maharagama town centre. Newer

buildings have come up on either side of this road. But over the last few years, this road is used only

for traffic moving towards Colombo while the returning traffic uses the narrower Old Bazaar Road

which was the main street through Maharagama many decades ago. The Old Bazaar Road which is

around 575 metres in length is only a parallel access road within the city used only as a shopping

street.

The A4 Road outside the town area is 4 lanes undivided but is widened to between 5 to 6 lanes within

the study area. The Old Bazaar Road also has 3 lanes within the study area. Thus in all, 4 lanes on

ether side of the town area increase to 8 lanes within the town area. These two roads presently serve

as a one-way couplet, even though their capacities are imbalanced.

The Dehiwala Road (B094) has been improved recently with an asphalt pavement surface and lane

markings with wider shoulders. It also has 4 lanes within the study area. However much of the

available capacity on the Dehiwala Road is used either for illegal commercial activities or parking of

vehicles. Thus only a fraction of the available capacity is used at any given time.

Pamunuwa Road, the other important road in Maharagama town area has a width to accommodate

two lanes of traffic. No sidewalks are provided on either side even though this road has the highest

demand for pedestrian travel.

The Library Road is a by-pass loop from the A4 to Dehiwala Road that avoids the Clock Tower

Junction. This is narrow road not used by many users as it usually does not save time as a short cut.

However the road section with loop around the Cargills Supermarket has been used for Route 119

buses to be turned around since they have no other place to turn and getting to A4 would mean they

have to do the one way loop or do an illegal turn around the clock tower.

Table 2-1: The cross sectional details of the road links in the study area

LaneWalkway/

ShoulderDrain

Gap to

Building

Edge

Total

(Wall to

Wall)

1 High Level Road A-A 6 3.00 1.40 0.60 1.20 24.40

2 Old Road B-B 3 3.50 1.00 12.50

3 Dehiwala Road C-C 4 3.50 2.00 2.00 22.00

4 Pamunuwa Road D-D 2 3.00 1.50 2.00 13.00

5 Library Road E-E 2 2.75 1.00 7.50

Item

NoRoad Name and Section

Map

Reference

No

#

Lanes

Width of Road Sectional Elements (m)


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Figure 2-1: Road Link and Lane configuration of Maharagama City Area

All the road links in the study area are well aligned when approaching the Clock Tower junction.

There are also no horizontal or vertical curvatures that affect the traffic movements on any of the road

links. A4 Road has 5 to 6 lane capacity between the two ends of the one way system. There is excess

capacity at present and this is used to allow parking on both sides of the A4 Road except on left hand

side when moving towards Colombo up to a distance of around 100 metres beyond the Clock Tower

Junction. There are adequately wide sidewalks on most of the length of A4 Road. However the

surface of these sidewalks is in poor condition as are the obstructions such as telephone booths, signs,

electricity poles etc. Other than at junctions, there are very few places where guard rails have been

placed to protect pedestrians or to prevent vehicles from parking on the sidewalk. This results in many

pedestrians using the excess space on the carriageway as a sidewalk.

On the Dehiwala Road the entire sidewalk has been occupied for commercial activities. In this case

almost all pedestrians end up walking along the carriageway effectively reducing the four lanes to two

lanes. There are no walkway facilities on Pamunuwa Road either. Hence pedestrian and the vehicles

share the existing carriageway which reduces the speeds of the vehicular flow quite significantly.

Parking takes place on one side of the Old Bazaar Road during the off peak period. However allowing

parking on a 3 lane road has created problems to the moving traffic on Old Bazaar Road. It should be

noted that there are no separate parking bays on any of the road links within the study area. Therefore

there are problems of controlling the parking behaviors in absence of marking of space and the

orientation of on street parking lots.


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The Cross Road, a short link between A4 Road and the Old Bazaar Road connecting the Clock Tower

Junction is a very important road for traffic management. This link had been used as the approach

road to and from between the Pamunuwa Road and Dehiwala Road up until a few years ago. After the

introduction of the one-way system, this has been closed for vehicles and used only by pedestrians

and also by traders. This road link however though aligned with the Dehiwala Road is not aligned

with the Pamunuwa Road. However this could be done by demolition of a few structures and

acquiring such lands.

The land area between the A4 Road and the Old Bazaar Road having a length of around 575 meters

forms an island between these two roads. Of this centre land area, a length of less than 100 meters has

been used for the Bo Tree bus terminus and the other areas are mostly retail business premises.

Figure 2-2: Pedestrian paths between High level Road and the Old Road

There are three gaps for pedestrian crossing between the A4 Road and the Old Bazaar Road (Figure 2-

2). There should be termed as extremely unsatisfactory form of inter-route transfer where passengers

from buses in the Dehiwala and Piliyandala or Moratuwa direction can connect to either the railway

or buses going to Malabe or Sri Jayewardenepura Hospital. In fact even though the distance from the

Clock Tower Junction to the railway station is around 150 meters, there are no dedicated pedestrian

facilities for this entire length. Pedestrians in fact walk about 60 metres on the railway track itself to

reach the Railway Station from Pamunuwa Road. Since all these pedestrians use the road carriageway

on Old Bazaar Road and the Pamunuwa Road, this results in a significant reduction in available

capacity for the vehicular traffic during peak periods.


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2.2 Link Flows

The total Average Daily Traffic on the A4 Road at either end of the Maharagama Town area is above

30,000 vehicles. The ADT of the one-way link of A4 Road north of the Clock Tower Junction is

27,214 vehicles reducing to 25,945 just south of the Clock Tower Junction.

The ADT on the Old Bazaar Road which is one way in the out bound direction to Colombo is 21,236

at a location north of the junction of Pamunuwa Road. This reduces to 11,919 just passing the

Pamunuwa Road junction. This shows that there is additional traffic of 9,317 vehicles intending to

turn to Pamunuwa Road which are now doing the north and south deviation on the one way system

unnecessarily.

The traffic level at the northern link of the Old Bazaar Road (from Bo Tree junction to Pamunuwa

Road junction) has exceeded the available three lane one way capacity. This capacity problem is

further aggravated due to both the Bo-Tree junction bus terminal and the bus terminal on Old Bazaar

Road is also located within this most congested link. This one-way link between Be Tree and the

Pamunuwa Road junction is only 250 meters long. This too has reduced the capacity in that section

having two junctions in close proximity. Pamunuwa Road carries ADT of 11,323 vehicles and the

Dehiwala Road carries total ADT of 19,407 as two-way roads. The ADT of non-motorized traffic as

bicycles is less than 1% at all junctions. The detailed link flows are given in the following figures.


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Table 2-2: ADT on Links

Road ADT

Junction

Private Buses Goods

Vehicles

Non

Motorized

Vehicles

Total

Passenger

Vehicles TM13 : Clock Tower Junction

A 23,308 2,023 2,361 373 27,620

B 17,693 936 2,059 302 20,588 C 24,770 2,010 2,465 308 29,094

D This link is closed

TM14 : Bo Tree Junction A 24,769 2,010 2,417 248 28,985

B 10,561 1,381 1,043 144 12,718

C 18,944 1,879 1,949 182 22,330 TM15 : Pamunuwa Road Junction

A 18,945 1,929 1,946 185 23,005

B 6,240 144 387 153 6,925

C 20,459 2,014 1,949 166 24,588

TM16 : President’s College Junction

A 16,496 2,066 1,409 142 19,644

B 1,526 18 70 22 1,629

C 26,315 3,376 2,756 476 32,595

TM13 : Clock Tower Junction

TM14 : Bo Tree Junction

TM15 : Pamunuwa Road Junction

TM16 : President’s College Junction


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A: ADT of Passenger Vehicle Flows in the study area

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


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C: ADT of Bus Flows in the study area

C: ADT of Goods Vehicle Flows in the study area


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C: ADT of Total Flows in the study area

Figure 2-3: Traffic Flow Diagrams (ADT by Major Vehicle Groups)

2.3 Flows at Junctions

The ADT of all vehicular movements at the Bo Tree Junction and the President’s College junction are

39,370 and 37,293 respectively. At the Clock Tower Junction the ADT is marginally lower at 36,585.

This indicates that the in this particular one way arrangement, the two ends are more loaded than the

centre which is the Clock Tower Junction. Also, the adjoining Pamunuwa Road junction on Old

Bazaar Road has an ADT of 27,627 vehicles per day. Of these junctions there is no congestion at

either the Clock Tower Junction or the President’s College Junction as there is adequate capacity

available for turning movements. The congestion near the Clock Tower Junction is not due to the

junction, but the disruptions to the through flow of vehicles by the heavy use of two pedestrian

crossings which are located within 150 meters from each other. The Bo-Tree Junction however, does

get congested due to heavy turning movements and the pedestrian and bus terminus activities in the

area. The Pamunuwa Road junction also gets congested as there is a capacity problem particularly

when there are large number of pedestrians on the road especially when a train arrives or during peak

shopping periods and also when there are closures of the railway gate.

A shown in Figure 2-3 and given in Table 2-3, the private motorized passenger vehicular flows (ADT)

at all the junctions indicate its share is around 80%. Bus flows are less than 10%, while goods vehicle


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flows are between 6 to 10%. Non-motorized vehicular flows are around 1 to 2 percent. There is no

significant variation in the distribution of vehicle types between the junctions or links.

Table 2-3: ADT at Junctions

Junction

ADT

Private

Passenger

Vehicles

Buses Goods

Vehicles

Non

Motorized

Vehicles

Total

TM13 : Clock Tower Junction 33,007 (85%) 2,625 (7%) 3,470 (9%) 501 (1%) 38,949

TM14 : Bo Tree Junction 35,330 (85%) 3,390 (8%) 3,459 (8%) 393 (1%) 41,703

TM15 : Pamunuwa Road Junction 25,185 (84%) 2,074 (7%) 2,334 (8%) 338 (1%) 29,930

TM16 : President’s College Junction 33,822 (83%) 3,758 (9%) 3,298 (8%) 506 (1%) 40,916

There are an estimated 3,201 bus movements per day at Bo- Tree Junction in all three directions. This

is 2,463 at the Clock Tower Junction. The maximum bus movements of 3,514 occur at the southern

most Presidents’ College Junction. There are a further 878 bus movements recorded on Dehiwala

Road in both directions of which around 30% take “U” turns around the clock tower opposing the

one-way flow on High-level Road. There are another 188 bus movements on Pamunuwa Road. But

more than 100 of them come to Old Road through the Pamunuwa Road Junction just to turn back to

the bus stand at Pamunuwa Road by travelling back through Temple Road which is located around

150 metres due south from the junction. Total daily outward bus movements from each bus stop are

given in Figure 2-4.

Figure 2-4: Total daily one-way (Outwards )Movements of Buses from each bus stops of the

Study area


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3.4 Speed and delay

Travel Time Surveys for vehicular movements across the Maharagama town centre were obtained

using 17 individual travel passes across the Study Area from (A) � (B) � (C) � (D) � (E) � (F) )

� (G) as indicated below. These locations are shown in Figure 2-5.

A Elahena Road Junction

B Bo Tree Junction

C Pamunuwa Road Junction

D Temple Road Junction

E Presidents’ College Junction

F Teachers Training College Junction

G Clock Tower Junction

Figure 2-5: Travel Time Survey Points

The travel time speeds obtained from the travel time survey carried out on the A4 Road along the

points shown in Figure 2-5 are summarized in Table 2-4.


2-11 | P a g e


Table 2-4:Summary of Link Speeds(km/h)

The speeds in km/hr of the typical movements during the evening peak hour are shown in Figure 2-6.

A - B B - C C - D D - E E - F F - G G - B B - A

Trial 1 6:57:04 27 23 18 29 30 24 27 19

Trial 2 7:06:53 15 21 26 28 26 27 26 24

Trial 3 7:24:09 31 17 17 27 29 24 34 28

Trial 4 8:09:54 21 23 26 22 37 27 33 27

Trial 5 9:50:15 22 19 23 31 34 34 31 29

Trial 6 9:53:53 25 18 27 25 26 30 37 22

Trial 7 11:12:50 24 18 10 25 29 27 41 15

Trial 8 12:28:34 23 16 27 29 17 27 36 19

Trial 9 13:06:51 28 18 21 30 32 35 31 27

Trial 10 13:43:45 14 12 11 27 22 30 46 29

Trial 11 15:50:49 19 21 23 32 24 25 29 32

Trial 12 15:57:40 32 16 25 27 19 23 30 29

Trial 13 16:02:02 26 21 17 23 32 31 38 15

Trial 14 16:05:30 26 17 26 25 30 37 38 32

Trial 15 16:47:33 20 20 17 24 34 27 33 17

Trial 16 18:09:10 22 14 18 25 24 26 44 19

Trial 17 18:25:21 11 12 13 22 22 31 29 15

Length of Section (m) 180 250 143 281 286 700 296 180

Average Speed (km/h) 23 18 20 26 27 29 34 24

Coefficient of Variation 25 19 28 11 21 14 17 27

Point

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

Legend

Elehena Road Junction

Clock Tower Junction

Training College Junction

Police Station Junction

Temple Road Junction

Pamunuwa Road Junction

Boe Tree Junction

Location of Travel Time Survey Points

Average Speed at Sections of:Trial No Start Time


2-12 | P a g e


Figure 2-6: Speeds (km/hr) for Typical Movements (P.M. Peak)

Hence it can be seen that:

• The average speed of approaching the first junctions from either direction of travel on the A4

to the study area having two way movements is 23 km/hr from the Colombo direction (link

AB) and 29 km/hr from the Homagama direction (link FG).

• The average speed on one-way road section is 28 km/hr for the north bound direction on the

A4 Road but only 19 km/hr in the south bound direction on the Old Bazaar Road. This shows

a very significant difference in bound and out bound speeds. The reasons for this as discussed

earlier are; the higher number of lanes on the A4 and the lack of pedestrian facilities as well

as intense on-street parking on the Old Bazaar Road.

• The speeds on the A4 have fewer variations (denoted by the coefficient of variation in Table

2-4) throughout the day. For a five lane road these speeds could be even higher than the

average of 29 to 34 km/hr recorded for section G to B. However the heavy pedestrian

crossings in particular have reduced speeds on this link right throughout the day.

• The average speeds on the Old Bazaar Road (from B to E) range between 18 km/hr to 27

km/hr. In this case the section up to Pamunuwa Road junction has a coefficient of variation

higher than the mean. This indicates that there is intense stop and go traffic flow conditions

on that road and the speeds vary sharply from time to time. In other words congestion and


2-13 | P a g e


delays can happen throughout the day. This can be explained due to a number of interferences

from on-street parking, tight junction at Pamunuwa Road, impacts of railway gate closure on

Old Bazaar Road, turning buses to and from the Bo-Tree Bus Terminus etc.

• The lowest speeds recorded are in the evening from B to D namely from (the Bo-Tree

junction on A4 to the Temple Road Junction on Old Bazaar Road). The average ranges

between 18 to 20 km/hr with individual speeds dropping to 12 km/hr over this 393 metre

section of road.

• During peak periods the congestion extends as far north as Elahena Road Junction on the A4

(location A) which means that the entire length from A to D, a distance of around 575 metres

has an average speed of around 12 km/hr. This then works out to a travel time of around 3

minutes.

• The highest speeds are recorded on the down stream of the Clock Tower Junction up to the

Bo Tree junction where the individual runs have recorded speeds of even 46 km/hr with a

daily average of 34km/hr. The impact of congestion is least on this link with the lowest

individual speed being recorded at 23 km/hr.

2.4 Pedestrian Flows

More than 2,800 hourly movements of pedestrians crossing the roads within the town area were

observed during the survey. Maximum crossings at 755 pedestrians per hour take place across the

commercially active Old Bazaar Road close to the Pamunuwa Road Junction. Around 1200 pedestrian

per hour crosses the A4 Road within 100 metres on either side of the Clock Tower Junction. This

results in the speeds of the one-way link which has adequate capacity also coming down. Total

crossings on the Old Bazaar Road within 100 meters on either side of the Pamunuwa Road Junction,

was observed as 1,063 pedestrians per hour. The total crossings within the town area bounded by the

one way system would be at least 5,000 pedestrians per hour.

In addition to the crossings there are a large number of pedestrian movements along the roads too.

Most of these pedestrians use the carriageway since only some corners of junction and a section along

the A4 Road have pedestrian facilities such as raised curbs and handrails provided. Most other roads

that have some form of sidewalks are disfunctional due to them being too narrow or being occupied

by parked vehicles or vendors. The most pedestrianized area in Maharagama town is along the

Pamunuwa Road. This has little or no facilities for pedestrians. The worst situation for pedestrians is

along the Dehiwala Road where sidewalks have been provided but have been permanently utilized for

commercial activities.


2-14 | P a g e


Figure 2-7: Hourly pedestrian movements across the Main Roads at Pedestrian Crossings

2.5 Bus Stands

There are 323 buses allocated to 6 bus terminals spread around Maharagama Town. As shown in

Table 2-5, more than 90% of them are private operators. The most number of buses, 64 including 10

SLTB buses are allocated to the Route # 138 bus route (Maharagama - Colombo) which is a high

frequency commuter route. The Maharagama – Dehiwala Route #119 which is an inter-suburban town

service has 55 buses, followed by another inter suburban route #341 which is between Piliyandala and

Maharagama. All the other routes have less than 30 buses. However it was observed that all these

buses have stopped alongside the main road links and no special areas allocated as a bus stand (Figure

2-8). There are an estimated 2,520 (80% of 3154 scheduled) bus arrivals and departures per day,

carrying an estimated 100,000 passengers to and from Maharagama Town. Although a separate

passenger origin-destination surveys was not within the scope of this study, it may be safely assumed

that at least 40% of these trips would be transfer trips at Maharagama. This invariably means that

40,000 passenger movements have to be made from one bus terminal to another. This explains the

very heavy pedestrian flows across the road. Thus it may be estimated that of the 5,000 pedestrian

crossings per hour at least 40% percent should be due to the lack of a central bus terminal and

resulting from passengers moving between the on-street terminals.


2-15 | P a g e


Table 2-5: Details at different Bus Terminals in the study area

Figure 2-8: Location of Bus Terminals in Maharagama Town

2.6 Railway Station and Passengers

There are around 12 to 15 trains per day stopping at the Maharagama Railway Station. An estimated

4,500 passengers board or alight from these trains. Most of them would take connecting buses. The

Private SLTB Total Round Trips Total

1 Colombo High Level Road 138 54 10 64 5 640 BS 1

2 Dehiwala Dehiwala Road 119 51 4 55 5 550 BS 3

3 Piliyandala Dehiwala Road 341 32 32 4 256 BS 4

4 Kotahena High Level Road 112 26 2 28 3 168 BS 1

5 Ihalabope Old Road 124 27 27 4 189 BS 2

6 Horana Old Road 280 22 3 25 4 175 BS 2

7 Moratuwa Dehiwala Road 192 20 4 24 5 240 BS 4

8 Malabe Old Road 993 18 2 20 5 200 BS 2

9 Cancer Hospital Dehiwala Road 345 16 16 7 224 BS 5

10 Nawarohala Pamunuwa Road 212 12 1 13 8 208 BS 6

11 Bokundara Dehiwala Road 341/2 11 11 8 176 BS 4

12 Neelammahara Dehiwala Road 341/1 8 8 8 128 BS 4

297 26 323 3154

Number of Buses at each Bus Route Trips per Day

Total

Origin Bus

Stand No Destination Route No


2-16 | P a g e


most likely connections are Route # 119 to Dehiwala, Route # 341 to Piliyandala, Route # 192 to

Moratuwa, Route # 993 to Malabe and Route # 212 to Nawarohala (Sri Jayewardenepura Hospital).

Passengers catching Route #s 119, 192, 341 have to cross the Old Bazaar Road as well as the A4

Road and walk between 200 to 600 metres along congested sidewalks both in the morning as well as

in the evening.

2.7 Accident Studies

The road traffic accident data collected from the Maharagama Police are given in Table 2-6. This

shows that there were 109 accidents recorded during the first 8 months of 2008 within the study area.

This makes around 45% of all accidents recorded by the Maharagama Police during this period.

Table 2-6: Accidents Recorded within Study Area (8 months of 2008)

Year Road

Location Accident Type

Total From To Fatal Grievous

Light

Injuries

Property

Damages

to

8/31/2008 High Level Road

Police Station

Jct

Clock Tower

Jct 0 2 0 14 16

to

8/31/2008 High Level Road Clock Tower junction 0 3 0 12 15

to

8/31/2008 High Level Road

Clock Tower

Jct Bo Tree Jct 0 10 0 20 30

to

8/31/2008 Pamunuwa Road Old Road Jct 0 4 0 5 9

to

8/31/2008 Temple road Old Road Jct 0 1 0 4 5

to

8/31/2008 Dehiwala Road

Clock Tower

Jct

Katuwawala

Road Jct 1 13 0 20 34

2006 9 33 131 438 611

2007 5 46 142 302 495

8/31/2008 2 26 63 151 242

As shown in Figure 2-9, the most number of accidents including the single fatal accident has occurred

on the Dehiwala Road which was described as the worst for pedestrians. The second highest number

of accidents has occurred on the one-way section of A4 between Clock Tower Junction and the Bo

Tree Junction a distance of only 250 metres where there have been 30 accidents over 8 months. This

was observed to be the fastest link within the town with individual average speeds well over 30 km

per hour. This is possibly due to a combination of high speeds, heavy left to right merging over a

relatively short section of road and heavy pedestrian crossings.


2-17 | P a g e


Figure 2-9: Locations of accidents within Study Area

3.11 Summary of Problems

The following is a summary of problems identified in the study area:

• The study area consists of four important junctions within a close area. The through traffic

passing the Maharagama town on A4 Road will have to pass at least three of these junctions.

• The main traffic through flow which is the flow on A4, has been separated in to two one way

roads (A4 and Old Bazaar Road) of unequal capacity which results in different average

speeds and different delays and levels of congestion in the two directions of travel. The traffic

returning from Colombo is slower and the extent of congested flow reaches the Elahena Road

Junction a distance of around 300 metres from the centre of the town.

• There are around 40,000 vehicle movements at both ends of one-way loop (A4 Road/Old

Bazaar Road). The ADT on the Clock Tower Junction (6 lanes x 4 lanes) and Pamunuwa

Road /Old Bazaar Road Junction (3 lanes x 2 lanes) is 36,585 and 27,627 vehicles per day

respectively. This clearly shows that the ends of the town area are more loaded than the

centre.

• The average link flow on A4 Road with 5 to 6 lanes is only 27,214 while the Old Bazaar

Road having 3 lanes has to carry an ADT of 21,236. This indicates that the per lane flow of

ADT in Old Road is more than 60% of High Level Rd (7,078/4,535). The excess road

capacity on A4 Road is used for on-street parking.

• Analysis shows that each of the links presently carrying between 18,000 and 28,000 vehicles

per day. However the one way system appears to be contributing around 9,000 trips on each

09

0515

09 - Junction

- Link


2-18 | P a g e


link. In other words the links and junctions are now 30 to 50 more loaded than with a two way

system. The only point where there would be a problem with a two way system is the Clock

Tower Junction where the total flow is only less than 37,000 vehicles per day and controllable

with a traffic signal.

• There are an estimated 5,000 pedestrian movements crossing the roads within this study area

per day. This means that there are more pedestrians on the roads in Maharagama town area

than there are vehicles. However other than the 5 pedestrian crossings there are little or no

facilities dedicated for pedestrian use.

• Average hourly crossings at the 3 legal crossings across the A4 Road alone is as high as

1,200. The flow on the two legal crossings on Old Bazaar Road is 1,100.

• The demand for pedestrians walking along the roads is as high as the demand for road

crossings. There are sidewalks of inadequate capacity and uneven surfacing in the city centre

and most of the roads do not have any sidewalks or guard rails. The most pedestrianized area

in the Maharagama town is the Pamunuwa Road which has no facilities for pedestrians. The

worst road section is the Dehiwala Road where sidewalks have been provided but almost all

of such spaces have been illegally used for commercial activities.

• This results in many pedestrians getting on to the carriageway as the poor quality of the

unpaved shoulders or having to weave in and out between parked vehicles and kiosks makes

walking on the sidewalks difficult or impossible).

• There is no central bus terminal in Maharagama town. Presently around 2,520 bus trips begin

or end at the Maharagama town in one of 6 designated bus terminals all of which are on-street

bus stops.

• 320 bus trips from Nugegoda to Dehiwala travel an additional 1.1km over the one-way loop

instead of the 300meters if two-way was operational. These are just additional movements

that are not necessary if that bus stand is centrally located.

• There is no parking control on any of the road links except during peak hours on A4 Road.

Both sides of all roads are used for parking throughout the day other than during the morning

peak. One-sided on-street parking is allowed on Old Bazaar Road is allowed. This has

resulted in reducing the speeds on that road even further.

• There are two primary reasons for traffic congestion in Maharagama are as follows:

o The decentralized nature of bus terminals across the town area has resulted in

extremely intense pedestrian movements across the town and especially those

crossing the A4 as well as the Old Bazaar Road which are presently used as the main

artery.

o The second reason is that the one-way arrangement while it has avoided the

signalization of the Clock Tower Junction has resulted in as high as 30 to 50% more

traffic on each of the links and junctions in the study area.


2-19 | P a g e


• The non-signalization of Clock Tower Junction has not achieved much since the traffic on A4

as well as Old Bazaar Road has to stops a total of 5 times (3 in Colombo direction and 2 times

in the opposite direction) in order to facilitate the heavy pedestrian flows across the two

roads. This results in vehicles being stopped to allow these pedestrian crossings anyway.

Hence the savings from non signalization have not been realized. If signalized the pedestrian

crossings could have been incorporated to the signal design and there would have been little

or no extra delay.

• The on-street bus terminals spread throughout the town also created many parking and traffic

congestion issues.

• Moreover the high flow of pedestrians along the sidewalks especially between the bus

terminals. This also attracts pavement vendors who in turn occupy the sidewalks and force the

pedestrians on to the road thus reducing the capacity of the roads and creating further

congestion.

• During peak periods the speeds on the Old Bazaar Road reduces to below 12 km/hr

intermittently. Even during the off-peak periods speeds are low and the daily average is

around 19 km/hr.

• The Old Bazaar Road between the Bo Tree Junction and Temple Road Junction is the worst

congested. The primary reason why this link gets blocked are; (a) the inadequate capacity, (b)

bus movements in and out to bus terminal near Bo Tree Junction, (c)on-street parking of

vehicles and (d) the large number of pedestrian movements across and along the road

specially those accessing the bus terminal and railway station.

• The pedestrians on A4 Road have to cross 6 lanes of traffic, where the excess capacity has

allowed higher speeds in the one way system. There is a greater risk from vehicles that are

attempting to overtake each other when there are pedestrians are present at the middle of

crossing without a central refuge.

• A total of 109 accidents have been recorded in the study area during the first 8 months of

2008. This is 45% of the total recorded in the entire Maharagama Police area. Of is 75

accidents have occurred within the one-way loop and 61 of them, are from the A4 Road

alone. This clearly shows the adverse effect of the one-way system which has been introduced

without addressing the other transport problems in the city.

• The most number of accidents have occurred on the Dehiwala Road which has the worst

situation since all sidewalk space has been occupied by vendors


3-1 | P a g e


CHAPTER 3 PROPOSED SOLUTIONS

3.1 Option 1: Signalization of Clock Tower Junction with Two-way traffic on

A4 Road

All indicators suggest that the Clock Tower Junction should be signalized and the A4 Road be made

two -way again. There is adequate capacity for this and signalization will be effective. There is also a

need to open the closed Cross Road leading up to Old Bazaar Road from the Clock Tower Junction.

This will allow the direct movement of traffic between Dehiwala and Pamunuwa approaches as well

as to and from the A4 road without having to circle half the town and adding to flows on all the links

and junctions. The Old Road can be kept one-way too as it is now. This new arrangement will

produce the following outcomes.

• It will reduce the junction movements at Bo Tree Junction by 23%, Presidents’ College

Junction (South End) by 6% and Pamunuwa Road Junction by 52%. But this will increase the

junction movement at Clock Tower Junction by 33%.

• There will be reduced number of vehicles (or not at all) on the Old Bazaar Road section

between Bo Tree Junction and the Clock Tower Junction thereby making space for parking,

pedestrian facilities and also bus stops.

• The available capacity of A4 Road can be utilized.

• There is no requirement to make the other junctions (Bo Tree and Presidents’ College

Junction) signalized as there are very few vehicles taking right turns. There will be around 3

vehicles per minute at these junctions and channelized flow with a turning lane would be

adequate.

• The pedestrian crossings on A4 can be incorporated to the signalized intersection or remote

ones can be coordinated with the through platoon movement. This will increase average

speeds on the traffic flow out bound from Colombo while keeping the speed of the inbound

flow the same amount.

Along with the signalization, a number of other general improvements should also be carried out:

• The sidewalks along A4 Road that are not serviceable should be improved with even surfaces

and guard rails.

• Provide raised sidewalks for pedestrian movements along the Old Bazaar Road from Bo Tree

Junction to Temple Road Junction should be made more pedestrian friendly and to give

pedestrian priority. Speeds of motorized vehicles should be limited to 30 km/hr on this Old

Bazaar Road. Space for vehicle movements should be limited as should be space for parking.

• The shoulders on the Pamunuwa Road should be developed and raised sidewalks created with

space for on-street parking.

• The sidewalks on Dehiwala Road should be cleared of vendors and other obstructions and

resurfaced.


3-2 | P a g e


The proposed lane configuration for the integrated signalization is shown in Figure 3-1. The details of

improvements are given in Table 3-1. The cost estimate for same is given in Table 3-2.

Figure 3-1: Lane configuration and extent of improvements to roads.

There are a total of 8.38 lane kilometers in the 1.99 km length of roads within the study area. It is

proposed that only the where improvements are necessary should be re-constructed. These

improvements should include surfacing, drainage, sidewalks, guard rails, road signs and markings etc.

Table 3-1: Items and the Quantities for Improvement in the Study Area

It is proposed that the conflicts at the North and the South Ends of the Old Bazaar Road to A4 Road

Junctions are to be managed with stop signs, channelization and clear lane markings. Details are given

in Table 3-1. There is only one building to be partially demolished and land acquired for widening

Asp

ha

lt

Su

rfa

cin

g (

m2

)

Wa

lkw

ay

s (m

2)

Dra

ins

(m)

Ro

ad

Sig

ns

(No

s)

Ro

ad

Ma

rkin

g

(m)

Fe

nci

ng

an

d

Ba

rric

ad

es

(m)

Tra

ffic

Sig

na

l

(No

s)

Acq

uis

itio

n

(m2

)

1 High Level Road 900 6 16200 3000 600 20 4500 300 1 -

2 Old Road 700 3 - 600 300 14 1400 - - -

3 Dehiwala Road 250 4 800 1500 500 10 900 400 - -

4 Pamunuwa Road 100 2 800 300 200 4 100 - - -

5 Cross Road 40 2 320 200 - 4 40 - - 200

6 Total 1990 18120 5600 1600 52 6940 700 1 200

No Road Length (m) # Lanes

Development Type and Quantity


3-3 | P a g e


the Cross Road between A4 Road and the Old Bazaar Road at Clock Tower Junction and also to

reduce the offset between these the Clock Tower Junction and the Pamunuwa Junction. There are

1,290 meters of sidewalks to be considered for reconstruction along the road network in the study

area. Fencing and barricades has been proposed both on A4 Road and the Dehiwala Road near the

Clock Tower Junction to control the heavy pedestrian movements. The cost estimates are given in

Table 3-2.

Table 3-2: Cost Estimates for Signalization and improvements to the Roads in the Study Area

3.1.1 Signal Design

The Clock Tower Junctions can be signalized with a three phase system, according to the estimated

traffic flows at the junction for two way traffic both on A4 Road and the Dehiwala Road. The Cross

Road is to be opened and operated as a one-way road to access the Old Bazaar Road and the

Pamunuwa Road. This will reduce making of a large number of right turns at the Bo Tree Junction

and reducing the travel distance. However by making the Cross Road one way, traffic coming out of

Pamunuwa Road will be required to follow the existing path to travel to Presidents’ College Junction

and return to Clock Tower Junction. This too can be reduced if sufficient width can be obtained from

Qty Amount (Rs)

1.0 Land Acquisition, & Demolition and Reconstruction

1.1 Total Road Length m 1990

1.2 Two Storey m2 60000 200 12,000,000.00

1.3 Total Land m2 75000 200 15,000,000.00

Sub Total 1 27,000,000.00

2.0 General Civil Cost

2.1 Preliminaries Sum 4,000,000.00

2.2 Clearing m2 80 3000 240,000.00

2.3 Demolistion of Structures Sum 500,000.00

2.4 Base & Sub Base m2 850 500 425,000.00

2.5 Asphalt Surfacing m2 2,300 18120 41,676,000.00

2.6 Walk Ways m2 900 5600 5,040,000.00

2.7 Kerbs m 1,450 2580 3,741,000.00

2.8 Drains m 4,600 1600 7,360,000.00

2.9 Fencing and Barricades m 14,000 700 9,800,000.00

2.10 Road Markings m 100 6940 694,000.00

2.11 Sign Boards Nos 35,000 52 1,820,000.00

2.12 Traffic Signal Unit Nos 6,000,000 1 6,000,000.00

Sub Total 2 81,296,000.00

Total 108,296,000.00

Add for Variations (20%) 21,659,200.00

Grand Total 129,955,200.00

Ite

m N

o

Item Description Unit Rate (Rs)

Improvements to Roads at the

Study Area and Signalization of

the Clock Tower Junction


3-4 | P a g e


Cross Road widening to perfectly align Pamunuwa Road, Cross Road and Dehiwala Road so that the

two junctions can work on combined signal timing. The estimated average daily traffic movements

are given in Figure 3-2.

Figure 3-2: Estimated Two way traffic at Clock Tower Junction

The signal cycle time at the Clock Tower Junction can be kept at an average of between 60 to 80

seconds for a three phase arrangements except during short periods of time during the morning peak.

However, the cycle time during morning peak reaches up to 180 seconds for duration of around ½

hour.

The total delay to vehicles arising from the signalizing of the Clock Tower Junction with two-ways is

calculated as (237 x 1.2) 284 vehicle hours a day.


3-5 | P a g e


Figure 3-3: Cycle time of the two phase system during the day time at Clock Tower

Junction

3.1.2 Other supplementary improvement to signalization

The A4 Road beyond the Old Bazaar Road connection at the two ends should be improved to have 4

lanes for a length of 100 meters (Figure 3-1) beyond these junctions. Channelization, lane markings

and stop signs are proposed at both junctions.

3.1.3 Centralization of the Bus Terminals

All the existing bus stands are decentralized to many places at present. There is a bus stand that has

been constructed by the UDA in the past but is unused at the moment. This bus stand building is

constructed at the centre of a 70 perches land area. The bus stand is not adequate to handle all the 323

buses originating from the Maharagama City. The bus stand can be used for passenger loading after

making some improvement to the ground area circulation and the access. There is another land with

an extent of around 48 perches called “Siyambalagaha Land” occupying the land between the Old

Bazaar Road and the Railway track adjoining to the Temple Road. According to the Maharagama UC

officials pointed out at the joint site visit made on 3rd February 2009, this land is available and can be

developed as a bus terminal.

Initially, this UDA bus stand on the 70 perch land which is from where the Malabe and Horana bus

routes operate at present and the 48 perch land called Siyambalagaha can be combined to function as a

central bus stand in Maharagama City with a linkage to the Railway Station as well. With a proper

design and an operational plan to handle all the 323 buses originating from Maharagama this is

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

06

.30

-06

.45

07

.00

-07

.15

07

.30

-07

.45

08

.00

-08

.15

08

.30

-08

.45

09

.00

-09

.15

09

.30

-09

.45

10

.00

-10

.15

10

.30

-10

.45

11

.00

-11

.15

11

.30

-11

.45

12

.00

-12

.15

12

.30

-12

.45

13

.00

-13

.15

13

.30

-13

.45

14

.00

-14

.15

14

.30

-14

.45

15

.00

-15

.15

15

.30

-15

.45

16

.00

-16

.15

16

.30

-16

.45

17

.00

-17

.15

17

.30

-17

.45

18

.00

-18

.15

Cy

cle

Tim

e

Time

Adjusted Cycle Time (Maharagama Clock Tower Junction)


3-6 | P a g e


possible. Since the Old Bazaar Road near Bo Tree Junction will not carry much traffic after

signalization and restoration of two way system, both the UDA bus stand and the present bus stand at

Old Bazaar Road can be combined to function together as there will be some on-street capacity as

well. This section of Old Road between Bo Tree Junction and the Bus stand entry and exit can be

also made one-way to streamline the flow of buses. There can be bus priority designs on this section

of road as other vehicles need not use this road as a through road.

Land utilization in the city centre is typical of any suburb with commercial activities dominating the

town centre. The recent development of Maharagama as a place for clothing and fabric seems to have

many new users to the city centre too. The built forms have evolved along with the new users rather

than with the needs of the citizens. The city centre does not provide any in-between spaces where city

life could occur. With the bus stations located all over the town and with the informal trading sector

occupying most of the public spaces and pavements, Maharagama seems to have completely lost its

public realm. As such, it is essential to centralize the transport and transiting, while giving a complete

face lift to the public spaces. Since activities usually follow the people’s movements, the informal

sector can be relocated around such centralized commuter facilities. A separation of vehicle traffic

that passes through the city from traffic within the city would be also essential, and the latter can be

integrated with pedestrian movements. As a whole, we believe that a good urban design could solve

most of the problems in Maharagama.

Figure 3-4: Linkage between Bus Terminal, Bus Park and Railway Station

The Siyambalagaha land can be used as a bus park till buses get the turn at the proposed Centralized

Bus Terminal. There will be capacity for around 30 buses at this site after improvements are made.

This is considered adequate for a terminal which dispatches 720 bus trips per day. However, this can

be achieved only with a proper timetable and professional bus terminal management. The cost of the

medium term solution proposed and discussed above is given in Table 3-3. Therefore, the total cost


3-7 | P a g e


of the Option 1 becomes approximately (130 + 184) 314 million rupees. The new Bus Stand and the

proposed rerouting of the buses are shown in Figure 3-5.

Table 3-3: Cost of the Proposed Bus Stand and the Bus Park Development

Qty Amount (Rs)

1.0

Total Land Area (Bus Park and Bus Stand) Perches 118

1.1 Single Storey (Siyambalagaha Land) m2 5000 600 3,000,000.00

1.2 Total Land (Siyambalagaha Land) m2 75000 1150 86,250,000.00

Sub Total 1 89,250,000.00

2.0


2.2 Clearing m2 80 2307 184,532.80

2.3 Demolistion of Structures Sum 200,000.00

2.4 Retaining Wals m 10,000 100 1,000,000.00

2.5 Base & Sub Base m2 1,350 2307 3,113,991.00


2.7 Walk Ways m2 900 300 270,000.00

2.8 Kerbs m 1,450 200 290,000.00

2.9 Drains m 4,600 280 1,288,000.00


2.11 Road Markings m 100 500 50,000.00

2.12 Sign Boards Nos 35,000 10 350,000.00

2.13 3m wide Elevated Pedestrian Walkway (Railway and Bus Stand) m 150,000 150 22,500,000.00

2.14 Development for Bus Stand and Passenger Facilities P Sum 25,000,000 1 25,000,000.00

Sub Total 2 64,351,841.80

Total 153,601,841.80


Grand Total 184,322,210.16

Rate (Rs)

Improvements to UDA Bus Stand

and Bus Park at Siyambalagaha

Land

General Civil Cost (Both Bus Stand and Park)

Land Acquisition, & Demolition and Reconstruction

Ite

m N

o

Item Description Unit


3-8 | P a g e


Figure 3-5: Proposed Bus Stand and Proposed Bus Circulation Plan

4.2 Option 2: Flyover

The ADT of through traffic on A4 Road pass the Clock Tower Junction is around 18,500 vehicles.

Therefore, the average hourly through traffic flow on A4 Road is over 1,200 vehicles per hour. This is

around 1450 vehicles per hour in peak hours at both directions. Therefore, if it is to construct a

flyover across these Clock Tower Junctions on A4 Road, two lanes are adequate for about 10 years

period without reaching the capacity. Also if we assume that three wheelers and buses do not use the

flyover, this estimate reduces by more than 20% and the design life could be further increased without

reaching the capacity of two lane facilities. The minimum length required is 300meters to pass only

the Clock Tower Junction with minimum vertical clearance of 5.5m under the junction.

The flyover needs to have two lanes and need approximately 8meters width with minimum of 7.32

meters of carriageway. 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 3m wide walkway are provided at the building frontage of the

shops, it is required a minimum width of 25meters to accommodate the flyover. This could be

provided without demolition of any commercial buildings since this width is available on A4 Road

within the study area. However it is required to widening the carriageway and new walkways are to be

constructed within the entire length. Also the Cross Road should be fully cleared and improved to

have at least 2 lanes and to be allowed for two way traffic between Pamunuwa Road and Dehiwala

Road. The longitudinal section of the flyover across the Clock Tower Junctions is shown in Figure 3-

6. The cost estimate of the flyover is given in Table 3-4.


3-9 | P a g e


Figure 3-6: Longitudinal Section of the proposed flyover

Table 3-4: Cost Estimate for Flyover

Qty Amount (Rs)

1.0 Land Acquisition, & Demolition and Reconstruction

1.1 Road Length m 300

1.3 Two Storey m2 50000 650 32,500,000.00

1.3 Total Land m2 75000 650 48,750,000.00

Sub Total 1 81,250,000.00

2.0 General Civil Cost


2.2 Clearing m2 80 650 52,000.00

2.3 Demolition of Structures Sum 4,500,000.00

2.4 Base & Sub Base m2 850 1380 1,173,000.00


2.6 Walk Ways m2 900 2700 2,430,000.00

2.7 Kerbs m 1,450 1960 2,842,000.00

2.8 Drains m 4,600 900 4,140,000.00


2.10 Road Markings m 100 720 72,000.00

2.11 Sign Boards Nos 35,000 40 1,400,000.00

Sub Total 2 44,580,000.00

3.0 Cost of Flyover (2 Lane) m 3,038,194 300 911,458,333.33

Total 1,037,288,333.33


Grand Total 1,244,746,000.00

Ite

m N

o

Item Description Unit Rate (Rs)

Flyover Option (To Overpass the

Clock Tower Junction Only)


3-10 | P a g e


We shall also add the cost of Rs 184.3 million estimated for the construction of the bus terminal and

bus park shown under the signalization option which needs to be included in the flyover option as

well. This will increase the flyover project cost to Rs 1,429 million.

3.1.1 Impact of Flyover on Urban Landscape

Maharagama Town is considered as one of the most residential suburbs of Colombo. It is also known

as a famous destination for new migrants to Colombo. This means one may find a large numbers

commuting to and from Colombo, thus making the town centre a busy place throughout the day. The

town centre certainly is a major node on the High Level Road, one of the major artilleries that connect

the capital with its suburbs. The High Level road has been made into a one-way road towards

Colombo while the narrower ‘old road’ which runs parallel to High Level is used for the traffic that

leaves Colombo. High Level being a wide road dissects the city centre and has become the most

prominent feature of the city. From the point of view of urban design this is rather unhealthy because

this domination of a road as well as dissecting turns Maharagama into a non-city failing to contain the

public realm. The lifelessness caused by this no-man’s land in the middle of the city centre also cost

the sense of belonging and place-identity. This is why we could see people always hurrying from bus

station to another or driving fast rather attempting to spend some time in the city centre. We note if it

is not for the activities which involve daily needs of the people, Maharagama would definitely

become a haunted town.

A flyover would further strengthen the dissecting of the city. The creation of this inhumane structure

would eventually push the city centre into dark, unusable, and dead space thus further deteriorating

urban aesthetics. The citizen will feel like entering into an inhabitable construction yard thus the

container quality of the city centre would be further lost. Although, the traffic problem may be eased

on the town centre, one could question whether the cities are built for people or vehicles. The flyover

will as a whole have a negative impact on Maharagama from the point of view of urban space.


4-1 | P a g e


CHAPTER 4 COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS

4.1 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 A4 Road, Dehiwala and Pamunuwa

Roads

• Value of Travel Time Savings for vehicles on A4 Road, Dehiwala and Pamunuwa Roads

• Saving from Reduction of Accidents

4.2 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:

• A4 Road Through Traffic approaching from Kottawa direction – 28 km/hr

• Old Bazaar Road Through Traffic approaching from Colombo direction – 19 km/hr

• Pamunuwa Road approaching Traffic coming around to Clock Tower– 24 km/hr

• Dehiwala Road traffic coming up to Pamunuwa Road junction – 18 km/hr

The two options considered along with the other traffic management measures that have been

recommended will improve the speeds of these flow movements in particular.

The signalization delay for the 3 phase arrangement was estimated at 193 vehicle hours. The average

speed within the area without signal delay can be estimated as follows:

• A4 Road Through Traffic approaching from Kottawa direction – 25 km/hr

• A4 Road Through Traffic approaching from Colombo direction – 25 km/hr

• Pamunuwa Road approaching Traffic coming to Clock Tower– 20 km/hr

• Dehiwala Road traffic coming up to Pamunuwa Road junction – 20 km/hr

This also includes improvements to speed due to the movement of on-street bus terminals to the

proposed centrally off-street locations. It is also assumed that signalization and shifting of bus stands

will reduce all types of accidents by 1/3rd. Benefits to pedestrians has not been included in the

analysis.

In the flyover option, it was shown in Section 4.1 that the estimated average demand would be around

18,500 vehicles per day, with an average flow rate of 1,450 vehicles in both direction of a two lane

flyover 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


4-2 | P a g e


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

Dehiwala and Pamunuwa approaches, we will not assume any change from the signalization option.

4.3 Economic Benefits

Table 4-1 and Table 4-2 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 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 5.3 and Table 5.4 are in SLR in 2008

prices.

Accident savings are computed assuming that 1/3rd of the accidents presently occurring at the

Maharagama study area can be reduced by signalization. In the case of a fly over which will separate

many conflicts and make it safer for both pedestrians as well as vehicle users this has been assumed at

50%. 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


4-3 | P a g e


Table 4-1: Economic Analysis for Signalization Option

PRESENT SCENARIO-2008

Vehicle Operating Cost

ADT (Average) length speed VOC(Rs/km)

Ann.

Cost

Section Private Bus Truck Total metres km/hr Private Bus Truck Rs Mn

A4 Approaching from Colombo turning to Pamunuwa Rd 2,313 260 318 2,891 180 12 41.64 81.09 74.16 8.9

A4 Approaching from Colombo proceeding to Kottawa 7,440 837 1,023 9,300 854 20 31.92 58.65 54.36 102.3

A4 Approaching from Colombo turning to Dehiwala Rd 2,350 264 323 2,937 1554 25 28.08 46.68 46.47 50.8

A4 Approaching from Kottawa turning to Dehiwala Rd 4,875 548 670 6,094 700 28 26.91 45.81 44.37 45.6

A4 Approaching from Kottawa proceeding to Colombo 7,440 837 1,023 9,300 854 28 26.91 45.81 44.37 84.9

A4 Approaching from Kottawa turning to Pamunuwa Rd 1,771 199 244 2,214 1034 18 32.91 60.90 56.34 30.5

B504 Approaching from Pamunuwa turning to Kottawa 1,771 199 244 2,214 674 22 31.59 67.75 62.28 20.0

B504 Approaching from Pamunuwa turning to Dehiwela 1,030 116 142 1,287 1374 25 28.08 46.68 46.47 19.7

B504 Approaching from Pamunuwa turning to Colombo 2,313 260 318 2,891 1528 25 28.08 46.68 46.47 49.1

B094 Approaching from Dehiwala turning to Kottawa 1,734 195 238 2,168 1008 20 31.92 58.65 54.36 28.1

B094 Approaching from Dehiwala turning to Colombo 2,350 264 323 2,937 154 28 26.91 45.81 44.37 4.8

B094 Approaching from Dehiwala turning to Pamunuwa Rd 1,030 116 142 1,287 334 20 31.92 58.65 54.36 5.5

439.7


4-4 | P a g e


Travel Time Costs

Approach ADT length speed VOT(Rs/hr)

Ann.

Cost

Private Bus Truck Total metres km/hr Private Bus Truck Rs Mn

A4 Approaching from Colombo turning to Pamunuwa Rd 2,313 260 318 2,891 180 12 204 1116.9 4.0

A4 Approaching from Colombo proceeding to Kottawa 7,440 837 1,023 9,300 854 20 204 1116.9

36.7

A4 Approaching from Colombo turning to Dehiwala Rd 2,350 264 323 2,937 1554 25 204 1116.9 16.9

A4 Approaching from Kottawa turning to Dehiwala Rd 4,875 548 670 6,094 700 28 204 1116.9

14.1

A4 Approaching from Kottawa proceeding to Colombo 7,440 837 1,023 9,300 854 28 204 1116.9 26.2

A4 Approaching from Kottawa turning to Pamunuwa Rd 1,771 199 244 2,214 1034 18 204 1116.9

11.7

B504 Approaching from Pamunuwa turning to Kottawa 1,771 199 244 2,214 674 22 204 1116.9 6.3

B504 Approaching from Pamunuwa turning to Dehiwela 1,030 116 142 1,287 1374 25 204 1116.9

6.5

B504 Approaching from Pamunuwa turning to Colombo 2,313 260 318 2,891 1528 25 204 1116.9 16.3

B094 Approaching from Dehiwala turning to Kottawa 1,734 195 238 2,168 1008 20 204 1116.9 10.1

B094 Approaching from Dehiwala turning to Colombo 2,350 264 323 2,937 154 28 204 1116.9 1.5

B094 Approaching from Dehiwala turning to Pamunuwa Rd 1,030 116 142 1,287 334 20 204 1116.9 2.0

152.2

VOR

VOT

Private 1.2 170

Bus 30

1116.9


4-5 | P a g e


SCENARIO WITH IMPROVEMENTS


ADT length speed VOC(Rs/km)

Ann.

Cost

Approach Private Bus Truck Total metres km/hr Private Bus Truck Rs Mn








B504 Approaching from Pamunuwa turning to Dehiwala 1,030 116 142 1,287 50 20 31.92 58.65 54.36 0.8





309.4

Travel Time Costs

ADT length speed VOC(Rs/km) Ann.


4-6 | P a g e


Cost

Approach Private Bus Truck Total metres km/hr Private Bus Truck Rs Mn

A4 Approaching from Colombo turning to Pamunuwa Rd 2,313 260 318 2,891 180 25 204 1116.9

1.9

A4 Approaching from Colombo proceeding to Kottawa 7,440 837 1,023 9,300 854 25 204 1116.9 29.3

A4 Approaching from Colombo turning to Dehiwala Rd 2,350 264 323 2,937 154 25 204 1116.9

1.7

A4 Approaching from Kottawa turning to Dehiwala Rd 4,875 548 670 6,094 700 25 204 1116.9 15.7

A4 Approaching from Kottawa proceeding to Colombo 7,440 837 1,023 9,300 854 25 204 1116.9

29.3

A4 Approaching from Kottawa turning to Pamunuwa Rd 1,771 199 244 2,214 750 25 204 1116.9 6.1

B504 Approaching from Pamunuwa turning to Kottawa 1,771 199 244 2,214 750 20 204 1116.9

7.7

B504 Approaching from Pamunuwa turning to Dehiwala 1,030 116 142 1,287 50 20 204 1116.9 0.3



B094 Approaching from Dehiwala turning to Colombo 2,350 264 323 2,937 154 20 204 1116.9

2.1


104.2


4-7 | P a g e


Table 4-2: Economic Analysis for Flyover Option

PRESENT SCENARIO-2008


ADT (Average) length speed VOC(Rs/km)

Ann.

Cost


Section













439.7


4-8 | P a g e


Travel Time Costs

ADT length speed VOT(Rs/hr)

Ann.

Cost


Approach

A4 Approaching from Colombo turning to Pamunuwa Rd 2,313 260 318 2,891 180 12 204 1116.9

4.0

A4 Approaching from Colombo proceeding to Kottawa 7,440 837 1,023 9,300 854 20 204 1116.9 36.7

A4 Approaching from Colombo turning to Dehiwala Rd 2,350 264 323 2,937 1554 25 204 1116.9

16.9

A4 Approaching from Kottawa turning to Dehiwala Rd 4,875 548 670 6,094 700 28 204 1116.9 14.1

A4 Approaching from Kottawa proceeding to Colombo 7,440 837 1,023 9,300 854 28 204 1116.9

26.2

A4 Approaching from Kottawa turning to Pamunuwa Rd 1,771 199 244 2,214 1034 18 204 1116.9 11.7

B504 Approaching from Pamunuwa turning to Kottawa 1,771 199 244 2,214 674 22 204 1116.9

6.3

B504 Approaching from Pamunuwa turning to Dehiwela 1,030 116 142 1,287 1374 25 204 1116.9 6.5





152.2

VOR VOT

Private 1.2

170

Bus 30 1116.9


4-9 | P a g e


SCENARIO WITH IMPROVEMENTS



Ann.

Cost


Approach













280.1

Travel Time Costs


4-10 | P a g e



Ann.

Cost


Approach A4 Approaching from Colombo turning to Pamunuwa Rd 2,313 260 318 2,891 180 35 204 1116.9 1.4

A4 Approaching from Colombo proceeding to Kottawa 7,440 837 1,023 9,300 854 35 204 1116.9

20.9

A4 Approaching from Colombo turning to Dehiwala Rd 2,350 264 323 2,937 154 35 204 1116.9 1.2

A4 Approaching from Kottawa turning to Dehiwala Rd 4,875 548 670 6,094 700 35 204 1116.9

11.2

A4 Approaching from Kottawa proceeding to Colombo 7,440 837 1,023 9,300 854 35 204 1116.9 20.9

A4 Approaching from Kottawa turning to Pamunuwa Rd 1,771 199 244 2,214 750 35 204 1116.9

4.4

B504 Approaching from Pamunuwa turning to Kottawa 1,771 199 244 2,214 750 20 204 1116.9 7.7

B504 Approaching from Pamunuwa turning to Dehiwela 1,030 116 142 1,287 50 20 204 1116.9

0.3


B094 Approaching from Dehiwala turning to Kottawa 1,734 195 238 2,168 700 20 204 1116.9

7.0



80.2


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4.4 Cost-Benefit Analysis

The benefits computed in Tables 4-3 and 4-4 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 4-3 and Table 4-4, an economic analysis has been

performed to obtain the Economic Internal Rate of Revenue (EIRR). This is shown in Table 4-3 and

Table 4-4 for the signalization and flyover options respectively.

In the case of the signalization option, the cost of delay at signals has been included as a dis-benefit.

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 end of 2009.

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:

4.4.1 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 4-3.


4-12 | P a g e


Table 4-3: Cost Benefit Analysis for Signalization Option

Cost

Benefit

Capital Recurrent VOC VOT Accidents

Signal Delay

VoT Total Net

2008 0

0

2009 314

-314

2010

6.3

130 48 29 -27

180.1 174

2011

6.4

134 49 30 -28

185.5 179

2012

6.5

138 51 31 -29

191.1 185

2013

6.5

142 52 32 -30

196.8 190

2014

6.6

147 54 33 -31

202.7 196

2015

6.7

151 56 34 -32

208.8 202

2016

6.7

156 57 35 -33

215.1 208

2017

6.8

160 59 36 -34

221.5 215

2018

6.9

165 61 37 -35

228.2 221

2019

6.9

170 63 38 -36

235.0 228

380.4

2064.8 1,684

Total

Discount Rate 36.6

Generated Traffic 0.0

NPV

1684.5 Rs Million

B/C

4.4

Based on the Table 4-3 it is seen that the Signalization Option the following conclusions can be

reached:

1. On the above assumptions it returns an EIRR of 36.6% which can be termed a high return on

investment for an urban road project.

2. At a discount rate of 0% it returns a Net Present Value of Rs 1684.5 million over 10 years.

3. At undiscounted prices it returns a Benefit to Cost Ratio of 4.4.

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 20% showing it is

robust to absorb reduction in benefits as well.


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4.4.2 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 4-4.

Table 4-4: Cost Benefit Analysis for Flyover Option

Cost Benefit

Capital Recurrent VOC VOT Accidents Total

2008 0

2009 1,429

2010 28.9 160 72 44 0 275.6

2011 29.2 164 74 45 0 283.8

2012 29.4 169 76 47 0 292.4

2013 29.7 174 79 48 0 301.1

2014 30.0 180 81 49 0 310.2

2015 30.3 185 83 51 0 319.5

2016 30.6 191 86 52 0 329.1

2017 30.9 196 89 54 0 338.9

2018 31.3 202 91 56 0 349.1

2019 31.6 208 94 57 0 359.6

2020 31.9 215 97 59 0 370.4

2021 32.2 221 100 61 0 381.5

2022 32.5 228 103 63 0 392.9

2023 32.9 234 106 65 0 404.7

2024 33.2 241 109 66 0 416.8

2025 33.5 249 112 68 0 429.3

2026 33.8 256 116 70 0 442.2

2027 34.2 264 119 73 0 455.5

2028 34.5 272 123 75 0 469.1

2029 34.9 280 126 77 0 483.2

2064.6 7404.8

Total

Discount Rate 16.4

Generated Traffic 0.0

NPV 5340.2 Rs Million

B/C 2.6

Based on the Table 5.6 it is seen that the Flyover Option the following conclusions can be reached:

1. On the above assumptions it returns a positive EIRR of 16.4% which indicates that the project

is economically viable though not as much as the signalization option.


4-14 | P a g e


2. At a discount rate of 0% it returns a Net Present Value of Rs 5,340 million.

3. At undiscounted prices it returns a Benefit to Cost Ratio of 2.6.

The following sensitivity tests have been also performed:

1. If construction costs increase by 50% in real terms the project returns an EIRR of 10.7%

which shows that the signalization project is marginally robust to absorb cost variations.

2. If benefits reduce by half over the project life period, returns an EIRR of 2.2% showing it is

not robust to absorb reduction in benefits.

4.5 Non-Quantifiable Benefits

There are several other benefits that have not been included in the economic analysis. These may be

identified as:

1. Bothe projects will lead to modernization to Maharagama city centre

2. Both projects will lead to improvement to an important National Highway.

3. Both projects will lead to improvement of travel and transfer facilities for buses and bus

passengers.

4. There are serious concerns on the impact of a flyover on the urban landscape and the creation

of dead space under the flyover and its impact on the functionality of the town centre.


5-1 | P a g e


CHAPTER 5 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 314 million for signaling the

Clock Tower junction and

setting up of central bus stand

and bus park.

Rs 1,429 million for a 2 lane

flyover of 300 metres with

central bus stand.

Urban Landscape No adverse Impact Considered too dominant for a

suburban town centre such as

Maharagama and likely to

dissect the town centre.

Other General Improvements Construction of a central bus

terminal and bus park to remove

all on-street bus terminals from

the town area

Construction of a central bus

terminal and bus park to remove

all on-street bus terminals from

the town area

Increase in Travel Speed Through traffic speeds on A4

Road will change from 12-28

km per hour to 20-25 km per

hour.

Through traffic speeds on A4

Road will change from 12-28

km per hour to 20-35 km per

hour.

Decrease in Travel Distance Will reduce travel distances by

30%

Will reduce travel distances by

30%

Acquisition Acquisition required for bus

terminal and bus park

Acquisition required for bus

terminal and bus park

Economic Benefit-Cost

Analysis

EIRR is 36.6% and NPV is Rs

1684.5 million with a Benefit-

Cost ratio of 44.

EIRR is 16.4% and NPV is Rs

5,340 million with a Benefit-

Cost ratio of 2.6.

Safety Will improve marginally.

Estimated 1/3rd

reduction.

Will improve due to grade

separation. Estimated 50%

reduction.

Level of Service Signal Timing for existing flow

returns an acceptable Level of

Service

Width is adequate for

acceptable Level of Service

(V/C of 0.6) on two lane

undivided flyover.

Adequacy of Capacity Will be adequate for next 10

years.

Two lane undivided flyover will

be adequate for up to 10 years.

Delays during Construction Relatively small as construction

duration will also be very short

Heavy since the construction

length is high and centre 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.


5-2 | P a g e


Bus Operations from Terminals To be relocated to a central

location with adjacent bus park

To be relocated to a central

location with adjacent bus park

Pedestrian Facilities Can be incorporated into the

signalization.

Can be accommodated under

the flyover.

Parking Facilities Off Street parking facilities

required

Some parking can be

accommodated under the

flyover.

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


6-1 | P a g e


CHAPTER 6 RECOMMENDATION

The following measure to improve the traffic flow in Maharagama Junction can be recommended

based on the economic viability and other issues discussed earlier.

• The signalization of the Clock Tower junction at Maharagama can be successfully

implemented.

• Cross Road should be widened and made one way.

• A central bus terminal adjacent to the Bo Tree and the Railway Station to be constructed and

bus park at Siyambalagaha land adjacent to Temple Road to be constructed with elevated

walkway connecting railway station and central bus stand.

• To reroute the bus routes to ensure that pedestrian movements across the town would be

reduced thus reducing accidents as well.

These measures will result in

• Improved average speed within Maharagama Study area from the exiting average of around

16 km per hour to an estimated 22 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 314 million rupees but its benefits will far outweigh the costs

in terms of an EIRR of 36.6% and an NPV at 0% discount rate of Rs 1684 million and a Benefit-Cost

ratio of 4.4 indicating a very high rate of return on investment.

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

benefits.

In contrast a flyover of 300 metres will cost Rs 1,429 million. Such a project also returns positive

return on investments but it is lower than the signalization option. It is also not stable over changes to

cost or benefits. The summary of the recommendations is shown in the Figure 6-1 (a, b and c) for the

signalization, bus terminal location and bus route rearrangement respectively.


6-2 | P a g e



6-3 | P a g e


Figure 6-1 (a to c)- Map of Maharagama Study Area showing recommended improvements

treatment of junctions - amal kumarage · 2015. 3. 19. · treatment of junctions- volume i: final...

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