Sri Lanka, an island nation of 20 million people, has just completed its first express highway, which, as Toll Roads News is quick to point out, is financed through a toll system.
The country lags behind its neighbors, writes Peter Samuel, because it has been stuck in a lengthy civil war. Aid organizations helped finance the 60-mile long Southern Expressway, and toll collection is designed to help the nation pay back the loans:
"Five to ten miles inland of the coast the new 'Southern Expressway" parallels an old mostly 2 lane road forming the main street of many coastal towns and villages. The interchanges of the new highway are designed to be magnets for new development - residential and commercial - as well as catering to traffic not needing to be on the coastal 2-laner.
Extensions are planned from Galle to the east, including to a new international airport. The next 30km, 18 mile is due for opening by end-2013."
FULL STORY: Sri Lanka gets first expressway, toll-financed
Tolling Gaining Traction for Highway Projects in Kansas
After the state broke ground on a tolled express lane project at the eastern edge of Kansas, near Kansas City, tolls are also under consideration in the nascent stages of a corridor study located at the southwest edge of the same region.
Congestion Pricing Could Be Coming to L.A.
The infamously car-centric city is weighing a proposed congestion pricing pilot program to reduce traffic and encourage public transit use.
Houston Tollway Could Get Transit Options
Officials will assess multiple options for increasing capacity on a key route between downtown Houston and southwestern communities.
What ‘The Brutalist’ Teaches Us About Modern Cities
How architecture and urban landscapes reflect the trauma and dysfunction of the post-war experience.
USDOT Revokes Approval for NYC Congestion Pricing
Despite the administration’s stated concern for the “working class,” 85 percent of Manhattan commuters use public transit to enter the city.
Tiny House Villages for Addressing Homelessness: An Interview with Yetimoni Kpeebi
One researcher's perspective on the potential of tiny homes and owner-built housing as one tool to fight the housing crisis.
Preserving Altadena’s Trees: A Community Effort to Save a Fire-Damaged Landscape
In the wake of the Eaton Fire, Altadena Green is working to preserve fire-damaged but recoverable trees, advocating for better assessment processes, educating homeowners, and protecting the community’s urban canopy from unnecessary removal.
The VW Bus is Back — Now as an Electric Minivan
Volkswagen’s ID. Buzz reimagines its iconic Bus as a fully electric minivan, blending retro design with modern technology, a 231-mile range, and practical versatility to offer a stylish yet functional EV for the future.
Investigation Reveals Just How Badly California’s Homeless Shelters are Failing
Fraud, violence, death, and chaos follow a billion dollar investment in a temporary solution that is proving ineffective.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Economic & Planning Systems, Inc.
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research