Expressways

Four tolled roads carry the long-distance traffic, and turn a four hour crawl to Galle into under two.

Rs 475 Colombo to Galle, by car
1969 Emergency, tap to call
100 km/h Speed limit, no tuk-tuks
What the toll costsClass 1 car rates, cash or tag
E03 Katunayake (airport) to Peliyagoda Rs 125
E01 Kottawa to Gelanigama Rs 150
E04 Mirigama to Kurunegala Rs 300
E01 Kottawa to Pinnaduwa (Galle) Rs 475
E01 Kottawa to Godagama (Matara) Rs 625
Class 1 Cars, vans and light vehicles, two axles and four wheels. What almost every traveller, taxi and hire car falls under. All sample rates below are Class 1.
Class 2 Six-wheel vehicles. Small lorries and larger vans.
Class 3 Heavy vehicles with more than two axles. Lorries and coaches, charged the highest band.
The four expresswaysE01 to E04, and every exit

Knowing your exit matters more than the road: the wrong one can add half an hour.

E01 Southern Expressway Kottawa (Colombo) to Mattala and Hambantota 222 km

The one that changed Sri Lankan travel. Colombo to Galle went from a three to four hour coastal crawl to under two hours. Exit at Pinnaduwa for Galle and Unawatuna, Godagama for Matara and Mirissa, Beliatta for Tangalle and Hiriketiya.

Kottawa
Kahathuduwa
Gelanigama
Dodangoda
Welipanna
Kurundugahahetekma
Baddegama
Pinnaduwa (Galle)
Imaduwa
Kokmaduwa
Godagama (Matara)
Aparekka
Beliatta
Kasagala
Angunukolapelessa
Barawakumbuka
Sooriyawewa
Mattala
18 interchanges
E02 Outer Circular Highway Kottawa to Kerawalapitiya, the Colombo bypass 29 km

The ring that lets you skip central Colombo entirely. This is why an airport to Galle transfer never touches the city: E03 south, E02 across, E01 down.

Kottawa
Athurugiriya
Kothalawala
Kaduwela
Kadawatha
Kerawalapitiya
6 interchanges
E03 Colombo to Katunayake Expressway Colombo to Bandaranaike International Airport 26 km

The airport road. Roughly 30 to 40 minutes to central Colombo outside peak hours, and the cheapest toll on the network. Every prebooked airport transfer uses it.

New Kelani Bridge
Peliyagoda
Kerawalapitiya (system interchange)
Ja-Ela
Katunayake
5 interchanges
E04 Central Expressway Mirigama to Kurunegala, the phase open today 40 km

Still being built in phases toward Kandy and Dambulla. The open section already takes a chunk out of the run north, but the hill climb beyond Kurunegala is unchanged, so Kandy is no faster yet.

Mirigama
Nakalagamuwa
Dambokka
Kurunegala
Yaggapitiya
5 interchanges
Paying at the barrierCash, card or tag, and the lost-ticket trap
Cash Sri Lankan rupees only, and exact change is strongly preferred. Barrier staff often cannot break a 5,000 note at a quiet interchange.
Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) A windscreen RFID tag read at a dedicated lane, no stopping. See the registration section below.
Card and contactless QR Debit and credit cards and QR payments are accepted at selected booths, not yet at all of them. Carry cash as the fallback.
Do not lose the entry ticket. Keep the entry ticket somewhere you will not lose it. If you cannot produce it on exit you are charged the maximum fare, calculated from the furthest possible entry point on the network to wherever you are leaving.
On a hired car with a driver the toll is usually inside the day rate. Confirm that before you set off rather than at the barrier.
The RFID tagRegister, top up, and whether it is worth it

Being rolled out in phases. Online registration currently covers the E03 Colombo to Katunayake interchanges, with the rest of the network following.

Rs 1,000 one-off registration fee for a tag.
Rs 500 minimum online top-up. Accounts are recharged online by Visa or Mastercard.
Tags are tied to one vehicle. You cannot move a tag between cars, which is why short-term visitors rarely bother with one.
If the balance falls below the toll due, the RFID gate simply will not open and you have to reverse out into a manual cash lane. Top up before a long run.
Worth it if you are living here or renting for weeks. For a one or two week trip, cash lanes are simpler.
Register on the RDA toll portal
The rules that catch people out100 km/h, keep left, no stopping
1 Speed is capped at 100 km/hThat is the maximum across the entire network, enforced by the Expressway Police with speed cameras. It is not a guideline.
2 Motorcycles, tuk-tuks and tractors are bannedThree-wheelers, motorcycles and agricultural vehicles cannot enter the expressway at all. If you are travelling by tuk-tuk you are on the old A roads whether you like it or not, which is the single biggest reason a tuk-tuk trip to Galle takes twice as long as a car.
3 Keep left unless overtakingLane discipline is actively policed. Zig-zag driving and cutting across lanes are penalised, and this is where most self-drive visitors get pulled over.
4 You cannot just pull overStopping on the hard shoulder is for genuine emergencies only, not for photos, a phone call or a stretch. Use the service area instead.
If something goes wrongThe 1969 hotline and who responds
1969 One number covers the whole network for breakdowns, medical emergencies and accidents. Save it before you drive: on the expressway there is no passing tuk-tuk to flag down.

The Expressway Traffic Operation Center watches the network on CCTV 24 hours a day. When something happens, Variable Message Signboards ahead of the incident broadcast warnings and rerouting instructions to traffic still approaching.

Expressway Police Stationed at entrances and exits for fast enforcement and incident response.
Fire and rescue Equipped fire engines and ambulances stand by near the major interchanges.
Recovery vehicles Specialised tow trucks run around the clock to clear damaged vehicles before they cause a second collision.
Where you can actually stopThe Welipanna service area
Welipanna Service Area E01

The main rest stop on the southern run, managed by Canowin Arcade. On a Colombo to Matara drive this is your one comfortable break, so plan around it rather than hoping for a layby.

Reachable from both directions without leaving the toll system, so stopping here costs you nothing extra.

Vehicle parkingFood and beverage outletsPublic washroomsBank ATMsFuel stationSmart-card electric vehicle charging
The expressway on a budgetMakumbura highway coaches

Makumbura Multimodal Transport Hub. Also called Mumbura or Kottawa. Air-conditioned large coaches run by the SLTB and private operators, using the E01 and E02. This is the terminal for every fast southbound service, and it is where a budget traveller gets the biggest single upgrade available in Sri Lanka. It is also the pilot hub for the new Metro Bus city network into Colombo, so a southbound arrival and a Colombo-bound one both start here.

GalleAgainst three hours or more on the coastal road. 1 h 20 min
MataraThe regulated air-conditioned service runs cheaper than the luxury coach; both use the same road. 2 h 15 minRs 1,170
TangalleThe gateway for Hiriketiya and the deep south beaches. 2 h 30 min
EllaExpressway for the first leg, then the hill climb. Far quicker than the scenic train, which is the point of taking the train instead. 4 h 0 min
KataragamaFor Yala and the pilgrimage town. 4 h 0 min
Colombo Fort and Pettah to Katunayake Airport about 45 min via E03, Rs 325. Route 187, the cheapest way between the airport and the city by a wide margin.
Colombo (Sethsiripaya) to Kandy 3 h 30 min via Intercity AC. Not an expressway route the whole way; the A1 hill climb still governs the time.
Most highway coaches want advance booking or an on-the-spot ticket at the terminal rather than payment to a conductor. Fixed schedules typically start around 06:00 and run into the evening.
Nisi Sariya. The SLTB night service running after 21:00. Buses carry GPS tracking and are supervised by the National Transport Commission, which is what makes a late departure out of Colombo a reasonable option rather than a gamble.

Where to go next

Journey times How long your route really takes Renting a car Permits, rates and insurance Trains and buses The scheduled way across the island Trains Lines, timetables and seats Airport guide Arriving at Colombo airport Legal rules Driving permits and road rules
Network and toll data compiled 2026-07 source

Toll rates are Class 1 (cars and light vehicles) on the sample routes shown and are set by the Road Development Authority. Interchange lists cover the operational network as of 2026; the Central Expressway is still being built out in phases. Confirm rates at the barrier, they are revised periodically.