Upparu Bridge is a road

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

across ''Uppu Aru'' in eastern

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. The bridge was formally opened on 19 October 2011. The bridge is long. The bridge cost 995 million

rupees Rupee is the common name for the currencies of India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, and of former currencies of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (as the Gulf rupee), British East Africa, B ...

(

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

9 million) and was financed by a

soft loan A soft loan is a loan with a below-market rate of interest. This is also known as ''soft financing''. Sometimes soft loans provide other concessions to borrowers, such as long repayment periods or interest holidays. Soft loans are usually provid ...

from the

French Development Agency The French Development Agency (french: Agence française de développement, AFD) is a public financial institution that implements the policy defined by the French Government. It works to fight poverty and promote sustainable development. This pub ...

's ''Trincomalee Integrated Infrastructure Project'' and the Sri Lankan Government's ''Kilakku Vasantham'' (Eastern Awakening) programme. The bridge is part of the A15 Batticaloa-Trincomalee highway. The bridge replaced a ferry boat service that had been transporting people and vehicles across the river.

References

2011 establishments in Sri Lanka Bridges completed in 2011 Bridges in Trincomalee District {{SriLanka-bridge-struct-stub