Manampitiya Bridge
bridge in Sri Lanka
Manampitiya Bridge is the second longest bridge in Sri Lanka with a length of 302 m (991 ft). It comprises two bridges, an early-twentieth-century steel bridge which is used for railway and a newly built bridge carrying two lanes of highway. Before the Kinniya Bridge was declared open in 2009, it was the longest bridge in Sri Lanka. The steel bridge was built in 1922, during the colonial rule. It is 291 m (955 ft) long and less than 5 m (16 ft) in width. The bridge is located 81 km (50 mi) east of Maradankadawala, along the A11 Habarana-Thirikondiyadimadu road in Polonnaruwa District, linking North Central Province with Eastern Province over Mahaweli River. The new bridge in Manampitiya was built with financial assistance of Japan, hence the name Sri Lanka-Japan Friendship Peace Bridge. Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) provided LKR 1.3 billion on behalf of the Japanese government. Bridge was declared open on 25 October 2007 by President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The new 50 Sri Lankan Rupee note depicts the Manampitiya Bridge.
“Manampitiya Bridge” enters the record as bridge in Sri Lanka. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Manampitiya, Bridge and bridge can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Manampitiya Bridge” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Manampitiya, Bridge and bridge provides the most credible route into that argument.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 20, 2024. The linked authority identifier is Q4525447. Authority coordinates are 7.913, 81.089. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2009, 1922 and 2007.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Manampitiya Bridge”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Manampitiya Bridge primary sources, Manampitiya Bridge archive and Manampitiya research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Manampitiya Bridge”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Manampitiya Bridge” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.