‘Phase one of traffic light works to end in August’

The first phase of ongoing signalisation construction works to put traffic lights at various roundabouts in the capital city will be done by August this year, the Deputy Executive Director of Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), Mr David Luyimbazi, has said.

The Shs63b project is aimed at curbing the challenge of traffic congestion within and out of the city’s central business district.

“We are doing the work in phases so as not to disrupt the way of life in the city. Of course, with the Mulago and Kubiri roundabouts, we want to implement some closures from 10pm to 4am so that contractors can be able to work without interruptions and we are expecting them to complete the works on both roundabouts by the end of August,” Mr Luyimbazi said at the weekend in an interview with this publication.

He said when they are done with the ongoing works, they will embark on the Mulago mortuary, Rwenzori Courts, and Grand Imperial roundabouts.

“But we shall be doing that a lot in phases so as not to disrupt traffic,” he said.

The ongoing signalisation works have been disrupting traffic flow at the Mulago and Kibiri roundabouts.

In 2022, KCCA and the Japanese International Cooperation Agency broke ground for the construction of a traffic control centre at City Hall. 

The traffic control centre is part of the technical cooperation project dubbed The Project for Capacity Enhancement of KCCA in Management of Traffic Flow in Kampala City.

The project, which proposes a Japanese Traffic Control System named Moderato, will lead to signalisation of up to 27 junctions and removal of five roundabouts in the city, for which construction works is expected to take 30 months.

The roundabout includes Rwenzori Courts, Grand Imperial, Mulago Mortuary and Kubiri.
“Studies have informed us that traffic congestion in Kampala is leading to reduced productivity of the city’s workforce and business owners, increase in commuter fares, increase in road maintenance costs, as well as an increase in air pollution, among others,” the KCCA Executive Director, Ms Dorothy Kisaka, said during the groundbreaking ceremony in 2022.

She added: “We are building a smart city, a transformational initiative…focused on enhancing service delivery, improving the efficiency of our systems and services, and propelling KCCA towards the achievement of its strategic plan.”

Some of the traders who this publication spoke to expressed joy of working in a clean and paved environment when the ongoing construction works end soon.