Part of flooded River Katonga Bridge washed away

The fast-moving flood water Thursday evening washed away part of River Katonga Bridge further complicating an already worse transport situation along Kampala- Masaka highway.
Traffic along the road has been disrupted since yesterday morning after about 200m section between Kayambwe Town and Katonga Village was covered by flash floods.

This forced police to divert traffic on the usually busy highway to the Mpigi-Kanoni- Sembabule –Villa Maria-Masaka Road, making the journey longer by 56km and costing more fuel. Passenger service vehicles plying the route have also increased the fares to cover for the extra fuel costs incurred through the diversion.
In a statement on Thursday evening, Uganda Roads Authority (Unra) said engineers were on ground to assess the extent of the damage.
“ …the team is currently undertaking an assessment with the aim of restoring the damaged structure at the earliest possible time once the water levels subside and restore normal traffic flow,” the statement reads in part. 

Meanwhile, floods have also cut off the Villa-Maria- Kabulasoke Road at another section of River Katonga, paralysing transport between the districts of Kalungu and Gomba.
Currently, motorists from Kalungu connecting to Gomba use the Sembabule –Kisozi-Kifampa  Road or  Masaka-Kampala road and branch off from Kayabwe in Mpigi District  ,which makes the journey longer by 120 km and  95km  respectively .