Potholes continue to wreak havoc on Kampala roads

About two weeks ago on a Monday morning, a taxi splashed dirty water on pedestrians on Seventh Street, Industrial Area in Kampala forcing some to go back home to change clothes.

The water had accumulated in potholes on the road following a downpour early that morning. 

Mr Robert Opio, a resident of Namuwongo, a suburb of Kampala, says the potholes have inconvenienced him a lot because he has to manoeuver them on his way to work on Seventh Street and on Namuwongo Road where he stays.
 
A guard with one of the security companies in the suburb, Mr Opio, said his friend was hit by a speeding car on Namuwongo Road as the driver attempted to dodge a pothole.

“My friend spent six months using crutches and after that he was fired from his job because he could not do his work. These potholes will kill all of us one day if Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) does not work on them,” he said.

It is not just Seventh Street struggling with this problem. On Mukalazi Road in Bukoto, potholes have eaten into the road near Ssemogerere Zone police station. Being on a curve, many accidents have happened at the spot as speeding cars attempt to dodge the potholes.

Issue
Ms Shamim Nakibuuka, a resident of Kisasi in Kampala, says her car was smashed early this year at the same spot.

“I was driving slowly when suddenly I saw a speeding taxi approach and before I could dodge it, it hit my car. I lost control but the taxi guy drove away and even the nearby police could not help. The road is narrow and a pothole in the middle is difficult to dodge so KCCA needs to work on these roads because we pay them taxes,” Ms Nakibuuka said. 

Across the city, many of the roads are in a deplorable state due to the potholes. Very often, KCCA staff can be seen patching up some of them, only for the potholes to reappear a few days later. 

An assessment conducted by the World Resources Institute in August 2020, found that many roads are narrow, and of poor quality, with potholes.
The report also says less than 50 per cent of the paved road network has road signage.

There is a need for additional junction upgrades, including lane demarcation, construction of pedestrian infrastructure and signalisation and that the majority of roads in the city have unprotected cycling and pedestrian walkways, and existing cycling and pedestrian walkways are unconnected. 

Officials from KCCA say Kampala Metropolitan area has the largest number of registered vehicles in Uganda with about 70 per cent of the total number of cars in the country, 
It also has the highest number of road crashes compared to other parts of the country, according to the officials. 

Kampala City alone registered more than 3,000 crashes and more than 300 road traffic fatalities in 2019, according to statistics by the Uganda Police Force. 

In January, KCCA announced a grand plan to repair roads with potholes. The move, according to KCCA spokesperson Daniel Muhumuza Nuweabine, was to make city roads motorable and reduce peak hour traffic congestion, which has persistently affected city dwellers’ mobility and productivity. 

“It should be noted that 75 per cent of the 600km of paved road network has outlived its design life and is exhibiting failures such as potholes and edge distress. The failures are worsened by poor drainage systems, increased traffic load and extreme weather conditions such as heavy rain that have eroded the road surfaces,” Mr Nuweabine said.

Figures from KCCA indicate that as a result of the poor state of roads, about $800m (Shs2.8 trillion) is lost annually in vehicle maintenance, close to $1.5m (Shs5.3b) a day is lost in travel time and traffic delays while another $100 (Shs356b) to $200m (Shs712b) is lost by businesses and damage to property across the city each year.

“Accordingly, KCCA spends close to Shs30b each year for road maintenance works to avert the above losses by ensuring that the roads are in motorable condition as we mobilise resources to embark on a comprehensive overhaul of the road network,” Mr Nuweabine said. 
He said a number of the roads are under repair by both the in-house engineers and contractors.

Mr Nuweabine added that KCCA is set to start repairs and construction of more than 70km of city roads with a funding of $260m (Shs925.3b) from the African Development Bank by June.

“KCCA is in the advanced stages of procuring contractors to undertake works on roads such as Wamala, Luwafu, Kabega, Muteesa, Old Mubende, Kigala, Port Bell and Spring road. Other roads to be rehabilitated include Salaama, Sentema, and Kyebando Ring Road, among others,” Nuweabine said.

While the authority has continued to repair some of the roads, the quality of work done has in most cases been poor. 
Two months ago, a drainage embankment on Nakivubo channel at Mukwano Roundabout caved in less than a month after it was constructed. Sources at the authority said the construction cost about Shs6b.

Poor garbage disposal at blocked drainage channels add to bad situation
Currently, Kampala has a road network of 2,100km of which 642km is paved with a drainage system of 145km of major drains and 3,428km of minor drains. Of these only 714km (20 per cent) are constructed open drains, according to data from KCCA. 

Ms Betty Amongi, the minister of Kampala, said government is aware of the bad state of roads in the city and through KCCA has come up with a plan to revamp the existing network. 

This, according to the minister, includes 69km of road funded by Africa Development Bank, to be constructed with walkways, cycling lanes, drainage and street lighting. She also said additional funding is being sourced from the French Development Agency fund for 20,000 street lights.

“To address the current outcry due to pothole challenges in the city, government has availed funds to undertake remedial and interim measures to make roads motorable as we await the major interventions. At least Shs9b has been availed this fourth quarter to undertake emergency road repairs at key points and sections of roads,” she said.

She also said currently, the city has a strained and dilapidated drainage system, increased traffic load and extreme weather conditions such as heavy rains that have eroded the road surfaces.

“As we endeavour to revamp our city infrastructure, we are disappointed by improper waste (garbage) management through irresponsible dumping of garbage (polythene, plastic bottles, agricultural and trade refuse) that ends up blocking the existing drainage system,” she said. 

List of roads with potholes in Kampala

1. Ernest Mukalazi Road
2. Saddler Way
3. Mackenzie Vale
4. Bukoto-Kyebando Road
5. Old Kira Road
6. Wildlife Street
7. Kanjokya Road
8. Bukoto Road
9. Kitezi Road
10. Prince Charles Drive
11. Impala Road
12. Malcolm X Avenue
13. Ibis Road
14. York Terrace
15. Lower Kololo Terrace
16. Golf Course Road
17. Namuwongo Road 
18. Sixth Street
19. First Street
20. Seventh Street
21. Eighth Street
22. Port Bell Road
23. Wabigalo Close
24. Mulago Roundabout
25. Yusuf Lule Road
26. Sir Apollo Kagwa Road
27. Jinja Road from Nakawa to Kireka
28. George Street
29. Ben Kiwanuka Street 
30. Press house Road 
31. Ggaba road 
32. Sentema Road  
33. Kalema Road 
34. Alice Kaggwa Road
35. Nabweru Road
36. Bombo Road
37. Wamala Road 
38. Luwafu Road 
39. Kabega Road
40. Muteesa Road 
41. Old Mubende Road 
42. Kigala Road
43. Kyebando Ring Road
44. Mukwano Road
45. Katonga Road
46. Ssezibwa Road
47. Kyagwe Road
48. Mawanda Road
49. Kagera Road
50. Church Road
51. Bukasa Close
52. Mbogo Road End Connectivity
53. Namasole Road
54. Namasole Road -2
55. Kayemba Road
56. Salama Road
57. Bandali Rise
58. Bazarabusa Road
59. Factory Close Roads
60. Faraday Road
61. Kisasi-Kyanja Road
62. Luthuli Avenue
63. Luthuli Lane
64. Luthuli Rise
65. Mulwana/Kibira
66. Naguru Avenue
67. Naguru Drive
68. Princess Anne Drive
69. Ntinda-Kyambogo
70. 8 Princess Anne Drive
71. Salmon Rise
72. Spring road
73. Old Port Bell Road
74. Rubaga Road
75. Sir Apollo Kagwa Road 2
76. Nasser Lane 1
77. Nasser Lane 2
78.Nasser Road
79. Nakivubo Road
80. Allen Road
81. Martin Link
82. Martin Road
83. Rashid Khamis Road 1
84. Rashid Khamis Road 2
85.  Ginnery Road
86. Berkeley Road
87. Berkeley Road 2
88. Berkeley Road 3
89. Musajja Alumbwa Road
90. Mwanga 2 Road
91. Wampewo Avenue
92. Third Street
93. Victoria Avenue
94. Ternan Avenue
95. Kintu road
96. Kira Road 1
97. Yusuf Lule North (Binaisa Rd)
98. Bombo Road 2
99. Lubiri Ring Road
100. Wankulukuku Road
101. Sentema Road
102. Masiro road

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