Traffic diverted as Unra repairs Kampala-Masaka Highway

Traffic flow around Lwera Swamp on the Kampala-Masaka highway is interrupted as the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) embarks on repairs at the damaged road section.

The section is prone to accidents and the metallic culverts unexpectedly curve in at times.

A press statement from Unra seen by Daily Monitor indicates that the traffic will be diverted to Mpigi _ Kanoni _ Sembabule _ Villa Maria _ Nyendo Masaka high way, a distance of about175km compared to the usual 128kms covered by motorists on the Kampala-Masaka highway.

The construction is expected to end on December 3, which will affect the traffic for about 22 days.

UNRA communications manager Mr Allan Ssempebwa said the ‘‘road works are expected to partly inconvenience motorists’’ but appealed ‘‘for maximum cooperation, patience and respect for other road user.’’

“We seek cooperation from the road users such that it enables the construction to move on smoothly, " Mr Ssempebwa said in a telephone interview.

Some road users have complained about disruption of the usual route.

“Fuel prices are already high and Unra is channelling us by more kilometres," Masaka taxi driver Mr Derrick Mutumba said.         

Another road user, Mr Abel Kakembo described Unra’s latest activity in the area as ‘‘time consuming and costly to both their customers and drivers.’’

“This will not allow us to beat curfew,” he said.

Kampala-Masaka highway is one of the busiest highways in the country with an average daily traffic of about 30,000 vehicles. It is the main gateway to Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi- handling major cargo to and from.

In March 2019, Unra engineers expressed fears that a section of the highway was scouring from underneath around Lwera Swamp after part of the road sunk, creating a hollow at the left lane towards Lukaya Town from Kampala.

Although the sunken spot was assumed to have a culvert thought to be washed away or damaged, engineers who excavated within the hole reportedly failed to trace the culverts.
Unra engineers attributed the damage to the increasing human activity such as sand mining and farming.

 While commissioning the new Lukaya Roadside Market early this year, works and transport minister, Gen Edward Katumba Wamala said government was in a process of re-designing the section between Lwera and Lukaya Town and actual works are expected to commence in the FY2021/22.

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