Gov’t to construct new Pakwach bridge

Pakwach, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The government is to construct a new bridge on Albert Nile in Pakwach district to tackle persistent floods.

The proposed new bridge will replace the current Pakwach bridge which was built in the 1960s to connect the railway to the West Nile region. The bridge has since developed several cracks.

Gen. Edward Katumba Wamala, the Minister of Works and Transport, said that the government is going to redesign the Pakwach Bridge to address the challenge of floods near the bridge that often cuts off traffic along the Olwiyo—Pakwach road.

According to Katumba, the construction of a new bridge at Pakwach is already in their plan, and will embark on the project once they secure funds.

Over the past four years, heavy flooding of River Tangi near Pakwach Bridge often cuts off traffic flow along the Karuma-Olwiyo-Pakwach highway affecting the road intersection just 500 meters after the Pakwach bridge in Nwoya district.

The latest incident happened in November last year, where several vehicles heading to Kampala and those from Karuma heading to Pakwach were cut off by floods from river Tangi near the Pakwach bridge.

During a visit to Pakwach in September last year, the Uganda National Roads Authority Executive Director Allen Kagina said that their engineers had assessed three options which among others included redesigning the current Pakwach bridge to address the ever-flooding area near the bride.

“We have so far assessed three options and those options are going to be assessed by engineers and they will tell us which option is the best”, she noted.

Robert Omito Steen, the Pakwach LCV Chairperson explained that the construction of a new bridge at Pakwach is long overdue since the current bridge which was built during colonial times has outlived its usefulness nearly ten years ago.

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