MPs ask UNRA to repair road on old Jinja Bridge

Jinja, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Members of Parliament on the Physical Infrastructure committee want government to repair the road and strengthen the Owen Falls Dam Jinja Nile Bridge.

The old Jinja Bridge also known as the Nalubaale Bridge was constructed in 1954 and was replaced by the New Jinja bridge constructed at a cost of 112 million USD and commissioned last year.

The bridge, although it was in a bad structural shape and had already outlived its lifespan was still being used until the new Jinja bridge was set up.

Now MPs who visited the new bridge to ascertain the level of defects on the surface have proposed that the old bridge should be repaired and strengthened for use, as the contractor embarks on finalizing the works in the new bridge.

The proposal is contained in the recommendation of the committee of physical infrastructure led by Robert Kafeero Ssekitoleko. According to the report, the committee observed that there was need to repair and strengthen the old bridge as more tests and repairs are being done on the new bridge.

“The Committee, therefore, recommends that UNRA steps up efforts to rehabilitate and strengthen the old Nalubale dam bridge to accommodate traffic and also reduce on the tension on the new bridge” the report reads.

Mark Sali, the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) spokesperson says the old bridge was already in a terrible state when it was closed.

The old bridge survived without major repairs since it was established except one in 2011, a process that continued to 2013 with tarmac and road surface being fixed.

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