‘Queen’s Way nearly done’

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Maintenance Works at Queen’s-Way in Kampala is nearing completion, thanks to a lockdown that eased the flow of traffic to allow speedy repairs by the contractor. The repairs cover the section between Clock Tower and Kibuye roundabout.

Kampala Capital City Authority contracted Abubaker Technical Services to implement the road maintenance project under a 31.5 billion Shillings contract to rehabilitate select roads in Makindye Division.  The Field Engineer Timothy Wasajja told URN that the work which involved replacing old layers of the road is now at 80 per cent.

According to the contractor, the road will last 10 years. The construction involved replacement of the formation layer also known as the sub-base, the base layer which is made out of a mixture of crushed rocks and marram and the Asphalt made layer.

According to a traffic study conducted by the contractor before the start of works, over 500,000 vehicles use the road daily. KCCA says the section is the busiest after Jinja Road Highway.

According to KCCA, the contractor was given 60-days to complete works. However, according to Wasajja, the task will be completed in 14 days.  Currently, the contractor is fixing the walkway, expanding it from 2.5 meters to three meters, desilting and repairing the drainage system.

The road maintenance is just one of the projects undertaken by Kampala Capital City Authority-KCCA amidst the lockdown. The others include Park Lane connecting Centenary Park to Wampewo Avenue, a section of Sir Apollo Kaggwa Road, measuring about 0.4 kilometres, the road between Shell Clock Tower and Shoprite and part of Binaisa road in Mulago.

KCCA Engineer Brian Bagala says they have also continued to carry out desilting on community channels although with much difficulty due to the increasing amount of garbage. Bagala says in less than a month, they have accomplished maintenance works that would last over six months during normal operations.

KCCA has close to 140 casual workers carrying out maintenance work, according to the Director Engineering and Technical Services at KCCA Eng. Justus Akankwasa.  These currently reside at KCCA schools like Bat Valley, Makerere Yellow, Naguru and Katale Primary Schools.

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