UNRA team assess damage on Kampala-Masaka highway

Masaka, Uganda | THE IDEPENDENT | The Uganda National Roads Authority-UNRA has commenced technical assessments of Katonga Bridge on the Masaka-Kampala highway.

On Thursday, the water levels of River Katonga increased considerably, before it submerged a section of the highway and the bridge, making it risky for both motorists and pedestrians to cross to either side of the Kampala-Masaka highway in Mpigi district, about 60 kilometers before Masaka.

Despite caution and the diversion of traffic flow to other alternative routes, some truck drivers insisted and continued to maneuver their way through the flooded road, which led to the collapse of part of the Katonga Bridge in the evening.

On Friday, the Uganda National Roads Authority-UNRA team led by the Acting Executive Director Engineer Samuel Muhoozi inspected the bridge to access the extent of the damage.

Allan Ssempeebwa the UNRA Spokesperson says that the team is assessing ways of fixing the defects on one of the major highways in the country. He says that the road will remain permanently closed until the defects are fixed.

He asked travelers to heed the advice of using the alternative route, of Mpigi-Gomba through Sembabule-Villa Maria to Masaka.

“It is better you take a long route and remain safe, than taking a heavy risk of attempting to go drive a damaged road,” he indicates.

The bridge on River Katonga is part of the main gateway to Southwestern parts of the country, and links Uganda to some parts of Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, with an estimated average daily traffic of at least 30,000 vehicles.

Francis Bbuye, the Chairperson of Nkozi Sub County has asked the UNRA to broaden their interventions and consider removing the floating aquatic weeds on the various tributaries that feed into the main course of river Katonga.

He explains that the weeds which include among others papyrus are contributing to clogging the different sections of the river hence rising the water levels, which leads to overflows.

According to residents in the nearby Villages of Buganga and Muge, this is the third time they are witnessing River Katonga heavily flooding since independence.

NOW: The Ag. Executive Director Eng. Samuel Muhoozi along with a team of experts, is carrying out technical assessment at the damaged section of Katonga on Kampala—Masaka rd.

The evaluation will inform the immediate response to be undertaken once water levels subside.#UNRAworks pic.twitter.com/NKfJSxr5tt

— UNRA_UGANDA (@UNRA_UG) May 12, 2023

Moses Ssenfuka, one of the elders in Buganda village has challenged the government to stop all encroachments along the buffer zones and shorelines of River Katonga if it is to find a lasting solution to the flooding.

Ruth Nassanga, George Lukwaga, and Fred Kalema, some of the residents in Nkozi Trading Centre have cried out to the government to consider their area for relief support.

They argue that they were badly affected by the floods after they invaded their homes and plantations.

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