The magnificent Nile Bridge is set to be commissioned by President Museveni on Wednesday, October 17, 2018 (FILE PHOTO)
JINJA – President Museveni is on Wednesday, October 17, set to commission the new Jinja cable bridge.
Constructed at Shs450 billion, the New Bridge was designed with a structural life span of 120 years and its picturesque location is expected to enhance tourism in the country. The 525m-long bridge has a central span of 290m, end spans of 135m and 100m on the east and west banks respectively.
The overall width of the Bridge is 22.9m wide. It has a dual carriageway 7.0m wide with a pedestrian walk way of 2.25m wide on both ends. For security at night, the Bridge will have lighting facilities.
The bridge was on Tuesday lit and security tightened ahead of the commissioning which is expected to be graced by senior officials of the Japanese government that built it under Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
Japenese officials look on as the Transport Minister Eng Ntege Azuba lays a milestone at the joining of the Girder at the Source of the Nile Bridge in April 2018 (FILE PHOTO)
The new bridge has since been named The Source of the Nile Bridge.
The spokesperson at the Ministry of Works, Ms Susan Kataike, said that President Museveni on Monday communicated to the Permanent Secretary of the line Ministry, Mr Bageya Waiswa indicating thus.
The view of the Source of the Nile bridge after sunset (FILE PHOTO)
“The President has communicated to the Permanent Secretary and in all our correspondences going forward, we are calling it The Source of the Nile Bridge,” Ms Kataike said in a telephone interview.
Last week, the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) conducted the static load testing on the Bridge.
The test was conducted by stationing 26 dump trucks weighing 25 tonnes on the bridge. This was aimed at testing the bridge’s ability to manage heavy load.
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