MASAKA — Motorists along Kampala-Masaka Road have been advised to use alternative routes as traffic has been diverted to enable Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) repair a failed section of the road in Lwera.
The road collapsed on Wednesday night after culverts used to fix it broke down at Kamuwunga; about four kilometers to Lukaya weighbridge towards Masaka.
Hundreds of motorists and travelers plying to and from the western route are going through nasty experiences on both sides of the road due to restricted movement of vehicles that are taking the risk of crossing using a tiny section of the road that remained.
Now, in a travel advisory on Friday morning, Mr Allan Ssempebwa, the Media Relations Manager at UNRA has advised m all road users intending to use Kampala—Masaka Highway to take advantage of the Mpigi—Kanoni—Sembabule—Villa Maria—Masaka road as an alternative route.
“Our team is urgently responding to the failed/slippery section at Lwera,” he wrote but he didn’t give details of when the section would be restored.
People traveling from Kampala are required to turn-off from Mpigi town and drive for about 106 kilometers up to Nyendo in Masaka municipality before rejoining the highway to the western axis.
However, before the statement, there were several complaints from motorists who ply the route after they were caught unawares by the traffic snarl as you approach the damaged section.
PML Daily Chief, Julia Nakabiito said she spent over 2:30 hours at Lwera failed section.
Other motorists have blamed the continuous breakdowns of the Kampala-Masaka highway to poor workmanship of the contractors that were hired to fix it.
The Kampala-Masaka-Mbarara highway underwent major repairs in 2013 by Reynold Construction Company- RCC using about 237 billion shillings being a loan obtained from the European Union, but road has since continuously developed defects leading to interference of traffic flow.
Apparently, public transport costs for passengers have more than doubled after the UNRA technical team diverted traffic to carry out repairs on the failed sections of the road.
Similarly, some boda boda riders are also taking advantage of the emergency to overcharge passengers that wish to cross from either side of the road.
