The government of Uganda has launched the reconstruction of three national bridges worth US $10.1m in the eastern part of the country. This is according to Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA).
Speaking during the site handover of Sironko bridge in Amombe Village, Bukiise Sub-county, Project Engineer Mr Stephen Kiwalabye from UNRA said that the the condition of the bridges had deteriorated due to increased traffic, poor maintenance and aging materials.
“The bridges are very busy and handles loads of traffic therefore cracks started developing with the old ones widening. The bridges need to be reconstructed again to meet the current traffic demands of our roads. They will be replaced with new ones with a lifespan of up to 100 years,” said Mr Kiwalabye.
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Mr Magumba added that the busy bridges are is of huge significant to the public since they are used to ferry minerals like limestone from different parts of the country including Karamoja and Sebei regions.
The bridges to undergo reconstruction include; Kibimba Bridge on Jinja-Tororo highway in Bugiri district which has deformed, Sironko bridge on Mbale-Sironko road in Sironko district which has developed cracks on steel girders and Chololo Bridge in Amudat district on Chosan-Amudat road which was damaged by heavy rains last year.
Construction of the bridges will be being undertaken by Terrain Service Ltd for the next three years. Engineer Kiwalabye said that the works will include demolition of existing structures, hydraulic designs, geotechnical investigations, hydrological studies and topographic surveys.
