Changed road design will be a problem
Oct 29, 2007
<b>Letter of the day</b><br><br>EDITOR—The original design of the almost completed Northern by-pass was made over 20 years ago. However, it has been changed without hindsight and this is bound to turn the road not only into a traffic nightmare but one of Uganda’s most dangerous roads! Why?
Letter of the day
EDITOR—The original design of the almost completed Northern by-pass was made over 20 years ago. However, it has been changed without hindsight and this is bound to turn the road not only into a traffic nightmare but one of Uganda’s most dangerous roads! Why?
The original design was a dual carriageway through mostly undeveloped areas north of Kampala. However, during the prolonged delay to construct the road, structures mushroomed along the entire route that the government could not meet the bill to compensate the developers and opted for a quick fix.
The route was altered to ensure that almost the entire road does not only run through the swamps and river beds devoid of developments but would only be single-lane.
Though the fix would considerably raise the construction bill (funded by the European Union) it would greatly minimise the compensation bill (funded by the government). By their nature, swamps and rivers are the lowest points of any formation with bends and winding valleys.
We also know that during the cold mornings and evenings, these valleys are always covered in mist. There are no climbing lanes along this road while the bridges have no guard rails.
Pedestrians will need prayers whenever they have to use them! Imagine a scenario of a long line of fuel tankers and trailers along a narrow tarmac single-lane road, with winding corners and bends covered in mist!
Throw in a measure of impatient commuter taxis (kamunyes), add a ‘pinch’ of boda bodas in the mix and you have a perfect death trap of unprecedented proportions. All the above, in addition to loss of lives and property caused by floods due to damming of swamps and rivers along the way.
Now, why construct a single-lane by-pass when Lugogo bypass, built over 30 years ago, is a dual carriageway? Remember, the whole of Uganda then had less than 50,000 vehicles but currently the country boasts of more than 500,000 vehicles. What is it, retrogressive development or something fundamentally wrong with us?
J. M. N. Kisolo
Kampala
EDITOR—The original design of the almost completed Northern by-pass was made over 20 years ago. However, it has been changed without hindsight and this is bound to turn the road not only into a traffic nightmare but one of Uganda’s most dangerous roads! Why?
The original design was a dual carriageway through mostly undeveloped areas north of Kampala. However, during the prolonged delay to construct the road, structures mushroomed along the entire route that the government could not meet the bill to compensate the developers and opted for a quick fix.
The route was altered to ensure that almost the entire road does not only run through the swamps and river beds devoid of developments but would only be single-lane.
Though the fix would considerably raise the construction bill (funded by the European Union) it would greatly minimise the compensation bill (funded by the government). By their nature, swamps and rivers are the lowest points of any formation with bends and winding valleys.
We also know that during the cold mornings and evenings, these valleys are always covered in mist. There are no climbing lanes along this road while the bridges have no guard rails.
Pedestrians will need prayers whenever they have to use them! Imagine a scenario of a long line of fuel tankers and trailers along a narrow tarmac single-lane road, with winding corners and bends covered in mist!
Throw in a measure of impatient commuter taxis (kamunyes), add a ‘pinch’ of boda bodas in the mix and you have a perfect death trap of unprecedented proportions. All the above, in addition to loss of lives and property caused by floods due to damming of swamps and rivers along the way.
Now, why construct a single-lane by-pass when Lugogo bypass, built over 30 years ago, is a dual carriageway? Remember, the whole of Uganda then had less than 50,000 vehicles but currently the country boasts of more than 500,000 vehicles. What is it, retrogressive development or something fundamentally wrong with us?
J. M. N. Kisolo
Kampala