Kabaale Bridge nears completion

Crossing River Mayanja that borders Nakaseke and Kyankwanzi districts has been among other major hindrances the cattle corridor has encountered.

Crossing the 100m stretch of water stretch using a canoe to and from Nakaseke and Kyankwanzi costs sh2,000 per passenger and sh20,000 for each motorcycle.

For cattle, specialized swimmers charge between sh20,000 and sh30,000 to cross each cow from either side at the risk of encountering hippos  and crocodiles that are common at the river.

When completed, the Kabaale bridge is expected to mitigate all the above encumbrances with numerous befits ranging from increased linkage of the two districts and beyond.

Construction of the bridge is the presidential initiative for eased linkage for the area community and access to better markets for their produce that will foster development through improved transport.

Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) contracted Terrain Services to construct this metallic bridge at a cost of sh14.5b for two years and the physical works commenced about eight months back and work is ahead schedule

Micah Jeff Omalla the site engineer said though they have encountered a number of challenges mainly with transportation of bulky construction materials from Nakaseke side to Kyankwanzi on road they will be in position to accomplish the work in time.

"Though the official handover of the project is March 2017, we are optimistic that it will be ready by late this year," said Omolla.

The 100m span bridge has a carriageway of 8meters with side pedestrian walkways of 1.4 meters on both sides.

The bridge is about 3.5 kilometers from Kaguta Road and about 15km from Kyankwanzi National Leadership Institute.

Daniel Kaghazana clerk of works at UNRA said the local community of Ngando village in Ngoma Sub County in Nakaseke and Bwaba village in Kyankwanzi Sub County in Kyankwazi district has been supportive and cooperative since the project began.