Traffic along EC to be diverted over sewage pipeline laying

Traffic along Electoral Commission and Centenary Park is set to be affected as National Water and Sewage Corporation (MWSC)  ties the loose ends to a USD91m (sh345b) donor funded project by laying sewage pipelines around the area for 21-days.

The laying of the pipelines which is slated to begin on Friday is part of 31km  expansion of sewage services to cover areas beyond Kampala Central Business District (CBD) to include the city's metropolitan area that has grown exponentially over the recent past.

During the period of the works, NWSC revealed in an advert on Wednesday, "some sections of Jinja road crossing will be closed to motorists and traffic will be diverted to alternative routes."  NWSC has explicitly advised heavy trucks to use 5^th, 6^th and 7^th streets in the Industrial Area.

Motorists expected to be affected include those intent on accessing Dewinton Road, Yusuf Lule Road and the affluent Kololo and Nakasero.

However, NWSC Spokesperson Sam Apedel has sought to allay fears that the works, which are expected to be carried out at night (starting from 8pm), will overly inconvenience motorists.

"These works have been designed to cause minimum traffic inconvenience. The contractor will only work at night (from 8pm) and in sync with traffic police to help in traffic diversion," Apedel told New Vision in a telephone interview.

Apedel said the contractor will only close one or two lanes and leave the other open to traffic.

However, although the works are set to be carried out at night, any closure of traffic in the area around EC and Centenary Park is bound to cause gridlock jam in outlying roads leading out of Kampala.

The laying of sewage pipeline, according to Apedel, ties the loose ends to a project which will see a new sewage treatment plant at Bugolobi treat 45m litters of sewage a day and serve 850,000 people daily.