Going to the east? Here is how to avoid jam

ROADS             UNRA

The festive season is finally here.  As a norm,  urban dwellers are expected to travel upcountry to celebrate with there loved ones.

This,  coupled with the heavy rains, usually leads to traffic jam.  Several major roads like the  Kampala-Jinja highway are usually congested, with pedestrians,  motorists and even truck drivers all fighting for space. 

New Vision brings you alternative routes you can use to avoid traffic on Jinja Road to Busoga, Bugisu and  Samia.  Heading out of the city to eastern  Uganda, save yourself from stress and give the Nakawa-Mukono-Lugazi stretch along Kampala- Jinja highway a break. 

Allan Ssempebwa, the media relations manager at Uganda  National Roads Authority (UNRA),  says there are about five routes one can use to connect to Busoga region without using Jinja Road. 

The alternative routes, he says, will save people from traffic snags during this festive season. 

Alternative routes 

The alternative routes include  Mukono-Katosi-Nkokonjeru-  Nyenga-Jinja road, Mukono-  Kiyunga-Kalagi-Kayunga-  Kangulumira-Njeru-Jinja road and  Kira-Kalagi-Kayunga-Njeru-Jinja road.  One can also use the Jokers-  Namanve-Mukono-Katosi-  Nkokonjeru-Nyenga-Jinja road,  Kasangati-Gayaza-Kayunga-Njeru-  Jinja. 

The Uganda Journal of Management and Public Policy Studies (2017) by  Uganda Management Institute (UMI)  highlighted that travellers in Kampala loose between eight and 23 hours every month in the traffic jam.  However, this estimate is surpassed during the festive season. 

The survey further stressed that speed reduces from an average of  28km/h when there is no jam to between eight and 14km/h because of traffic jam.  The survey also reflected in the country's Gross Domestic  Product (GDP) to a tune of sh55b  from sh163b per year due to lost productive time while stuck in congestion.  The survey conducted by Dan  Mambule Mwanje, a researcher at  UMI, indicated that the major cost of the traffic jam is wasted fuel due to idling and slow speed. 

 Traffic congestion on Jinja Road

Kampala to Jinja 

All the above roads would lead travellers to Jinja through the new  Nile Bridge. Apart from the Jokers-  Namanve road section and Kira-  Kalagi section, the rest of the road is tarmacked.  According to UNRA mapping, the roads which are not tarmacked are murram but in good condition and are free of traffic. 

Ssempebwa also noted that all of them have utility services such as fuel stations, restaurants and health facilities, which would be needed in times of emergencies.  "We are happy to say the roads are good and secure for our travellers.  You can pass there at any time of the day," he said. 

Mukono-Katosi road 

When you are coming from Kampala,  you go through Jokers-Namanve-  Mukono road.  The road leads you to Mukono town and than connects to Mukono-  Kyetume-Katosi-Nyenga Road at  Wantoni stage. The road starts at  Mukono and is approximately 22km.  It continues through Kyetume and  Kisoga; one branch continues south to Katosi on the northern shores of Lake Victoria and another runs east, through Nkokonjeru to end at  Nyenga in Buikwe district.

The total length of the road is 74km. 

Kayunga-Njeru road 

One can head to Jinja through the  Mukono-Kayunga-Njeru road.  The road continues northwards to  Kalagi, about 19km north of Mukono.  One can use Jokas-Namanve road to connect to Mukono-Kayunga-Njeru road through Kalagi. 

At Kalagi, the road takes a  northeasterly turn to Kayunga, via the district headquarters — about 33km.  At Kayunga, the road turns south to end at Njeru, approximately 47km  from Kayunga. The total road is estimated to cover about 94km. 

Alternatively, you can connect to the road through Gayaza, Kira and  Namugongo, all in Wakiso district.  To connect to Mukono-Kayunga-  Njeru road, through Namugongo,  you go through Misindye-Bukerere-  Kiyunga and to Kalagi, through  Mukono-Kayunga road. 

At Kalagi, you drive through  Kayunga town, to Njeru town in  Buikwe and than connect to Jinja at the new Nile Bridge.  All these roads have services such as fuel stations, restaurants, private toilets and public health facilities. 

Kamuli, Buyende 

All roads to Kayunga are of strategic importance.

The roads do not only lead you to Jinja and the Greater  Busoga region, but also to Kamuli district.  Through Kayunga, one can connect to Kamuli via the Nile on a ferry.  The Mbulamuti ferry connects  Kamuli and Kayunga districts.  The ferry operates from Monday to  Sunday. 

On Monday to Saturday, according to the UNRA schedule, the ferry operates continuously from 8:00 am to 7:30 pm, with a lunch break from 1:30 pm to 2:00 pm.  On Sunday, the ferry operates continuously from 9:00 am to 7:30 pm with an hour break from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm. It takes less than 20 minutes to cross from Kayunga to Kamuli on the ferry. 

At Mbulamuti, it takes about 30  minutes to get to Kamuli town. This route would have saved you 63km  connecting to Kamuli through Jinja.  Subsequently, it would have saved you about 70km to Buyende district through Jinja. 

The Mbulamuti route can also save you from 72.1km of connecting to  Kaliro through Jinja and Iganga districts.  At Kamuli municipality, it is about  45.7km through Gabula road to  Kaliro district.  However, the stretch is graded murram but in good condition.  There are fuel stations in Kamuli municipality and so one would refuel before getting to Kaliro. 

"Most of our roads are in good condition. We recommend people to use our feeder roads this festive season," Ssempebwa said. 

Busoga to Busia, Kenya 

Heading to Busia has been simplified.  The journey has been reduced from  116km to 104.6km.  With the completion of Musita-  Mayuge-Lumino-Majanji-Busia road,  you do not need to use Jinja-Tororo road. 

The road starts at Musita and continues through Mayuge,  Namayingo and Lumino.  At Lumino, a southern spur,  measuring about 10km, goes south to Majanji on the shores of Lake  Victoria.  The main road makes a northerly turn to end at the border town of  Busia.  The Musita-Mayuge-Lumino-  Majanji-Busia road connects the town of Musita in Mayuge district to Busia municipality in Busia at the border with Kenya. 

Musiita town is about 25km from  Jinja on the Jinja-Tororo road.  The new route saves you from traffic at the Busitema UNRA weighbridge in Tororo district.  On a busy day, one can spend about 30 minutes in a queue of trucks waiting to be cleared to either  Kampala or to the border. 

East Africa to benefit from UDB roads support 

Over three million people in Tanzania and Kenya will benefit from a €345m financing package for road construction support, approved by the African  Development Bank's board in  Abidjan on Thursday. 

The Bank's support for the  Mombasa-Lunga Lunga/Horohoro and Tanga-Pangani-Bagamoyo roads Phase I is in the form of  African Development Bank and  African Development Fund loans and represents 78.5% of the total  €399.7 million project cost.

The  European Union contributed a grant of €30 million, 7.7%  of the total project cost, to the government of Kenya.  The road is a key component of the East African transport corridors network, connecting  Kenya and Tanzania. Producers,  manufacturers and traders will be able to move goods more quickly and cheaply. 

In addition, farmers and fishermen will benefit from improved access to local and regional markets and amenities,  including better schools and health centres.  "The project will have spillover benefits for hinterland countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Rwanda,  Uganda and South Sudan that depend on Mombasa as the gateway to global markets," said Hussein  Iman, the Bank's Regional Sector  Manager for infrastructure, private sector, and industrialization. 

The Bank's support will also provide roadside trading facilitates for sellers, half of them women who currently operate in disorganized and unsafe conditions.  The road crosses regions with high rates of youth unemployment. 

In light of this, the project includes a vocational training component for 500 unemployed youth (half of them women) to acquire marketable skill and improve there economic prospects.

The Bank anticipates that the intervention will boost regional integration by reducing transit times, facilitating trade and the cross-border movement of people, opening access to tourist attractions. The project will also link the ports of Dar es Salaam,  Tanga and Mombasa, and stimulate the blue economy in coastal areas.