Heading to Entebbe? Use alternative routes to avoid jam

Christmas is around the corner. Several city dwellers have started making their way to the villages. 

At the moment, the city bus parks are full of people waiting to board buses and taxis to their next destinations.

With just a few days left, you can save yourself from the heavy traffic jam on major highways through alternative roads.

This Christmas, don't join the queue, the feeder roads can save you from long hours in a city traffic jam.

According to the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA), all the highways have feeder roads and that motorists should take advantage of them this festive season.

 The shortcuts on the Kampala-Entebbe route

On the second day of the Festive Season traffic Guidelines series, New Vision has sampled a number of roads one can use without passing through the city center.

For instance, to head to Entebbe Municipality, there are five options one can connect to without joining the main Entebbe road through Kampala city.

The Entebbe Municipality alternative routes are the Northern-bypass, the Entebbe Expressway, Kampala Southern Bypass Highway, Makindye-Lukuli- Munyonyo and Kabusu- Bunamwaya-Lweza road.

Allan Ssempebwa, the Media Relations Manager at UNRA told New Vision that the alternative routes are of great importance just like the main Entebbe road.

In addition, he said, the alternative routes will protect the main Entebbe road from being damaged by heavy trucks among others.

"We urge Ugandans to utilize these roads," he said.

Around this time every year, he said, there is competition for the major highways in the country and that few people know about the alternative routes.

"At this time, heavy trucks, buses, taxis, and individual vehicle owners fight for space on the major roads. This results in a traffic jam in the city center, making the city impassable," he said.

"To make matters worse, it is a rainy season. This means you would need a lot more time to get through the city center," he added.

He made the remarks during an interview with New Vision at the UNRA headquarters in Kampala.

 Entebbe to Masaka

The 2017 Uganda Journal of Management and Public Policy Studies by Uganda Management Institute (UMI), highlighted that travelers in Kampala lose between 8 hours and 23 hours every month in a traffic jam.

However, this estimate is surpassed during the festive season.

How alternative routes connect 
The Northern bypass should be your first option to Entebbe Municipality for those coming from Kira Municipality, Gayaza, Hoima and Mityana Roads, and Jinja Road.

It stretches from Namboole in Wakiso District, approximately about 11 kilometers to Busega, east of the Kampala City.  

The Northern Bypass connects to the newly constructed Entebbe Expressway, a 51-kilometre direct route to Entebbe Municipality.

Expansions of the Northern Bypass are underway, with the Busega-Sentama road junction now a complete duo carriage road.

Each of the roadsides has two cars going either side at the same time.

According to Ssempebwa, other than heavy trucks and other motorists going through the city center, the Northern Bypass would be ideal to beat traffic.

"Instead of waiting for hours in Jinja road traffic jam, just connect to the Northern Bypass then join the Entebbe Expressway," he said.

Alternatively, he said, travelers coming from the Nakawa side can avoid the city center to Entebbe Municipality through Munyonyo, an upscale suburb.

Munyonyo connects to the Kampala Southern Bypass Highway and then to Entebbe through the Entebbe Expressway.

Those coming from Bweyogere or Nakawa, can pass through Bugolobi-Namuwongo-Kabalagala-Bunga and then to Munyonyo.

Those from the city center would also connect to Munyonyo at Kibuye through the Makindye-Lukuli-Nanganda-Munyonyo road to the Kampala Southern Bypass Highway.

The Makindye-Lukuli-Nanganda-Munyonyo road is currently under expansion under the Kampala Institutional and Infrastructure Development Projects (KIIDP).

The Southern Bypass would lead you to Kajjansi along Entebbe road or to the Entebbe Expressway, and then to Entebbe Municipality.

Alternatively, those coming from Rubaga Division can also connect to Entebbe through Kabusu- Bunamwaya-Lweza road.

The road too is also under expansion under the KIIDP Two, a project funded by both the government and the World Bank.

 At Lweza, one can proceed through the main Entebbe road or join the Entebbe Expressway at Kajjansi road junction.

Advantages 
According to Eng. Stephane Kibuuka, the Acting KIIDP project coordinator at Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), both Makindye-Lukuli and the Kabusu- Bunamwaya-Lweza roads would save you from traffic at different points along Entebbe road.

Kibuuka said that the traveler would have reduced the journey by almost 30 minutes which one would have spent in traffic at Katwe, Kibuye, Najjanankumbi, Namasuba, Zana, Lubowa and Seguku road junctions.

All these spots according to Kibuuka, usually have a traffic jam.

"These roads are undergoing expansion to address traffic jam in the Central Business District (CBD), majorly coming from people heading upcountry through the city," he said.

He also urged travelers to use alternative routes.

 Entebbe to Ssembabule route

Alternative roads to reduce maintenance costs  
According to Ssempebwa, feeder roads and alternative routes would save as from increasing road maintenance costs if people used them.

In May 2019, the Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit (BMAU) report of the finance ministry raised the fact that the country is strained with the road maintenance backlog.

The current road maintenance financing, the BMAU report said, can only meet about 26% of the needs, leaving a big chunk of the road network unattended to.

Over the medium term, the report raised that the proportion of roads in fair to the good condition will decrease, while that in poor condition will increase.

The maintenance backlog is estimated at 51,725Km of roads, and this will cost sh1 trillion the report said.

The BMAU alluded to the fact that some of the country's road network is in a serious state of disrepair due to poor maintenance.

For instance, it said the proportion of the district unpaved roads in fair to the good condition was estimated at 61% by Financial Year (FY) 2017/18 against a target of 65%, while that of national roads was at 83% against a target of 70%.

"Recent studies in Uganda indicate that the routine and periodic maintenance cost for the entire life of a road is estimated to be between 2% to 3% of the initial capital investment," a section of the report reads.

With this state of road maintenance, Ssempebwa is optimistic that if utilized, several highways would be protected.

"We are proud to say that our graded murram roads are in good condition and can be used by all travelers," he said.