Districts to get road works equipment
Apr 02, 2008
THE Ministry of Works plans to acquire new road maintenance equipment for over 53 districts to ease road repairs and cut down on maintenance costs. The equipment will include, among others, graders, wheel loaders, rollers, tractors and lorries.
By Godfrey Kimono
THE Ministry of Works plans to acquire new road maintenance equipment for over 53 districts to ease road repairs and cut down on maintenance costs. The equipment will include, among others, graders, wheel loaders, rollers, tractors and lorries.
Speaking at a stakeholders meeting in Masaka on Tuesday, state minster for transport Simon Ejua, said the cost of maintaining old equipment is high compared to buying new machines.
The Masaka district LC5 vice-chairman, Anasi Mawanda, had complained that the district did not have a road maintenance tractor for the last two years. “The tractor has been in Mbarara for repair,†Mawanda said.
Ejua, flanked by the commissioner for transport, Patrick Sanya, were on an infrastructure assessment trip to Kalangala, Masaka and Rakai districts. He visited Mutukula on the Uganda-Tanzania border, where the axle load of trucks will be checked to ensure they are not too heavy for the roads.
Ejua said after rehabilitation, most roads in the country will have permanent axle load checks to restrict trucks that can prove a danger to the roads. “Any vehicle found with heavy load will be stopped, until the load is made to fit the axle load.â€
Ejua added that the plan to acquire better permanent axle load-checking machines, like the one at Lukaya, will work in harmony with the East Africa axle load control.
He called upon stakeholders to cooperate in the redesigning and widening of roads to improve and get rid of black spots, which has already started on Jinja and Entebbe roads.
THE Ministry of Works plans to acquire new road maintenance equipment for over 53 districts to ease road repairs and cut down on maintenance costs. The equipment will include, among others, graders, wheel loaders, rollers, tractors and lorries.
Speaking at a stakeholders meeting in Masaka on Tuesday, state minster for transport Simon Ejua, said the cost of maintaining old equipment is high compared to buying new machines.
The Masaka district LC5 vice-chairman, Anasi Mawanda, had complained that the district did not have a road maintenance tractor for the last two years. “The tractor has been in Mbarara for repair,†Mawanda said.
Ejua, flanked by the commissioner for transport, Patrick Sanya, were on an infrastructure assessment trip to Kalangala, Masaka and Rakai districts. He visited Mutukula on the Uganda-Tanzania border, where the axle load of trucks will be checked to ensure they are not too heavy for the roads.
Ejua said after rehabilitation, most roads in the country will have permanent axle load checks to restrict trucks that can prove a danger to the roads. “Any vehicle found with heavy load will be stopped, until the load is made to fit the axle load.â€
Ejua added that the plan to acquire better permanent axle load-checking machines, like the one at Lukaya, will work in harmony with the East Africa axle load control.
He called upon stakeholders to cooperate in the redesigning and widening of roads to improve and get rid of black spots, which has already started on Jinja and Entebbe roads.