By James Ekweu

THE Soroti-Mbale highway was temporarily closed after district authorities and the Police declared it impassable due to the devastating floods.

The Soroti district LC5 chairperson, Stephen Ochola, said they closed the bridge on Tuesday following advise from the executive engineer, John Henry Bigambwa. Only buses and lorries are using the route.

The closure follows a rise in the water levels.

“All motorists with small cars should use the old Mbale road as we study the situation,” Ochola said. The road passes through Brooks Corner-Ocaapa, Agu and Ngora to Kumi.

Earlier attempts by the engineering department to fix bags filled with aggregate stones into the potholes in the affected area so as to check the water speed were futile as the water washed them off.

Ochola said if the floods continued, the road would be badly destroyed and completely impassable. He called upon road users to avoid travelling at night.

“The water is breaking the road at a fast rate. The tarmac is no more,” he said.

However, local folks are earning sh15,000 for every vehicle they push and sh2,000 for a motorcycle.