Government plans new bridge at Jinja dam
A MULT-BILLION project to build a new bridge across River Nile at Jinja has taken-off. It will replace the bridge at Nalubaale dam (formerly known as Owen Falls dam), which has developed fatal cracks.
By Ibrahim Kasita
A MULT-BILLION project to build a new bridge across River Nile at Jinja has taken-off. It will replace the bridge at Nalubaale dam (formerly known as Owen Falls dam), which has developed fatal cracks.
The Uganda National Roads Authority last week started compensating and resettling people who will be displaced by the new construction.
The project is jointly funded by the Ugandan government and Japan.
More than 30 structures, including Southern Nyanza Textile Industries and Nile Breweries plant will be demolished to pave way for the construction.
“We have identified the people and structures affected by the project, which will cost about sh5b in compensation,†said Dan Alinange, the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) spokesperson, said.
It will be a dual carriage bridge with four lanes. It will cost an estimated $115.7m (about sh248b). Construction work will start a few months from now and will last 42 months.
“Normally, we give an allowance of three to six months for the affected persons to relocate before we begin breaking the structures,†Alinange said.
The announcement comes at a time when cracks and potholes are eating away the existing bridge, raising fears about the safety of road users and the hydro-electric power facilities. It is a major strategic link bringing in goods from Mombasa port to Uganda, Rwanda, DR Congo and Burundi. It is the only viable road link between eastern Uganda and the capital city, Kampala.
The bridge, completed in the 1954, has already exceeded its normal lifespan and is set to collapse if not worked on.
In addition to carrying the road, the dam houses Uganda’s primary and strategic source of hydro-electricity.
The roads authority is planning emergency repairs on the bridge beginning next month, as it prepares to construct the new one. “There have been fears that the bridge might collapse any time, but I want to assure Ugandans that we are monitoring the situation,†Alinange said.
Statistics from the transport ministry indicate that as of December 2008, an average of 9,412 motor vehicles, 1,712 motorcycles, 1,691 bicycles and 669 pedestrians were crossing the bridge daily.
The same report forecasts that in the next 15 years, traffic flow across River Nile at Jinja will increase to 35,898 from the 9,412 recorded in the past two years.After completion of the new bridge, the old one will be retained because it houses hydro-electric power facilities.
A MULT-BILLION project to build a new bridge across River Nile at Jinja has taken-off. It will replace the bridge at Nalubaale dam (formerly known as Owen Falls dam), which has developed fatal cracks.
The Uganda National Roads Authority last week started compensating and resettling people who will be displaced by the new construction.
The project is jointly funded by the Ugandan government and Japan.
More than 30 structures, including Southern Nyanza Textile Industries and Nile Breweries plant will be demolished to pave way for the construction.
“We have identified the people and structures affected by the project, which will cost about sh5b in compensation,†said Dan Alinange, the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) spokesperson, said.
It will be a dual carriage bridge with four lanes. It will cost an estimated $115.7m (about sh248b). Construction work will start a few months from now and will last 42 months.
“Normally, we give an allowance of three to six months for the affected persons to relocate before we begin breaking the structures,†Alinange said.
The announcement comes at a time when cracks and potholes are eating away the existing bridge, raising fears about the safety of road users and the hydro-electric power facilities. It is a major strategic link bringing in goods from Mombasa port to Uganda, Rwanda, DR Congo and Burundi. It is the only viable road link between eastern Uganda and the capital city, Kampala.
The bridge, completed in the 1954, has already exceeded its normal lifespan and is set to collapse if not worked on.
In addition to carrying the road, the dam houses Uganda’s primary and strategic source of hydro-electricity.
The roads authority is planning emergency repairs on the bridge beginning next month, as it prepares to construct the new one. “There have been fears that the bridge might collapse any time, but I want to assure Ugandans that we are monitoring the situation,†Alinange said.
Statistics from the transport ministry indicate that as of December 2008, an average of 9,412 motor vehicles, 1,712 motorcycles, 1,691 bicycles and 669 pedestrians were crossing the bridge daily.
The same report forecasts that in the next 15 years, traffic flow across River Nile at Jinja will increase to 35,898 from the 9,412 recorded in the past two years.After completion of the new bridge, the old one will be retained because it houses hydro-electric power facilities.