Government announces total closure of Karuma Bridge for three months – The Kampala Report

The government has announced the total closure of Karuma Bridge to all traffic for the next three months. Transport Minister Gen. Edward Katumba Wamala said Tuesday that the bridge would be out of use to all road users commencing Monday next week.

Gen Katumba was inspecting the progress of the repair works of the bridge currently being undertaken by the Chinese firm China Railway Seventh Group and National Enterprise Corporation (NEC). Karuma Bridge was temporarily closed in April this year after engineers found crucial components of the bridge among them the bearings, and the expansion joints had worn out and developed cracks.

Addressing the media at the Bridge, Gen Katumba said the decision to permanently close the bridge will allow the contractor and team of engineers on-site to handle repairs works conveniently. He says following further inspection of the bridge, it’s been found prudent that not only the worn-out section and cracks be rehabilitated but an entire bridge deck is replaced to guarantee the safety of motorists.

According to Gen Katumba, the rehabilitation works will also see new safety features such as much stronger guard rails installed and the provision of better lighting at night.

Gen Katumba says the decision is purely based on safety and urged Ugandans to desist from politicizing the closure of the bridge. He says already there are concerns about the economic impact of the bridge closure but notes that leaving it open would even be more disadvantageous to the lives of its users.

According to Gen. Katumba, the government in its bid to ease transport in the alternative route has added another ferry at Masindi port to ease movements of vehicles through the Kiryandongo, Apac, and Lira routes. The government targets the bridge will be open to traffic by the second week of December this year after the contractor has finished the works.

Late last month, legislators from Northern Uganda expressed concerns at the pace of the rehabilitation works citing the contractor was already behind schedule.  National Enterprise Corporation (NEC) and China Seventh Railway Group were awarded the 7.9 billion shillings contract for the rehabilitation for three months.

The contract was to kick off by July 15, but a report presented by the committee on physical infrastructure during the first regional parliamentary sitting in Gulu City reveals the contractor had only achieved physical progress at I.02 percent. The committee Deputy Chairperson Tony Awany in his recommendation on the floor of parliament tasked the government to expedite the repair works and ensure normal traffic is restored no later than December 19.

Karuma Bridge is a crucial link and gateway between Midwestern, Northern Uganda, and West Nile Sub-regions but has outlived its life span since its construction in 1962. With the closure of the bridge, motorists and passengers intending to travel to and outside Northern Uganda and West Nile sub regions will use the Murchison Falls National Park route, the eastern route through Lango Sub region and Masindi Port.