UNRA On Spot As Road Experts Reveal Why Katonga Bridge Caved In

In parts of Lwera last week, the water level rose, and subsequently there were swift-moving floods.

As a result, traffic to and from Western Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been completely stopped.

The worst-case scenario, according to the road construction specialists this outlet spoke with, was that the Bridge would have become immersed in water but would not have collapsed.

They now blame poor work by contractors, both present and past, for the cave in. The responsible party is Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA).

According to specialists, in order to build a long bridge that could withstand weight and the effects of any erosion, the cantilevers (a long projecting beam or girder fastened at just one end, used in bridge construction) should have been extended further and deeper into dry land.

However, according to their view (based on the damage), the bridge was only constructed at the dry land and water borders.

Thus, the broken separation from soil erosion resulted from the rushing floods washing away the soil between the cantilever and the dry land.

Analysts claim that the problem has been made worse by sand mining and rice farming.

The cantilever is landless. They claim that close by, the Chinese are planting swamp rice on one side and excavating sand on the other.

“In the center of the lake bottom, a road was built. L. Victoria is located on the entire length of the road. For around 30 kilometers, the contractors should have suspended the road above the swamp. Another bridge construction specialist adds, “It appears that either money was not available or it was stolen because this was not done.

The damaged Bridge will need to be repaired for three weeks, according to UNRA.

Ugandans are also pleading with UNRA to end the threat at the Lwera stretch once and for all.

UNRA has been spending money on Lwera stretch maintenance projects for the past year.

This stretch of the Kampala-Masaka-Mbarara highway has seen numerous breakdowns, which has significantly hampered transportation activities, particularly as Christmas and Easter celebrations approached.

The Lwera stretch serves as a symbol of everything that is wrong with UNRA under Allen Kagina’s leadership. A worried Ugandan complains, “You can’t be sure if the road crews are just inexperienced laborers, poor saps who are underpaid, or cunning imps who purposely do a lousy job and take off with the remaining public cash intended to do a proper job.