Engineers visit Karuma Bridge to assess extent of damage

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 KARUMA BRIDGE 

A team of engineers selected from various international construction firms on Saturday visited Karuma Bridge in Uganda's north to assess the extent of damage to this key infrastructure.

The engineers were taken to Karuma by MBW Consulting accompanied by UNRA engineers.

The assessment visit came a day after the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) issued a travel advisory indicating that the bridge will be closed to all lorries, trailers and buses with effect from this coming Monday (May 6).

Only passenger vehicles carrying up to 28 passengers will be allowed to use the bridge.

▪️  Karuma Bridge to be closed, motorists advised on other routes

On Saturday, works state minister Musa Ecweru on Saturday separately visited the bridge along with UNRA engineers and officers from the Uganda Police and Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA).

The team conducted an emergency inspection following identified signs of damage on the bridge structure and to determine mitigation measures, according to a post by UNRA on social media platform X.

David Tomusange, the consultant from MBW Consulting, said they were on a structural analysis to determine whether the bridge can still hold the traffic.

He said they have noted that on the eastern side of the bridge, as one enters from Nwoya district, the direction of Gulu, the bearings are worn out.

Tomusange said "tests are still ongoing".

A source from UNRA who preferred not to be named (saying they are not authorized to speak to the media) said: “How can you say traffic will be stopped when the contractor is not yet sourced and the bill of quantity and the design of the bridge is not yet there?"

The UNRA official said traffic over the bridge will be regulated.

Vehicles will be regulated to move at a certain speed as they enter the bridge, he added. They may also be allowed to enter one at a time.

Concern over economic loss

The news of the temporary closure of Karuma Bridge has created a measure of anxiety within the area — in a business context.

In Karuma town council in Kiryandongo district and Kamdini town in Oyam district, hawkers, mostly women and youth, are concerned that the closure of the bridge will deprive them of their livelihood.

They sell fruits, live chicken, roasted chicken, and honey, among other things to travelers along the Kampala-Karuma-Kamdini-Gulu highway and the Kampala-Karuma-West Nile route.

The hawkers are worried they will lose customers. One such hawker is Tom Zadok Okweda, a chicken vendor in Karuma town.

He said that as a ripple effect, they may fail to send their children back to school for the second term due to shortage of money.

“We don’t have any other business except selling chicken,” said Okweda.

Mother-of-five Grace Kwiyocwiny hawks fruits on the route and now faces an uncertain coming days and weeks if the traffic is restricted.