Just as many Ugandans are setting off for the long Easter weekend to different destinations, those heading to Western Uganda are having their plans messed up by the collapse of the highway at Lwera wetland which occurred on Wednesday night.
The collapsed section lies on the Kampala – Masaka highway between Mpigi and Kalungu districts at a place called Kamuwunga, some four kilometers before the Lukaya weighbridge from Kampala.
The nature of the terrain required high quality engineering to construct the road section. If the work was the required quality, then the enforcement of vehicle (axle) weight has been poor. Both functions fall under the same agency called Ugandan National Roads Authority – UNRA, whose engineers are already on the site assessing the damage and trying to fix the problem.
Following the collapse, hundreds of motor vehicles are queuing from either direction, to take turns to pass over the thing, dangerous thread of tarmac remaining in the middle of the collapsed site.
Uganda has some portable bridges that might be brought in temporarily to save the situation. Alternatively, full fledged repairs may be carried out, suspending traffic on Masaka highway altogether. Some motorists have started using a diversion through Mpigi-Kanoni via Sembabule-Villa Maria to Masaka, which may soon become a mess if all the expected Easter traffic uses it.
