Kampala city is clogged with vehicular traffic leading to many losses of working hours per day. One of the reasons for traffic jams is the lack of well-paved access roads and in some cases potholes on major city roads.
Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) estimates that at least 24,000 man-hours are lost every day by commuters due to traffic jams. A man-hour is the amount of work performed by the average worker in one hour.
Previously, somebody travelling from Masaka to Entebbe had to go through Busega, Nateete, Kibuye, and Zana. This made Entebbe Road one of the most clogged roads in Kampala. In fact, some people had started calling Entebbe a hard to reach area!
With funding from Uganda Road Fund (URF), some of the traffic from Masaka to Entebbe has been diverted through the Kyengera-Nalumunye-Bandwe-Seguku/Katale Road. Although only 0.85km have been sealed with asphalt, the rest of the 9.5km is in good condition for motorists. There is also the Nnebalamye Mayanja-Buddo Road that further helps in decongesting Entebbe Road.
In Bukoto, Kayinda Road, which is behind Kabira Country Club, has helped to divert traffic from Bukoto easily to Kisaasi and/or to the Northern Bypass. There are many such other roads, which have been paved to bitumen standard or simply sealed with low-cost technology to ensure easy flow of vehicles.
However, Kampala’s road network faces a challenge of utility companies, which weaken roads by cutting them to lay pipes. There is a need for a permanent solution to this problem to ensure that roads last longer.
