Uganda opens USh191bn Katonga bridge on Kampala-Masaka highway

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Uganda on Saturday commissioned the rebuilt Katonga bridge on the Kampala-Masaka highway, replacing a crossing that floods badly damaged in May 2023 and ending a long period of detours and makeshift crossings on one of the country’s main trade routes.

Minister for Works and Transport Fred Byamukama opened the USh191 billion (about $47.8m) structure in Mpigi District on October 17, the Daily Monitor reported. The bridge was built by China Communications Construction Company (CCCC).

Mr Byamukama said engineers had assured the government the bridge was designed to last 120 years, and warned those involved against cutting corners. “Should I hear that there is any defect on this bridge before 120 years elapse, run away from the world because I will come for you,” he said.

Three years of detours

The old concrete bridge was badly damaged by flash floods on May 11, 2023, when the River Katonga burst its banks. Light vehicles, taxis and later buses were allowed onto a less damaged section, but trailers and fuel tankers were diverted through Mpigi, Gomba, Sembabule and Bukomansimbi to reach Masaka, a detour that added more than 50 kilometres, according to the Monitor.

ChimpReports said the longer route raised travel time and costs for traders moving goods between central and south-western Uganda.

The government hired CCCC in June 2023 to put up a temporary steel bridge, which opened to all vehicles, including heavy goods vehicles, in December 2023. Traffic then moved over the temporary steel bridge and the surviving section of the old concrete bridge, ChimpReports said.

Full construction of the permanent, raised pre-stressed concrete bridge began in October 2024 after hydrological and meteorological studies of the river basin.

The new bridge sits three metres higher than the old one to reduce the risk of flooding, the Monitor reported. Mr Byamukama said the contractor finished ahead of a revised November deadline that had been set after an earlier extension.

A regional transit artery

The Kampala-Masaka highway is one of Uganda’s busiest roads, carrying close to 30,000 vehicles a day on average. Beyond the south-west, it serves as an international transit route linking Uganda to Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

State Minister for Tourism Susan Kawuki said the bridge would help the tourism sector by easing access to national parks and other destinations in western Uganda.

At the ceremony, Mr Byamukama also pressed CCCC to speed up work on the Nakawuka-Nateete road to ease congestion on the Busega-Nateete stretch. He warned contractors across the country against needless delays, saying long-running roadworks push up fuel costs for motorists and strain public money.

Traffic police spokesman SP Michael Kananura had asked motorists to bear with a roughly 20-minute halt to traffic at the bridge during the ceremony, which ran between 9am and 10:30am.

“Avoid improper overtaking or attempting to bypass other vehicles. Maintain lane discipline and cooperate with the officers to ensure smooth traffic flow,” he said in a statement before the event. “Your patience and compliance will help ensure everyone’s safety and minimize traffic congestion.”

For transporters, the opening ends a period in which the main road to the south-west depended first on detours and then on a temporary steel crossing. Cargo bound for Masaka and beyond can now use the permanent bridge, which the government says is built to cope with the kind of flooding that destroyed its predecessor.