Uganda: UNRA says Northern Bypass to be completed by October 2021

Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) has said that the ongoing construction of the Northern Bypass which was halted for several years will be completed by October 2021, according to a news report by SoftPower News.

Construction of the second phase of the Kampala NorthernBypass was started in July 2014 and it was expected to be completed till July 2017.

In a statement released on Thursday, UNRA said that the date has been pushed ahead because of numerous delays. The physical progress at end of February 2020 was at 70 percent and the contractor hopes to complete the project by October 2021.

However, the agency said that a few sections of the road would be completed and opened to the public before the deadline.

UNRA said that land acquisition, design improvements are among the issues due to which the construction was delayed.

Regarding design, UNRA says there were changes that were necessary for the proper completion and functioning of the road. One of these was additional drainage structures.

“We appeal to the road users to observe the track management guidelines (on-site and through different media dissemination) that have been put in place to enhance safety, enable smooth flow of traffic and avoid likely accidents,” UNRA said.

Kampala Northern Bypass is part of the Northern Corridor Route that links the port of Mombasa in Kenya to Bujumbura in Burundi via Nairobi, Kampala, and Kigali in Rwanda. The northern bypass measures 21km with 17.5km of the single carriageway and 3.5km of a dual carriageway.