Progress of Road Works on the Kampala Northern Bypass

Dated: September 2007
 

The Kampala Northern Bypass project commenced on 20^th May 2004 and was to last period of 30 months up to 19^th November 2006, which date has been already exceeded by nine and a half months up to 4^th September 2007.

The project, funded jointly by the European Union (EU) together with the Government of Uganda at a cost of about eighty four billion Uganda Shillings  (UGX 83.9 Billion), equivalent to thirty seven million Euros (ER 37.3 million).

The project is being is implemented in a staged approach. The works being carried out under this project comprise the construction of 21 kilometers of road, of which 17.5 km is single carriageway road and 3.5km of dual carriage way road between Hoima Road and Gayaza Road. In the future, the entire road will be of dual carriage, already provided for by the existing bridge-sets

The Kampala Northern Bypass is intended to partly relieve the current severe traffic congestion experienced in the City of Kampala and also to serve as part of a wider programme to reduce the transportation constraints along the northern corridor route for both national and regional road transport.

The main contractor in SALINI Construttori with Spencon Services Limited and Stirling Civil Engineering Limited as sub-contractors. The Supervising Engineer is BCEOM of Guyancourt, France, while the Supervisor on behalf of the Government of Uganda is the Road Agency Formation Unit (RAFU), under the Ministry of Works and Transport.

The bypass commences at Busega-Masaka Road Roundabout and proceeds for approximately 200meters north along the Mityana Road. It then heads north east and follows the edge of the Lubigi Swamp. It skirts north of Lubya Hill and crosses Hoima Road at Nnamungoona. The alignment then passes Kawaala Hill behind Makerere Hill, before reaching Bombo Road at its junction with Sir Apollo Kaggwa Road. The route then runs through Bwaise and south of Kyebando Hill before crossing the swamp again to Bukoto, Kigoowa and Nsimbi Ziwoome, to the south of Kkulambiro Hill. From Kkulambiro, the route crosses over to Kiwatule, Kamidi before crossing Jinja Roasd at Ntebettebe opposite Nelson Mandela National Stadium, Nambole.

The project is part of Government of Uganda's Ten Year Road Sector Development Programme (RSDP), covering the period, originally prepared during 1995 and 1996.

The Programme listed major highway schemes and anticipated the setting up of an autonomous Road Agency to implement and monitor the Programme.

In February 2000, the Government of Uganda, with the support of the European Union commissioned M/s BCEOM French Engineering Consultants to conduct a feasibility study and to prepare a design for the Kampala Northern Bypass, a final report and detailed design of which were submitted in May the same year. This being a new road passing through a built up environment, land had to be acquired by the Government of Uganda.

The main activities along the 21km Kampala Northern By-pass, of which all is on a new alignment include, but are not limited to the following:

Construction of new bridges (9 road bridges and one pedestrian foot bridge):

• At Kawaala Road
• At the grade separated interchange for the bypass and Bombo road (two bridges carrying the bypass over the roundabout)
• To the west of Gayaza road over the bypass (the single footbridge)
• At Kyebando-Mulago Road
• At Kisaasi to Bukoto Road
• At Old Kiira Road
• At Namugongo Road
• At the grade-separated interchange of the bypass and Jinja Road at the Stadium (two bridges carrying Jinja road over the roundabout)

The work also entailed construction of a reinforced concrete vehicular underpass on Old Kiwaatule Road and construction of junction between the bypass and existing roads as follows:

• Roundabout on Mityana Road;
• Roundabout on Sentema Road
• Roundabout on Hoima Road
• Grade-separated Roundabout on the connection of Bombo road and Sir Apollo Kaggwa Road
• Roundabout on Bukoto-Kyebando Road
• Roundabout on Kisaasi-Ntinda Road (with significant local lowering of Kisaasi-Ntinda Road)
• Roundabout connection to Naalya
• Grade-separated interchange on Jinja Road and Nelson Mandela Stadium
• Construction of a number of side roads.

Execute and coordinate service relocations and protection works and installation of ducts for future service use

The Road Agency Formation Unit (RAFU) has not only been most concerned about the quality of the work, but also with theb need to speed up the activities for timely completion and opening of the road for public use.

Following a high-level meeting that was called to discuss the progress of the construction and address concerns by Government and the European Union (EU) that the project may not be completed on time, the Management of SALINI agreed in principal to have the road substantially complete by 15^th November 2007.

1. At present, 75% of the works on the project are complete.
2. Over 95% of the works on the bridges are also complete
3. 90% of the work would be finished by the time of CHOGM
4. About 100 underground ducts have been built across the road to cater for service relocation of power, telephone and water in the future.

Further information received from RAFU indicates that 90% of the main road works would be finished by the time the Common Wealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) opens in November this year. Contractors would then be working on drainage, retaining structures; guard rails markings kerbing and footpaths street lighting so that the road is fully open to the public before the end of March 2008. 

The recent unusually heavy rains substantially hampered the progress of road works on the Kampala Northern Bypass. Since then, however, the contractor has doubled his efforts. Although the road will be passable by this date, it will not be open to public traffic until March 2008.