Karuma Bridge connecting Northern Uganda to the West could be shut down for additional repairs, says the Minister of Works and Transport, Gen. Katumba Wamala.
The bridge was previously closed for rehabilitation works that cost Shs11 billion and partially reopened towards 2024 Christmas.
The details were spilled by Gen. Katumba while appearing before the House Committee on the Budget, stating that the technical team is still conducting examinations to determine the best course of action.
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“The technical team are still doing the technical examinations to see whether they can fix those expansion joints as vehicles continue crossing or whether it will require some days of closing for
He assured lawmakers that any closure would only happen after parents have taken their children back to school.
“I told my people that even if there will be a need for closing, don’t close this period when people are taking kids back to school, then after that we shall see if the closing is necessary, then we shall communicate,” he added.
The Karuma Bridge was partially reopened on December 20 to allow light vehicles and buses to cross, but heavy trucks are still barred from using the bridge after having initially closed on September 23, 2024, for rehabilitation works, which included demolishing the concrete deck and undertaking major restoration works.
Gen. Katumba explained that the initial repairs allowed light vehicles to cross, but additional work is needed to enable heavy trucks to use the bridge.
“We had some materials that we had to import and that have been imported and are in the country, which are called expansion joints, and those are the ones we are going to fix to enable the heavy trucks to also cross,” he said.
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