The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Amuru, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Leaders in Amuru district are demanding that the Ministry of Works and Transport expedite the rehabilitation of the 106 km Gulu-Nimule Highway, which they say is slowly turning into a death trap due to its deteriorating condition.
The road, constructed for 89 billion shillings and commissioned in 2015, connects Gulu City to Elegu Town Council in Amuru district. It’s a major trade corridor between Uganda and South Sudan, making it a critical economic lifeline not only for the border communities but regional exports.
However, due to a lack of maintenance, vast kilometres of the road stretch within Amuru district have rapidly depreciated, with some sections becoming nearly impassable for trucks due to deep potholes.
Amuru Resident District Commissioner Geoffrey Osborn Oceng, who inspected the road recently, noted that the poor state of the road has affected traffic and led to frequent road crashes involving heavy cargo trucks.
According to Oceng, at least daily, trailers transporting goods to and from South Sudan veer off the road as drivers make attempts to dodge several potholes dotted on the busy highway.
Oceng has appealed to the Works Ministry to intervene and conduct long-lasting rehabilitation works, arguing that the marram soil being poured in some of the potholes is unsustainable due to the volume of trucks that use the road.
The areas, according to local leaders, which have become hotspots of several road crashes are in Opok village in Opara Sub-county, Pawiro, Palukere and Pawel villages, all in Atiak Sub-county, Amuru district. Meanwhile, a section of the road in Lacor Trading Centre in Gulu city has equally deteriorated.
Peter Lukwiya, the LCIII Chairperson of Opara Sub-county, told Uganda Radio Network in an interview that approximately 30 vehicles, mostly cargo trucks, have ever crashed at one of the largest potholes in Opok village since 2021.
Lukwiya noted that the road crashes mostly happen at night, with some during daytime and urged the government to urgently intervene in rehabilitating the road to save lives and avoid economic losses.
Wilfred Oyoo, a passenger driver who uses the road regularly, told Uganda Radio Network that the bad state of the road has affected travel time and their business.
Oyoo noted that a journey that should have initially taken about one hour now takes between two to three hours.
“We are suffering on this road; the road is very bad because of the many potholes. Our colleagues are getting into accidents nearly daily because of this situation,” said Oyoo.
He appealed for an immediate rehabilitation of the dark spots to reduce cases of road crashes.
Henry Komakech, the Regional Manager at the Ministry of Works and Transport, said Tuesday that the delayed rehabilitation of the road had been due to the Works Ministry and Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) merger, which affected the disbursement of funds.
He, however, noted that the Ministry has earmarked a total of 300 million shillings for the roads rehabilitation, adding that works have so far started on some of the deteriorated spots from Gulu city to Pabbo Sub-county. According to Komakech, a total of 25 kilometres has so far been covered and anticipates that the rehabilitation works, which will be conducted in quarters, will take about six months.
Komakech, however, noted that the heavy volume of trucks that use the road daily has continued to present a huge challenge for maintenance due to the high axle load that damages the road rapidly.
He estimates that between 1,000 to 2,000 trucks use the road daily, which increases the chances of the road wearing very fast.
***
URN
