The State Minister for Works, Hon. Musa Ecweru on Wednesday 25th January 2023, officially broke ground for the construction of the Bunadasa-Bugibuni composite bridge over River Sironko. The project is fully funded by the government of Uganda.
Once completed, the bridge will provide connectivity to the communities of Budadiri East and Budadiri West constituencies as well as the sub-counties of Buyobo, Nalusala, Bumalimba, Bukiise, and Buwalasi.
It is worth noting that the current bridge construction location had a makeshift wooden bridge over which people would cross precariously when the river flow was low. However, crossing this structure would become impossible when the river would be swollen with fast-flowing water.
Numerous lives have reportedly been lost while attempting to cross the river on foot and failing to get across for emergency medical care.
River Sironko has a large catchment area and due to the steep terrain its flow becomes very ferocious, especially at the peak of the rainy seasons; carrying a lot of debris comprising of tree stumps, branches, boulders and sediments from the higher reaches of the Mt Elgon ranges;
The leaders and the communities around this area have made repeated requests for a bridge to enable them to cross the river safely while also reducing travel distance and time to reach social amenities and markets.
The contract for the construction of the Bunandasa-Bugibuni Bridge commenced in February 2022 and is due for completion in July 2023. The main scope of works includes the Construction of a 20m clear span steel composite bridge; River training; River protection using gabions for 200m; and Approach road construction of 500m on either side of the bridge.
Works were tendered out competitively and eventually the best bidder, M/s Saed Technical Services Ltd. was awarded the contract at a price of UGX 5,499,659,748.
The contract was awarded to a local contractor who had previously done commendable work with the Ministry in the construction of the Ojonai Bridge in Amuria District; a good quality project that was completed within project time and cost.
The Government of Uganda recognizes the vital role that district and community roads play in stimulating the socio-economic development of the country. Accordingly, the Government is deliberately committing funds to interventions geared towards addressing the structural bottlenecks that hinder the transportation and movement of goods, people, and access to services on the District, Urban, and Community Access Roads (DUCAR) network;
Among the key bottlenecks on these roads are the poor or non-existent bridging structures across various water bodies. The demand for such structures is actually very high given the country’s endowment with many mountains, rivers, streams, lakes and swamps. In addition, many of the bridges constructed during the colonial era have now exceeded their life spans and require replacement.