The Ministry of Works and Transport has announced the immediate suspension of heavy trucks and trailers from using a section of the Kampala-Gulu Highway between Karuma and Kamdini, following signs of road failure identified by engineers.
The affected stretch lies approximately 1km from the Karuma-Olwiyo/Pakwach junction, near the Kampala-side of the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) checkpoint. Mr Allan Ssempebwa, the senior communications officer at the Works ministry, said preliminary assessments point to heavy rains as the cause of the embankment failure.
‘Yes, the section of the Karuma-Kamdini Road has experienced a failure underneath, and as a result of that bottleneck, we’ve cordoned off that section, and vehicles, bus traffic especially, can only use half of the lane of the road as we mobilise for restatement of the section,’ he said.
Mr Ssempebwa added: ‘But in the interim, we are advising our friends of the trailers, buses, heavy trucks generally, not to use that section of the highway, but to consider using a diversion.’
To ensure safety, traffic at the affected site is currently restricted to a single lane. Light vehicles have been urged to proceed with caution, reduce speed, and comply with all traffic control measures in place.
Following the suspension, heavy truck and trailer drivers are advised to divert at the Karuma-Pakwach junction (URA checkpoint).
‘Now, the diversion is when you’re coming from Kampala, and you reach the URA checkpoint at Karuma, you turn off on the left, drive about 51km to Olwiyo Trading Centre, and when you reach Olwiyo Trading Centre, you turn on the right, and you drive about 62km through Anaka to connect to Gulu, and vice versa,’ he said. Mr Ssempebwa said ministry teams are mobilising to restore the damaged section.
The onset of heavy rains has begun to wreak havoc across various regions of the country. On November 1, the ministry issued a traffic alert after landslides cut off the Rubuguri-Katojo Road in South Western Uganda at multiple points.
This disrupted access to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, prompting warnings for motorists and residents to avoid the affected areas. Similarly, since last Friday, the Kapchorwa-Suam Road in Kapchorwa District (Sebei Sub-region) has continued to suffer landslides due to persistent rainfall.
Additional landslides were reported on November 1 near Kowobelyo Village in Bukwo District, rendering travel unsafe. Mr Ssempebwa confirmed that the country is now fully in its rainy season.
‘As a result, the heavy rains have caused a lot of significant flooding, and in sections where we have, for example, wetlands and swamps, some of the road assets have been easily compromised.’