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The Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) has announced that, with the exception of buses, all big trucks, effective Friday 24, 2024, will use Kafu-Masindi, branch off on the left to use Hoima Biiso Buliisa Paraa road, to connect to Pakwach or Gulu Via Olwiyo, and vice versa.
On May 6, 2024, UNRA announced changes in traffic flow at the Karuma Bridge crossing following identified bridge defects that needed urgent intervention.
As a result, lorries, trailers, trucks, and buses from Kampala to Gulu/West Nile were diverted to use Luwero-Kafu Masindi Paraa (Murchison Falls National Park) to connect to Pakwach or Gulu via Olwiyo and vice versa from Gulu/West Nile.
UNRA has in a statement announced that following wider stakeholder engagements, it has now been resolved that “owing to the ecologically sensitive environment along the Masindi Parra route, all drivers of trailers, lorries, and trucks, EXCEPT buses, are now advised, effective Friday, May 24, 2024, to use Kafu-Masindi, branch off on the left to use Hoima Biiso Buliisa Paraa road, to connect to Pakwach or Gulu Via Olwiyo, and vice versa.”
UNRA diverted the traffic in consultation with the Uganda Wildlife Authority.
“The Government of Uganda is expediting funding for the construction of a new bridge at Karuma, which will provide a long-term solution to this transportation challenge. In the interim, repairs will be initiated on the bridge to ensure smooth and full restoration of traffic until a permanent solution is in place,” UNRA announced.
Karuma Bridge lies along the major highway connecting the northern and southern halves of Uganda, as well as being the transit route between the coastal ports of Mombasa, Dar es Salaam, and South Sudan.
The Karuma Falls Bridge was built in 1963 to facilitate river crossings to and from northern Uganda.
It is a narrow, single-lane bridge lacking pedestrian or bicycle paths and monitoring equipment, making it susceptible to serious accidents.
Rerouting traffic through Uganda’s largest national park, which spans 3,840 square kilometers, alarmed animal conservationists, as they believed heavy traffic would frighten wildlife.
UNRA said the alternative route is fully paved and involves a shorter distance of approximately 20 kilometers of travel through Murchison Falls National Park.