The load studies were undertaken with four 30t trucks over seven hours, and the structure is now open to bicycles and pedestrians, with vehicles to be permitted once the structure has been commissioned next week by President Museveni.
Due to problems procuring an international consultant for supervision of the project during the Covid-19 pandemic, engineers from UNRA took on the supervisory role, saving the authority approximately US$1.4 million, according to Lawrence Pario, head of bridges and structures at UNRA.
Once opened to vehicles, the crossing is expeccted to relieve traffic on the Kampala-Jinja Highway and provide a shorter route between the districts of Kamuli and Kayunga across the River Nile.
Construction work on the 2.1km reinforced concrete girder bridge started in July 2019 and was undertaken by China International Water and Electric Corporation, which also built the 183MW Isimba Dam 500m upstream.
The project courted controversy last year when the Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga, claimed there was evidence that senior government officials had stolen public money earmarked for the bridge, although Irene Muloni, then-minister for energy and mineral resources, refuted the allegations.
