Amuru, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The business community and road users in Lango and Acholi sub-regions are excited following the completion of the Awoo-Tochi Bridge in Omoro District.
For about six decades, locals in the area temporarily patched the bridge with wood logs and pieces of timber to facilitate trucks transporting goods and traders to markets in Lango and Acholi sub-regions for instance livestock markets in Amach and Amugo in Lira, Amwaa in Oyam and Elegu in Amuru.
In 2019, the Uganda National Roads Authority – UNRA sunk up to 9.2 billion Shillings to revitalize the bridge that was first built in the early 1960s during the British Colonial administration in the country.
Tonny Omara, a driver who transports livestock through the bridge is happy about the revival of the bridge saying it would boost the economy of the local population especially those with roadside shops.
Sharon Tino, a resident of the Awoo Trading Centre explains that heavy rains have been rendering the bridge impassable and would claim lives of motorists and pedestrians due to accidents. She is happy that the new bridge has restored sanity.
Newton Ojok, the Omoro LCV Vice-Chairperson says that the construction of the bridge measuring 14 meters long was supposed to commence in 2018 but it delayed due to torrential rains, logistics and procurement bureaucracies.
Ojok explains that the bridge is expected to spur economic development along with the Aboke-Iceme-Awor-Bobi trading centres, create easy access to motorists using the bridge as a shortcut to the greater North road.
The Bridge that initially connected the Mbale-Soroti-Lira-Gulu Great North road had outlived its usefulness and deteriorated due to population explosion and heavy traffic carrying tonnes of merchandise en-route to South Sudan.
Construction works to rehabilitate the bridge was awarded to Terrain Services Ltd.
The distance between Lira and Gulu cities, a distance of 130Km via Kamdini junction takes at least three hours due to multiple potholes along the way but through the Awoo Bridge shortcut, travellers save up to 40 minutes of their time.
During the height of a two-decade long armed insurgency between the Government and the Lord’s Resistance Army – LRA rebels, the road was used as a transit point to facilitate the transport of heavy military arsenal to the front-line which weakened it further.
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