Uganda’s rebuilt Katonga Bridge ends diversions on a regional trade route

Motorists travelling between Kampala and western Uganda no longer have to take the diversions introduced after floods brought down Katonga Bridge in May 2023. Normal traffic has returned to the Kampala–Masaka road following a reconstruction costing 191 billion Ugandan shillings, according to Nile Post Uganda (direct). The reopening restores a direct passage on one of the country’s busiest transport routes, used to carry passengers, agricultural produce and other goods.

The restored bridge and road fully opened to traffic in October 2026, the outlet reported. Construction began in December 2024, with major paving and structural work reaching their final stages in mid-2026. Uganda’s Ministry of Works and Transport carried out the project in partnership with China Communications Construction Company, known as CCCC. The work covered both the replacement bridge and stretches of the road around it, rather than the crossing alone.

A higher crossing after the floods

The new bridge is higher and longer than the structure it replaces. It was designed to withstand flooding—the threat that damaged the previous crossing and disrupted travel in May 2023. The project also included 2.7 kilometres of approach roads, the sections that lead vehicles onto and away from the bridge. Those works form part of the restored connection that motorists can now use instead of the temporary diversions.

Sections of the road were widened from seven metres to 11 metres as part of the effort to improve traffic flow. The reconstruction also addressed critical stretches around two swamps: 11.6 kilometres through Lwera and another 1.5 kilometres through Kalandazi. Together, the elevated bridge, wider road sections and work through the swamp areas extend the project’s scope beyond replacing the structure lost to the floods.

For road users, the immediate change is straightforward: the Katonga section is open without the previous detours. After the old bridge collapsed, motorists moving between Kampala and western Uganda had been forced onto alternative routes. Completion of the reconstruction removes that disruption from the crossing and brings traffic back to its normal path along the Kampala–Masaka road.

A connection for goods and regional trade

The Ministry of Works and Transport said it expects the finished project to make the route more reliable, particularly for passengers and for agricultural produce and other goods moving between central and western Uganda. That is the ministry’s expectation for the completed works, rather than a reported measurement of their effect on transport operations.

The completed works are expected to make the route more reliable for passengers and goods, according to the Ministry of Works and Transport.

The significance of the reopening extends beyond domestic journeys. The Kampala–Masaka corridor also links Uganda with Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania, according to the report. Katonga therefore sits on a route serving both travel within Uganda and regional trade across its borders.

With construction finished, attention turns to the bridge and strengthened road sections in use. The next test is whether their flood-resistant design delivers the more dependable connection envisaged for the Kampala–Masaka–Mbarara route, especially for the people and goods that rely on it.