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Home » Travel Information » Queen Elizabeth National Park’s Katunguru Bridge Closes Off to Heavy Traffic Amid Plans for Repair- Uganda Safari News

Queen Elizabeth National Park’s Katunguru Bridge Closes Off to Heavy Traffic Amid Plans for Repair- Uganda Safari News

Queen Elizabeth National Park is regarded as the medley of wonders given its spectacular wide range of biodiversity that exists in this park.

Uganda wildlife safari to Queen Elizabeth national park gives you an opportunity to be in a comfortable position to encounter some of the unique wildlife mammals as well as other attractions that call this national park home.

Word reaching our news desk is that the Uganda National Road Authority has decided to temporarily halt the crossing of the Katunguru bridge which connects the southern sector of the park to the northern sector.

The announcement comes barely a week after decks on the Bridge which connects lakes Edward and George got damaged.

The Channel bridge also connects the districts of Kasese and Rubirizi. The roads agency issued a directive on Tuesday stopping heavy trucks and buses from using the road but allowed light vehicles to cross, albeit, with caution.

A day later, a team led by the Head of Bridge Structures at UNRA Eng Lawrence Pario started assessing the extent of the damage on the bridge.

The Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) is introducing the use of speed boats as a means of transport across the Kazinga Channel, to pave way for the Reconstruction of its Katunguru Bridge.

Media Relations Manager Allan Ssempebwa says the assessment has been completed and immediate remedial works have been sanctioned by UNRA Executive Director Allen Kagina.  According to Ssempebwa, the works will start on Sunday and last at least six weeks.

He added that once the works start, even light vehicles will not be allowed to use the bridge. Instead, UNRA will introduce 25-seater capacity speed boats to facilitate the movement of people across the channel.

This intervention is a sigh of relief to many Uganda tour operators who have many of their clients visiting Queen Elizabeth as part of their grand Uganda safari experience.

Why is This Bridge Important to Uganda Tourism?

This bridge is the only connecting point that connects the northern sector of Queen Elizabeth to the southern sector.

These two sectors are each unique in their own way with the northern sector of Queen being mainly composed of savanna grassland plains hence it’s a favorable side for game drives.

The southern sector on the other hand is sector famous for its tree climbing lions and it has a connecting route to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and also Mgahinga Gorilla National Park

The Katunguru bridge was first constructed in 1954 and repaired in 1988. The structure is a highway bridge that is essential in the movement of cargo destined to the Democratic of Congo (DRC) from Uganda and Kenya.

The bridge also facilitates the movement of people and goods from Greater Masaka, Ankole and Kigezi sub-regions, to the Rwenzori region and subsequently into the DRC.

Treasure Joseph Baluku, a taxi driver who plies the Kasese-Mbarara route says this development is a huge blow to their business.

Baluku argues that the government should have detected the challenge a little earlier before the situation reached a point where vehicles would be blocked.

Baluku appealed to UNRA to expedite the process of repairing the bridge so that business returns to normalcy.

Arnold Mumbere, a hawker at Kikorongo says the stopping of heavy vehicles has already affected their sales.

He told URN that bus passengers and truck drivers comprise a big percentage of their customer base for a business that cannot operate on water.

What makes Queen Elizabeth a prime Uganda tour destination

Uganda wildlife safaris visit to queen Elizabeth fascinate many Uganda safari tour makers given the high possibility of encountering 4 out of the 5 big African savanna mammals that freely roam the savanna plains of Queen Elizabeth national park.

These animals can easily be encountered during a Uganda wildlife safari game drive experience in the savanna plains of Kasenyi within the park

The 4 African big game that in this park include African bush elephants, cape buffaloes, leopards and lions hence its only the rhinos that are missing here.

When it comes to lions, a Uganda safari game drive in queen gives a quite unique chance of encountering tree climbing lions that are normally found in the Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth.

Besides the big five, a Uganda tour will still fascinate you given the possibility of encountering other animals such as bush backs, topis and sitatunga antelopes.

Besides tropical savanna mammals, that are seen in the savanna plains of Queen, safaris Uganda to Queen Elizabeth will still surprise with the ability to get you enjoying an epic Uganda chimpanzee safari experience as its also home to these humans of the wild that are found in the forests of Kalinzu  and also Kyambura gorge.

Queen Elizabeth the true birding destination in Uganda

Uganda is worldly recognized as the epic destination for an epic Africa birding safari experience given its rich avian diversity that sees it be a place of stay for over 1078 bird species many comprising of both indigenous as well as migratory bird species.

Anyone who wishes to engage in a Uganda birding safari escapade shouldn’t have a tour Uganda to Queen Elizabeth missing on their itinerary because Queen Elizabeth is Uganda’s biggest birding destination with over 600 bird species.

Uganda bird watching safari to Queen Elizabeth gives you an encounter with a variety of bird species that range from tropical savanna bird species to waterbird species and forest bird species that can be found in forest of Kyambura as well as Kalinzu and the adjacent Maramagambo forest.

The truly remarkable boat cruise experience that’s carried out on the tranquil but turbid waters of the Kazinga channel.

During this boat cruise expect to encounter numerous bird species such as the malachite king fishers, and the several hippos and the Nile crocodiles cant missed as they straddle the sandy beaches of this channel waiting for an opportunity to pouch on unsuspecting prey.

Would you like to visit Queen Elizabeth or any other Uganda safari destination?

Feel free to check out our website which ultimately gives you a preview of some of our safari in Uganda  packages that have been designed to lead you on an adventure to various parts of the country giving you unlimited access to the best of Africa safari attractions in Uganda.

Our Uganda gorilla safaris packages that have been feature here are designed to give you an encounter with the magical gorillas while Uganda wildlife safari packages cater for those that are interested in epic Uganda savanna wildlife as well as culture and birds.

Regardless of your intended length of your stay in Uganda for a Uganda wildlife tour or Uganda gorilla tour experience, we’ve got you covered with our wide range of packages which include short Uganda wildlife safaris, these run from as low as 2 days Uganda safari to Lake Mburo or 2 days Uganda wildlife tour to Queen Elizabeth to about 5 days. There are also Long Uganda wildlife safaris and these run from 5 days to 18 days

For those on a Uganda gorilla trekking safari adventure, we also have short Uganda gorilla tours that begin with 3 days Uganda gorilla safari to Bwindi or a 4 days Bwindi gorilla safari and wildlife to Queen Elizabeth to long gorilla trekking Uganda tours that start from 6 days to 18 days for example 6 Days Uganda gorilla safari with chimpanzees.

You can also try out our other signature Africa safaris that run through other East Africa destinations such as Rwanda, Congo, Kenya and Tanzania and these include Rwanda gorilla safaris, these feature short Rwanda gorilla safaris as well as Long Rwanda gorilla safaris. Kenya wildlife safaris these also feature both short Kenya wildlife safaris and Long Kenya wildlife safaris. Tanzania wildlife safaris and Congo gorilla and wildlife safaris have also been featured on this website.

Here are some of the best selling packages in Uganda

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