Tuesday, October 7, 2014 morning was eventful. I chose to do my running starting from Kampalas industrial area (at Toyota Uganda offices, opposite Ange Noir discotheque), old Portbell Road, Nakasero Soap Works (Kampalans, does this factory still make soap?), Mutungo, Mbuya, Kinawataka, Kireka, Namboole Roundabout, Kampala Northern Bypass up to home. This made 10.4 km for the old man in me. During this time, the roads were congested to the extent that I was able to overtake most of the vehicles. Many motorists waved at me perhaps after identifying me or out of curiosity. I had no ugly incidents except when a bodaboda rider carrying a lady and a wide mattress nearly sent me to the ground, near the Kireka Materials Testing Laboratory. Commuter taxis once in a while stopped in front of me blocking my way. Just after the soap factory, near the junction to Kitintale, I saw large sections of the drainage channel having collapsed. Materials earlier used for stone pitching were lying in the trenches in many areas. Someone may suspect poor workmanship for the innocent craftsmen but this was the engineers complete failure. The road surfaces, in most areas, are not sealed up to the edges of the trench. This allows ingress of water weakening not only the sides of the trench but also the layers of the road under the sealed surfaces. In the long (and possibly, short) run, the roads will fail before their design age is reached. Open drainage channels are inconsistent with modern cities of which Kampala is becoming one. I did not time myself but I felt running faster than I do when in Fort Portal or Kabale which are at a higher altitude than Kampala.
Posted on: Thu, 09 Oct 2014 04:58:21 +0000
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