Skip to main content

Unganda investing in road maintenance and management

The Ugandan Government is working to improve the country’s infrastructure, with new links planned as well as a new project tackling asset management. Fugro is leading a team on a pioneering project to build a pavement and asset management system for the road network of Kampala in Uganda as part of this focus on infrastructure. The company is working with international asset management specialists from TRL and local Ugandan mapping and GIS specialist Aerophoto Systems Engineering on behalf of the client, Kam
October 8, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
Fugro and TRL in the UK are amongst those assisting with road maintenance development in Uganda
The 1073 Ugandan Government is working to improve the country’s infrastructure, with new links planned as well as a new project tackling asset management. 6202 Fugro is leading a team on a pioneering project to build a pavement and asset management system for the road network of Kampala in Uganda as part of this focus on infrastructure. The company is working with international asset management specialists from 777 TRL and local Ugandan mapping and GIS specialist Aerophoto Systems Engineering on behalf of the client, Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA). Surveys to map and geo-reference the 1,700km road and surface drainage networks, to build a record of highway inventory and to report pavement condition and traffic data are included under a Contract of Roads Infrastructure Inventory & Condition Assessment that spans 14 months. The GIS referenced data collection programme includes an airborne LiDAR and photography survey, and a truck-mounted road condition and asset inventory survey.

Data will be used to populate a fully featured asset management system based on TRL’s iROADS software, which includes predictive maintenance, deterioration modelling and financial forecasting functions. The project team will also work with KCCA to compile manuals of network development, road performance indicators and survey procedures to unify standards and evaluative methods for Kampala’s roads.

The project forms a key element of the strategy of developing local capacity. The pavement management system will provide a vital tool to help highway managers to target and prioritise maintenance work, while raising overall engineering performance in key areas such as road condition and traffic flow. The specialised software and data will deliver robust evidence to support KCCA funding bids to government and external investors.

Meanwhile the US74 million Kampala-Jinja Highway is one of six highways planned for upgrades by the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). The new tolled highway will form part of the Trans-African Highway and replace the old route, which does not have sufficient capacity for present traffic volumes. All six of the projects were selected by the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) and these are due for completion by 2020.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Website aids street walkability assessments
    May 14, 2012
    TRL has launched a special website that allows people around the globe to rate their street, using a five-star rating system. The Ratemystreet website is an easy-to-use tool utilising Google maps and Google Streetview, and unlike other wesbites it focuses on a street’s walkability, says TRL. Ratemystreet (www.ratemystreet.co.uk) is a complementary tool to TRL’s successful PERS (Pedestrian Environment Review System) software, an expert tool co-developed with Transport for London, which combines both qualit
  • New Zimbabwe highway upgrade being planned
    August 24, 2016
    Plans are in hand for road widening work and surfacing upgrades for a key route crossing Zimbabwe. The highway upgrade is being carried out by a joint venture partnership between Chinese firm China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) and Austrian Company Geiger International. This follows agreements being reached between the joint venture partners and the Zimbabwe Government. The work is needed as the existing road links along the route are unable to cope with that current traffic volumes that include a high
  • NDT sensor fusion in structural pavement condition surveys
    February 27, 2017
    Early detection of pavement defects and the causes of deterioration is essential for effective maintenance planning, writes Dr Alena Uus* There is a need for optimisation and development of UK highway survey methods that would provide comprehensive information on the surface and subsurface pavement condition and operate at traffic speed, which eliminates the requirement for lane closures. Performance of non-destructive testing (NDT) methods commonly employed in pavement condition surveys can be potent
  • Latest GIS and software tools improve operations
    February 24, 2012
    Innovative GIS and software solutions are coming to market from the three key market players - Mike Woof reports Competition is strong in the field for GIS and surveying systems as well as the associated software. The three major players in the sector, Leica Geosystems, Topcon and Trimble, all invest heavily in research and development and continue to roll out new solutions for construction customers that will boost the efficiency of surveying as well as overall project implementation.