The Entebbe Expressway is once again brightly illuminated following the restoration of power after several weeks of darkness. This development brings relief to night-time road users, who had faced challenges on the unlit highway.
The blackout began on October 29 due to a faulty transformer at the Mutundwe substation, a key power source for the area.
In response, the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) announced an outage affecting street lighting along the entire expressway. With this crucial transformer out of service, many drivers and passengers faced increased risks, navigating an unlit stretch during nighttime hours.
Repair efforts were a collaboration between the Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited (UETCL) and the contracted Kampala Entebbe Expressway team.
UNRA spokesperson Allan Ssempebwa confirmed that the teams had worked actively to resolve the issue.
"The lights along the Entebbe Expressway are now operational, and road users can move freely," Ssempebwa told The Nile Post in a interview.
While lighting has largely returned, a few outages remain in certain sections of the expressway.
Ssempebwa noted, "On the Mpala-Kajjansi direction, three poles at the 13 km, 14 km, and 16 km marks are still not lighting." He added that on the Kajjansi-Mpala side, four poles near the Nambigirwa Bridge and one pole at the Mpala Interchange are also yet to be fixed.
Overall, only 15 poles out of the 1,060 along the highway are currently without power. This is a notable improvement from the situation earlier this month, when 53 lights were reported off.
Ssempebwa expressed his appreciation for the quick response by the repair teams.
"The overall lighting situation is stable," he stated, highlighting that repairs have been efficient and that only isolated poles now remain in need of attention.
The restoration of lighting on the expressway underscores the importance of rapid response and infrastructure upkeep, as it greatly improves safety for thousands of road users traveling this busy route each day.
