Effects of Poor Road Infrastructure on the Economic Growth of Kampala City, Uganda

Abstract

This study focuses on the impact poor road infrastructure has on economic growth. Poor road infrastructure comprises; narrow or roads lacking; design policy, economic policy, user policies, and design implications i.e. accessibility, good drainage. Kampala city has poor road infrastructure, the most critical being; little space, ever growing traffic, road indiscipline, lack of clear policies and the great number of inaccessible slums which the research addresses for finding solutions to the problems. The study employed exploratory and case study designs to establish the effects of poor road infrastructure on the economic growth of Kampala city using both Qualitative and quantitave approaches to arrive at empirical evidence and help for one to understand the study in depth and in its natural setting, recognizing its complexity and content. Based on that there is no doubt that road infrastructure contributes to economic growth and its investment constitutes to one of the forces of economic growth. Space being the most critical variable; determines the incorporation of other infrastructure like, buildings, water and sanitation, energy, telecommunications, streets and public spaces, whole neighborhoods, and entire cities, to make urban areas functional, attractive, and sustainable. The effects of poor road infrastructure tested against these principal parameters made the topic of interest as the city is grossly affected by space and classify the roads as poor. In light of traffic growth, congestion, delays, road user frustration and road safety, there is a need to implement measures to manage travel demand to improve mobility and safety. Road authorities in the past only focused on infrastructure to meet growing traffic needs but there is a need to shift towards Network Management and operations with the aim of reducing the impact of congestion, improve road safety and provide users with real time information for permanent economic growth.