Kampala:If you have been to Jinja town in the last two years, you would be excused to mistake the erstwhile organized town for bumpy impassable village in back-in-the-day Karagmoja.
The town’s roads right from main street all the way to Masese had given way to potholes and overgrown grass.
The town leadership seemed to have resigned to its fate.”What can we do with just shs1B for over 20 KMs of roads that the town has,” they would say whenever the question about the potholed roads came up.
Well, they seem to have got a solution- a Jet Patcher technology.
Just the other day, the municipality leadership contracted a jet patching company to work on filling the potholes so the town folk can have a smooth ride as they go about their business around town.
The Councillors could not hide their excitement.
One George Henry Izale went to social media and triumphantly announced the arrival of the the roads messiah in town.
“Patching of roads in the municipality using modern jet patching technology has commenced this morning,” he posted.
One social media enthusiast responded, “Good…our shock-absorbers are going to be safe, I hope so.
Literally most of our roads were developing “pitholes” not potholes.”
But what makes jet patching special from the usual road pressers we usually see making screeching noise around town?
The technology provides a cost-effective way of maintaining the wearing surfaces of asphalt roads, car parks, footpaths, industrial areas including repairs of pot holes, crack seals.
According to the Jet Patcher website, unlike in the usual old way of patching potholes, the troubled area, when using jet patching, is cleaned and prepared, sealed, filled, cured and ready for traffic in one smooth operation.
Repairs are made using rapid set emulsion resulting in long lasting repairs. The emulsion is safer for operators to work with and more environmentally friendly. Road users also experience minimum traffic delays because most repairs complete, and are ready to be driven over very soon after they have been made, in under 15 minutes.
This new arrangement is in addition to on going road constructions in the municipality that include the re-tarmacking of main street roads.
How it works
Stage One
Using the high volume, low pressure blower the Jetpatcher easily blows all loose debris from the pot hole, cleaning it and preparing the hole for an effective patch.
Stage Two
The Jetpatcher now coats the pot hole with an asphalt emulsion which seals the pot-hole and prevents further damage from occurring due to moisture.
Stage Three
Aggregate is introduced into the pot hole. Using the Jetpatcher process, the aggregate is mixed with the asphalt emulsion and blown in to the pot-hole at high velocity.
Stage Four
The final stage of the Jetpatcher process. After the pot hole has been effectively sealed and filled, a light layer of dry aggregate is applied to the patch, preventing the patch from adhering to car tires prior to the emulsion fully curing. The patch is now ready for traffic.
