Sometimes referred to as Tororo–Jinja Road, it is a busy transport corridor, connecting traffic from neighboring Kenya, and northeastern Uganda to Jinja, a major commercial and industrial center, and ultimately to Kampala, the country's capital, and beyond.
The road starts at Jinja, in Jinja District, proceeding eastwards, through Bugembe and Kakira, Iganga, Bugiri and Busitema, to end at Tororo Corner, where it merges with Tororo–Mbale–Soroti Road and with Tororo–Malaba Road, a total distance of about 131 kilometres (81 mi).
This road is part of the Northern Corridor, a road system that connects the East African cities of Bujumbura, in Burundi, Kigali, in Rwanda and Kampala, in Uganda to Nairobi, in Kenya and ultimately to the Kenyan port of Mombasa.
The road is a vital commercial link to the outside world for the three land-locked countries.
It is also a vital road link to the sea, for many parts of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.