NAIROBI, Kenya Oct 4 – The Kenya National Highway Authority (KeNHA) is set to open sections of the Nairobi Expressway to ease traffic congestion on Mombasa Road.
KeNHA said the move is aimed at ensuring what it described as “relative ease of movement for and safety for motorists.”
Sections to be opened include completed parts between Imara Daima to General Motors (GM) and the section at Airtel.
Motorists on Mombasa Road, Uhuru Highway and Waiyaki Way have been experiencing gridlocks since last year when the construction of the Expressway linking the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) to Westlands started.
In a statement, KeNHA said it also intends to widen the angles of diversion points to ease vehicle movement.
Additionally, it said, lanes that were previously closed at Syokimau and Mlolongo area will be opened and improvements on two directional U-turns at Mlolongo would be done.
Kenyan and Chinese workers are involved in the construction of the JKIA Expressway. which will be completed by April 2021.
It has warned motorists to expect congestion on areas along GM and the Bunyala – Haille Selasie Round About as Chinese contractors accelerate construction of the 64.8 kilometer Expressway said to be the first of its kind in East and Central Africa.
The authority appreciated motorist’s patience during the implementation of these interventions and urged them to exercise caution and road courtesy while driving to aid in better traffic management.
“KeNHA would like to appreciate all motorists on the patience exercised during the implementation of these interventions,” it said.
Last week, Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia said the construction of the Sh65 billion Expressway will be completed by May next year. It is 65 per cent complete.
It is the first Private Public Partnership (PPP) project in Kenya, financed and constructed by China Road and Bridge Corporation.
“We are happy with the progress and test runs on the road will take place in March next year as we are confident that the contractors will have completed all works by February, ” he said.
Following recent public uproar on the expensive project, State House Chief of Staff Nzioka Waita said the project was purely PPP with no debt incurred by the government.
“This project fits in the Nairobi Masterplan and no single fund has been borrowed by the government. It is purely PPP, ” he told journalists last week when he accompanied Macharia in an inspection of the project.
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