Kenha to close two roads next to Nairobi Expressway for a month
Nairobi Expressway which is under construction. Kenha has said that two major roads in the city will be closed starting Monday to enable the contractor complete the work.
The Kenya National Highways Authority (Kenha) has said that two major roads in the city will be closed starting Monday to enable the contractor who is building the Nairobi Expressway to complete the work
The road closures will force motorists using the Capital Centre access and Waiyaki Way to use alternative routes.
Kenha said that the closure of the ramp from Waiyaki Way to Prof Wangari Maathai Road will last for a period of 34 days, starting June 28, 2021.
“This is to pave way for construction of the Nairobi Expressway along Mombasa Road. Motorists are advised to use alternative routes. Kenha apologises for the inconvenience as it tries to provide an efficient, safe and reliable road network,” the authority said.
Kenha Director-General Peter Mundinia added that the Capital Centre access along Mombasa Road will be closed for 20 days from Monday to July 17.
Traffic jams
The closure of the two roads will worsen the already chaotic traffic jams on the highway, which already has been made worse by the ongoing construction.
Since work on the expressway started, Mombasa Road, Uhuru Highway and Waiyaki Way have turned Nairobi into a nightmare, with cars piling up for hours during rush hours.
Overlapping and accidents have become a common feature despite the deployment of additional traffic police officers.
Motorists have been using either the Industrial Area, Jogoo Road or South B as alternative routes into and out of the city centre.
Short-time pains
In April, Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia said what road users are experiencing are only short-time pains.
“In the meantime, I know there are a lot of inconveniences as people are spending longer hours in traffic but the reason we are constructing the Nairobi Expressway is to solve the traffic jam that was there before. If there was no traffic congestion before, there would be no justification to construct the highway. This pain we are having now is a very short-term pain,” he said.
The expressway is being built by China Road and Bridge Corporation at a cost of Sh62 billion and is expected to be completed in December.
Once completed, Kenyans will pay a toll fee to use the 27-kilometer expressway.
