Kenya National Highways Authority (Kenha) finalises city road plan

August 20, 2015

BY WILLIAM MWANGI

SUPER HIGHWAY: Kenya National Highways Authority illustration of how Mombasa Road will look once it is completed. A new road system is expected to decongest the city.

BRACE yourself — insane Nairobi traffic will be history (maybe). The Kenya National Highways Authority has finalised a mega plan to decongest the city starting December this year. Engineers did not say when the project will be completed. KeNHA Acting General Manager David Muchilwa yesterday said the project will save commuters incessant gridlock that has undermined trade and finance in the county.

“Nairobians should brace themselves for new modes of road usage once this project is completed,” he said. Engineer Muchilwa, in charge of special projects, said the county will introduce Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) lanes. The project is financed by the World Bank through the National Urban Transport Improvement Project. It will include construction of an interchange at the Nyayo Stadium roundabout.

The interchange will allow free movement of vehicles from Mombasa Road, to the city centre and jam-prone Langata Road. “The designs have been approved. They are awaiting ratification from the World Bank,” Muchilwa said in a statement. He said the aim is to decongest Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to Westlands all the way to Rironi. The BRT infrastructure will consist of physical components starting from the eastern bypass at Cabanas with buses in the middle lane all the way to James Gichuru Road. BRT service will have dedicated buses use the middle lanes travelling at 40 km per hour.

There will be bus stations 800 metres apart from each other with footbridges or underpasses for pedestrians. “We had to find a better way of moving people along the highways and major Nairobi roads by a well-organised bus system using dedicated lanes. That’s why we came up with the Bus Rapid Transit which will be faster and efficient,” Muchilwa said. He said during the construction period, service lanes will receive first priority to ease the expected traffic congestion.

The road is being divided into three sections from JKIA all the way to Rironi. Section 1 will start from JKIA and go to Likoni Road Junction (Southern Bypass Interchange). Section 2 from Likoni Road Junction to James Gichuru Road Junction (near ABC place). Section 3 from James Gichuru Road Junction ending at Rironi. A new inland Container Depot will be constructed at the JKIA turn-off, with the link covering 7.9km. Likoni Road will also be connected to James Gichuru Road with the construction of an elevated dual carriageway over the median between the road over rail bridge just before Haile Selassie Intersection up to KBC.

From KBC, the service road to Riverside Drive will start before the interchange and run alongside the ramp at Nairobi University. On James Gichuru, an additional lane will be built on either side from the intersection to Rironi. Around 25km is to be covered.

Other infrastructure developments on the three sections will include rehabilitation of existing pavements, construction and rehabilitation of sidewalks, pedestrian walkways, pedestrian footbridges and underpasses, storm water drains, street lighting and traffic signals.