Ruto Vows New Thika–Museum Hill Expressway to Ease Nairobi Traffic Pressure
The President also announced that a new contractor was already on Valley Road to revive the long-stalled project. He added that the upgrade of Ngong Road and Haile Selassie Avenue was also going on.
File image showing a section of the Nairobi Expressway..Photo/Courtesy
By Ruth Sang
President William Ruto yesterday announced an ambitious infrastructural development program, including a new expressway from Thika to Museum Hill, that will begin next year. The Head of State said the project was part of broader interventions to eliminate Nairobi’s perennial traffic jam and transform transport in the capital and its environs.
Addressing Kenyans during the Jamhuri Day celebrations held at Nyayo Stadium on Friday, President Ruto outlined a number of major road works his administration is set to launch or revive. His speech, rich with pledges, reinforced his growing reputation among Kenyans as a leader who frequently makes bold development promises.
Ruto said that the national government had unanimously agreed with the Nairobi County leadership to revive all stalled road projects within the city. He added that all contractors who had stopped working on the projects had since been called back and would be expected back at the sites of their operations.
“There are many projects we agreed to restart with the Nairobi County Government; every road whose construction was abandoned will now proceed, and contractors have already been instructed to go back to work,” the President said.
He added that almost 60 kilometres of road construction is already ongoing across various neighbourhoods in the capital. Some of the active works include Muhuri Road and Mama Wahu Road in Dagoretti South, the Mihang’o Link Bypass in Embakasi East, Umoja 1 SDA Road in Embakasi West, Thindigwa Road in Roysambu, and Road C in Embakasi South.
The President also announced that a new contractor was already on Valley Road to revive the long-stalled project. He added that the upgrade of Ngong Road and Haile Selassie Avenue was also going on.
“With the Expressway now complete, we will, starting this December as you travel for Christmas, rebuild the road from JKIA to ABC Place and carry out city beautification so that Nairobi reflects the face of a modern capital, he added.
He also reassured the residents of the greater Nairobi metropolitan that his administration would not forget them in alleviating their daily frustrations with traffic. Ruto said the government would widen Ngong Road into a dual carriageway from Bomas of Kenya through to Ngong town in Kajiado County.
He pointed out that many people resident in areas such as Kiserian, Rongai, and Ngong spend hours in traffic every morning and evening. “Starting next year, both the Bomas–Rongai–Kiserian stretch and the Karen–Ngong–Kiserian route will be upgraded into dual carriageways,” he said.
Turning attention to Thika Road, Ruto said despite the famous eight-lane superhighway constructed during former President Mwai Kibaki’s administration, congestion was still a nightmare. “I am aware of the heavy traffic facing the users of Thika Road. We will start an expressway from Thika through to Museum Hill next year to decongest the corridor,” he announced. The President cited the Nairobi Expressway, a Ksh.88 billion project carried out under former President Uhuru Kenyatta through a public–private partnership with China Road and Bridge Corporation, as a model for the Thika express route.
About Author
