The Government has now set aside Ksh9 billion for the repair of Mombasa Road after the highway was damaged by the construction of the Nairobi Expressway.
Speaking shortly after the Expressway’s trial opening on Saturday, May 14, Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia confirmed that the funds would be used to restore the highway to its bitumen standards.
Some of the repairs will include the addition of a Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) system lane as well as the construction of a proper drainage system.
Macharia further noted the state would include a pedestrian’s lane as well as that of non-motorised transporters onto the highway to be all-inclusive.
“To where we are doing work as a result of the damage of the old road, the contractor of course takes accountability for that.
Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia with contractors of the Kenol-Marua dual carriageway, July 2020.
File “We shall be putting a BRT in addition to what was there before. We are doing cycling paths. We are doing pedestrians and so these are additional investments,” stated Macharia.
The allocation comes after an uproar from motorists who wanted the old road restored to serve the lower traffic better.
Nairobians have raised concerns over the state of the highway, including an incomplete drainage system that directed rainwater from the upper deck onto the lower road.
In some instances, the walkway ran straight into a pillar making it impossible to use by Pedestrians along the busy road.
In its opening on Saturday, the Expressway was off to a slow start as Mombasa Road maintained its high traffic while the expressway recorded fewer vehicles.
The toll stations did not, however, experience congestion by the virtue of the road being opened on a weekend. The road was also not very busy as only a few motorists were using it.
Macharia noted that so far 11,000 thousand vehicles have registered to use the road and about 7,000 have enlisted to use the Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) system.
President Uhuru Kenyatta accompanied by Transport CS James Macharia and NMS Director General Mohamed Badi in December 2021.
PSCU
