Building of Nairobi double deck road pushed to 2018

Construction of Nairobi’s first double-decker highway linking Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) to Nairobi-Nakuru highway has been pushed to next year pending further studies for a comprehensive design.

The Sh38 billion elevated highway, meant to decongest central Nairobi, was set for construction from early this year following a financing agreement with the World Bank last year.

“There are further studies being done on bus rapid transit system (BRT) to be completed in March and detailed engineering design nine months after,” said Peter Mundinia, director-general at Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) — the implementing agency.

He had last August said that the road would be built towards end of last year or early this year.

The bus rapid transit (BRT) system is one of the special features of the planned highway, which will involve construction of a dedicated lane for large-capacity buses to sanitise public commuter service and ease congestion.

The double-decker road has delayed for nearly a decade after the first attempt collapsed when the World Bank pulled out over the credibility of some of the firms contracted by Kenyan government.

Motorists will cruise on the express way as an alternative to escape the heavy traffic jams on Mombasa Road at a fee (toll charges).

Nairobi roads have witnessed an explosion of cars but roads expansion has failed to keep pace over the years.

Recent report

The World Bank, in a recent report, said Nairobi residents on average spend an hour to travel to work and another 60 minutes commuting back home due to traffic congestion on the city’s roads.

The proposed elevated dual carriageway is to be built in three phases beginning with the first 6.5 kilometres running from JKIA to Likoni Road and the Southern bypass interchange.

The second stretch (12 km) will connect Likoni Road to James Gichuru Road junction on Waiyaki Way in Westlands, while the last section will run from James Gichuru Road to Rironi, on Nairobi-Nakuru highway.

The road will come with multiple interchanges at intersections on Popo-Kapiti, Lang’ata-Lusaka, Bunyala, Rhapta and James Gichuru roads.

Parliament in 2008 approved the construction of a 77-kilometre double-decker road in Nairobi under a 30-year build-operate-transfer deal that allows private firms to invest in a public project, operate it for an agreed period to recoup their investment and profit before handing it over to the State.

But nearly a decade later the works are yet to start.

Initial attempts to build the road failed after the World Bank raised concern over the integrity of Strabag — the Austrian firm that had won the concession.