Nakuru, Makueni and Kitui counties have the longest road networks in the country, a new inventory shows, signaling the resource pressures the three devolved units face as they strive to maintain and upgrade the assets.
A new register by the Kenya Roads Board (KRB) showed that Nakuru has 14,505 kilometres of roads (both national trunk roads (NTR) and county roads), Makueni (12,116km), and Kitui with 11,957km.
This means that the three counties jointly host 16.13 percent of the country’s total 239,122 kilometres of road network.
The inventory further showed that Mombasa, Vihiga, and Lamu counties have the shortest road networks with 1,099km, 1,281km and 1,498km, respectively.
Overall, the register shows that the country has 57,030km of NTR and 182,092km of county roads, marking a 48 percent jump over eight years.
“Through reviews and updates of the network which has grown from 161,451 kilometres that were listed in 2016 to the current 239,122 kilometres. The Kenya government will be responsible for 57,030 kilometres and the County governments take up 182,092 kilometres,” KRB said.
The increase in road length has piled budgetary pressure on the State even as an inventory and condition survey conducted last year shows that 30 percent of the network is in a poor state and is most likely to get worse if not revamped.
A further 46 percent of the roads are classified as being under fair condition, meaning that they will soon need a revamp. In the 2023/2024 financial year some Sh71.68 billion was disbursed through the KRB for road maintenance.
KRB data shows that there’s a financing gap of about Sh78.09 billion in road improvement budgets.
New classification
Meanwhile, the KRB has reviewed the country’s road classification following the latest inventory and introduced new categories.
For instance, a new Class S segment has been introduced, comprising the Nairobi Expressway, Nairobi Southern Bypass, Eldoret Southern Bypass, Dongo Kundu Bypass, and Miritini-Mwache-Kipevu Link Road.
It has also introduced a new class category known as Road A5, which originally terminated at the A8 at Emali and has been extended to Kithimani.
The new full route Road A5 now runs from Emali through Ukia, Itangine, Wamunyu and Makutano and ends at Kithimani.
Road A3, which previously began at Thika and ended at Liboi, has been revised to start from Flyover, pass through Magumu, Thika, and Garissa, and continue to Liboi.
