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More pain for motorists as another section of Uhuru Highway closed for 21 days

April 29th, 2021 2 min read

Motorists and commuters who use Uhuru Highway will have to get used to spending more hours on the road after KeNHA closed a section of the road for 21 days due to the ongoing construction of the Nairobi Expressway.

The closure beginning Friday, will continue until May 20, according to the Kenya Highway Authority (KeNHA) and will affect the section between Bunyala roundabout and the Nyayo Stadium roundabout.

“There will be traffic disruption along Liberty Highway from Friday, April 30, 2021, to Thursday, May 20. Motorists are advised to use alternative routes. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause as we strive to provide a secure, secure and reliable network,” KeNHA Director General Peter Mundinia said in a statement.

The closure, will commence just a day after another 20-day closure which commenced on April 9 and ended on April 29.

Motorists leaving town using Uhuru Highway will have to use Bunyala Road-Workshop Road-Lusaka then join Mombasa Road at the Nyayo roundabout.

KeNHA has urged motorists to comply with traffic management plans and follow the direction of traffic marshals as well as road signs.

Already, there have been traffic snarl-ups on Mombasa Road, Uhuru Highway and Waiyaki Way caused by the construction of the Nairobi Expressway, with motorists using either the Industrial Area, Jogoo Road, or South B as alternative routes into and out of town.

A fortnight ago, Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia said what road users are experiencing are only short-time pains.

“In the meantime, I know there are a lot of inconveniences as people are spending longer hours in traffic but the reason we are constructing the Nairobi Expressway is to solve the traffic jam that was there before. If there was no traffic congestion before there would be no justification to construct the highway. This pain we are having now is very short-term pain,” he said.

Motorists using Mombasa Road, Uhuru Highway and Waiyaki Way are the most affected by the expressway construction being done by China Road and Bridge Corporation to the tune of Sh62 billion and is expected to be concluded in December.

The road project, once completed, will see Kenyans pay a toll fee for the 27km stretch, with Macharia saying the highway will reduce the traffic snarl ups on Mombasa Road.