Nairobi Expressway Haile Selassie entrance to be closed for 5 days
Moja Expressway Company has notified motorists of traffic disruption at a section of the Nairobi Expressway over planned maintenance works at the entrance of Haile Selassie Toll Station Entrance B next to the Kenya Railways Museum.
In a notice on Wednesday, the company that runs and maintains the elevated road said that the disruption will run from Thursday, January 25 to Tuesday, January 30 and will disrupt traffic in one of the lanes.
“Please drive with caution around the maintenance area. Thank you for choosing the Nairobi Expressway,” read part of the statement.
The closure comes days after the opening of Nairobi’s Central Business District (CBD) new five-lane Nairobi Expressway exit plaza at Greenpark.
Construction of the Haile Selassie Exit started in July 2023 as part of the Kenyan government’s quest to ease traffic into the CBD.
“The value of this expressway was being underutilized because of the exit that was far away from the Central Business District (CBD) and Harambee Avenue which is the heart of the government offices,” said Roads and Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen.
He described the construction, which began in late July 2023, as a shining monument to what public-private partnerships can achieve.
“We are pleased to announce that the trial operation of the newly completed Nairobi Expressway Haile Selassie Exit Plaza has commenced on January 20, 2024,” he said.
Murkomen praised the project, saying it has reduced the travel time from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to Nairobi from two hours to 20 minutes at no cost to the taxpayer.
The Chinese-built Nairobi Expressway stretches from the western side of the city to the southeastern edge of the metropolis and reportedly records an average daily traffic volume of 50,000 vehicles.
The Sh87 billion, 27.1-kilometre road was financed and built by the China Road and Bridge Corporation under a public-private partnership model.
The Nairobi Expressway has 10 interchanges and includes the SGR terminus at JKIA, Eastern Bypass, Southern Bypass and Enterprise Road.
It was launched by former President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2022 to decongest Mombasa Road and improve mobility in the city.