Stalled road work choking upper hill
Residents and business community in Upper Hill continue to suffer dusty and congested roads with construction of the Matumbato Road moving at a slower rate than they would like.
Those who spoke to NairobiNews said that since the last update in June they haven’t seen much progress as most of the roads are yet to be tarmacked.
“There’s too much dust, which is now a health hazard. Someone dug the road at CBA cross junction leaving a single lane for all motorists from four directions. This lack of order is so annoying,” said Webster Ouma a resident.
Two phases
Roads rehabilitation in the area is under the Kenya Urban Roads Authority and has been divided into two phases with the first set to be completed by May next year (5.6km).
The second phase that is about 13km is under development.
Some residents say the 5.6km section should not take two years to complete citing the May 2012 start date.
However, in June when Mattan Contractors, who are undertaking the works, were giving an update they cited the need to relocate service lines as having taken up some time.
Power, sewer and water lines were said to have caused a lot of delay for the Sh2 billion project.
“The major problem we are having here is relocation of service lines and people’s plots for those who have encroached on road reserves,” said Najib Rashid, Mattan Mananging Director.
For now, the area has been left with multiple graders and other machinery at the roadsides of incomplete roads while the open roads are highly congested by the rising vehicle population.
The area has seen a relentless growth in office blocks but the infrastructure is limping far behind.