Traffic nightmare along Eastern Bypass as Kura closes road for three days
On Tuesday morning, hundreds of motorists and passengers were trapped in a massive traffic snarl-up along the Eastern Bypass.
The Kenya Urban Roads Authority (Kura) had earlier announced that a bypass section would be closed for three days.
Motorists had been warned to expect heavier than usual traffic due to ongoing construction.
In a statement on Monday, Kura said that the disruptions should be experienced from Monday, January 30, to Wednesday, February 1.
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According to Kura, the disruption allows the contractor to lay the final surface dressing at the section between Embakasi Barracks and CRBC site camp.
Motorists have been advised to approach the section with caution. However, traffic marshals and police will be on-site to enable a smooth traffic flow.
“We wish to notify the general public that there will be traffic disruption along Eastern Bypass from 6 am Monday, January 30 to February 1, 6 pm,” the notice reads in part.
The stretch from China Roads and Bridges Corporation (CRBC) site camp to the Embakasi barracks heading towards Mombasa Road will be affected.
The gridlock started building up as early as 6 am and stretched for several kilometers. The construction greatly affected and inconvenienced people forced to spend more time on the stretch.
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The situation was made worse by motorists attempting to overlap as both sides of the road were jammed for hours.
The expansion of the Eastern Bypass into a dual carriageway was expected to be finished on January 2023.
The 28-kilometer road stretches from City Cabanas on Mombasa Road to Ruiru and has been under construction since November 2021.
The contract for the Sh12.5 billion key road was awarded to China Communication Construction Company Limited last year.
The multi-billion-shilling project aims to ease the growing traffic jam on the key road that links motorists from the busy Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and Mombasa-Nairobi highway to Thika Superhighway, bypassing the congested central business district.
The Eastern Bypass was constructed as a single-carriageway, but since its completion in 2014, considerable urbanisation and commerce along the corridor have occasioned significant traffic volumes.
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