Why the Southern Bypass is closed till January 23, 2024
The Kenya National Highways Authority (Kenha) has announced the temporary closure of the Nairobi Southern Bypass which will affect both bounds between Lang’ata interchange and Ngong interchange.
In a notice, Kenha said that the road closure will start Wednesday, December 27, 2023, to January 23, 2024.
“This is to allow for construction works for installation of Virtual Weighbridge along the section,” said Kenha.
To minimise traffic disruption along the area, Kenha said the closure will involve one lane of each carriageway at a time.
Regarding this, motorists have been directed to use one lane in each carriageway on both bounds.
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.
In October 2023, Kenha urged motorists to exercise caution while using the Bypass following a series of accidents that resulted in casualties.
The road has been in the news following several accidents, raising concern among the public and motorists alike.
The accidents were attributed to temporary speed bumps erected by the contractor on the busy road, but Kenha states that the bumps are essential to safeguard completed road works.
“The Authority cautions motorists to be careful on this road,” Kenha said in a statement circulated to newsrooms.
The road agency further explained that the ongoing maintenance works along the Southern Bypass include surface dressing of the road, which they say is critical in sealing cracks that emerge as bitumen ages.
It clarified that the ongoing maintenance works on the Southern Bypass include surface dressing to address the natural wear and tear of the road.
This surface dressing helps seal cracks that appear as the bitumen ages. To monitor speeding along the Nairobi Southern Bypass, Kenha announced the installation of a speed camera on the road to ensure traffic compliance with set speed limits.
“We encourage motorists to, at all times, adhere to set speed limits on this road.”
The road agency expressed regret over the accidents and promised to address the situation promptly.
Transport CS Kpichumba Murkomen was also forced to visit the road and announced measures to be observed to curb accidents.
“As a regular user of the road, I have also had the opportunity to observe the ongoing repair works. There is ongoing road maintenance which entails patching and resurfacing of the road to seal cracks that have emerged due to the ageing of bitumen,” he said then.
“I am aware of recent accidents that have occurred on this road, and investigations are ongoing to determine the causes,” he said.
To prevent accidents and protect lives, the CS said that the contractor has placed road signage and installed temporary bumps made of quarry dust in the freshly repaired areas.
The Sh17.1 billion, 28.6km dual carriageway with 12km slip roads and an extra 8.5km service roads was officially launched by President Mwai Kibaki in early 2012 and has seen its share of problems.
In June 2012, the project was met with fierce opposition from Friends of the Nairobi National Park, who said construction of the road through the Nairobi National Park would put other national parks at risk of development.
The lobby group successfully petitioned the National Environmental Tribunal to stop the government from commencing construction works on the areas in dispute. The issue was later resolved.
The Bypass was officially opened by former President Uhuru Kenyatta and the late Tanzanian President John Magufuli in 2016.