Motorists plying the Narok-Maai Mahiu Road were caught up in a snarl-up on Thursday, March 23, after rainwater washed away part of the Maai Mahiu-Narok road in the Suswa area.
The gridlock stretched for several kilometres after a standstill occasioned by the soil and debris of the floods, which rendered the road impassable.
Witnesses from the scene reported that motorists kept off a heap of silt deposited on the road for fear of getting stuck, causing the jam, which lasted for over six hours.
As such, motorists using the highway were forced to spend the wee hours of Thursday, March 23, in the cold with little hope of proceeding with their journeys.
However, security agencies reacted to the situation after daybreak and embarked on efforts to clear the debris of the floods from the road.
The response team deployed an excavator and a team of workers who eventually cleared the way for the motorists to pass.
Narok East police commander Jared Marando urged motorists to take precautions using the road during the rainy season.
The Narok-Maai Mahiu Road connects Nairobi to counties in the South Rift and parts of South Nyanza. Flooding has been common along the road, especially in the Suswa region.
In 2018, the road recorded the worst disruption after flash floods sunk a section. Hundreds of motorists were stranded and had to find alternative routes to Nairobi.
Since then, the road experienced perennial floods in the subsequent rainy seasons. The government, in its response, promised to construct a road linking Narok County and Kajiado County through Kibiko and Kimuka as an alternative to the Narok-Maai Mahiu Road.
Elsewhere, in Nairobi, several roads experienced disruptions as the onset of the long rains continued to wreak havoc for motorists.
Motorists using the Mombasa Road were caught up in traffic snarl-ups amid pressure mounted on the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) to fix the situation in areas affected by the construction of the Nairobi Expressway.
Road safety experts have in the past warned drivers against the dangers of driving in floods, especially in water rising above 10 centimetres in height.
According to the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), motorists should avoid driving flooded roads at all costs citing unprecedented dangers. Instead, the safety authority advises drivers to seek alternative routes whenever one encounters flash floods.
