The 15-hour traffic congestion along the Nairobi-Nakuru Highway has finally been cleared following a multi-agency intervention led by the National Police Service (NPS).
While confirming the smooth traffic flow, Police Spokesperson Muchiri Nyaga on Saturday evening said the gridlock was mainly caused by heavy rains experienced in Nakuru County.
According to the police boss, the downpour in Nakuru City and its surroundings began yesterday at around 4 p.m. and extended into the night until around 8 p.m.
He also attributed the gridlock to two separate accidents that occurred in the Baruk and Soysambu areas, coupled with lane indiscipline by some motorists.
"NPS wishes to inform the public of a serious traffic gridlock along the Nairobi-Nakuru highway, which lasted for more than 15 hours. However, the free flow of traffic has now been fully restored," Muchiri Nyaga confirmed.
"This unfortunate incident was caused by several factors, the key among them being heavy rainfall and a non-injury traffic accident near Baruk area and a second non-injury accident near Soysambu area," he added.
Addressing journalists, Nyaga urged motorists plying the route to exercise patience, maintain lane discipline and consider alternative routes when necessary to ease congestion.
To tame rogue motorists flouting traffic rules, the police boss announced that additional police officers had been deployed along the busy road.
The latest update comes hours after the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) cautioned motorists using the highway to avoid overlapping and maintain lane discipline to reduce traffic congestion.
In a statement on Saturday morning, the Authority noted the congestion was mainly witnessed along the highway between Kariandusi and Nakuru city.
"We are experiencing a snarl-up on the A8 between Kariandusi and Nakuru that lasted all night due to overlapping and driver indiscipline. Motorists are advised to stop overlapping, as this will assist our teams and the police to restore order," KeNHA announced.
While urging motorists to adhere to traffic regulations, KeNHA encouraged motorists to use alternative routes, including the Gilgil-Olkalou-Dundori-Lanet route and the Flyover-Njambini-Olkalou-Dundori-Lanet.
