Nairobi residents and motorists have been urged to brace for traffic disruptions across various parts of the city this weekend as a number of key roads will be closed for hours for the fourth edition of the Nairobi City marathon.
The marathon, which will take place on Sunday, July 6, will be the biggest one yet, with organisers estimating that at least 15,000 participants will take part in the event.
Ahead of the monumental event, several roads have been cordoned off to facilitate the marathon, meaning traffic will be disrupted from as early as on Saturday, July 5 at 10 pm.
Notably, the Nairobi Expressway will be the most affected, as it will be closed from James Gichuru all the way to the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in both directions. This closure will take effect from 10pm on Saturday, until Sunday at 3pm.
Waiyaki Way will also experience some restrictions, with inner lanes between Musa Gitau Road and the Expressway entrance set to be closed from midnight to 10am on Sunday.
In addition, two lanes on both sides between James Gichuru Road and the entrance to the Expressway will also be inaccessible from midnight to 2pm on Sunday.
Aerodrome Road, located in the Upper Hill area near Nyayo Stadium, will also be closed off for a relatively longer period of time. According to the Nairobi City Marathon's official communication, the road will be closed from Friday, July 4 at 10pm until Sunday at 6pm.
Major access points along Mombasa Road and the Southern bypass, including roundabouts, exits and entries towards town, will also remain closed from midnight on Saturday to 11am on Sunday.
In the Nairobi CBD, several streets will be completely shut off from midnight on Saturday to 2pm on Sunday, including Harry Thuku Road, University Way (from Uhuru Highway Roundabout to the slip road), Koinange Street (between University Way and Kenyatta Avenue), Kenyatta Avenue (from Koinange to Moi Avenue), Kimathi Street, Simba Street, Mama Ngina Street (between Simba and Kimathi), City Hall Way (from Simba to Parliament Road), Taifa Road, Harambee Avenue (from Taifa to Parliament Road), and Parliament Road (between Harambee Avenue and Haile Selassie Avenue).
Restrictions will also be applied at key highway intersections. More notably, crossing points on Mombasa Road and the Southern bypass via Likoni road will be closed from midnight to 11am on Sunday. Intersections linking the expressway and the bypass are the ones which will be most affected.
On Thika Road, exit A2 toward Uhuru Highway as one is heading towards Mombasa Road, will also be closed for the marathon from midnight to 2 pm.
All races will kick off at Uhuru Park.
Part of the reason so many roads will be closed for a better part of Sunday morning is because of the different events set to take place during the city marathon.
Besides the main event - the 42 kilometre marathon - there will also be the 21 kilometre half marathon, which starts at 7:30 am and the 11.7 kilometre expressway run, which kicks off at 9.00 am.
The shortest race of the day will be the 4-kilometre fun run, which will kick off at 10.00 am.
