Hundreds of motorists were on Tuesday, July 8, forced to spend the night on the road following a heavy traffic snarl-up along the Nairobi-Nakuru highway.
Preliminary reports indicated that the gridlock, which began at around 7pm, was caused by an accident that involved two trailers near the Gilgil weighbridge.
The congestion, which spanned over 40 kilometres, escalated after some motorists began overlapping, consequently restricting the movement of vehicles in both directions.
In the footage obtained by Kenyans.co.ke, a fleet of vehicles, both privately owned and public service vehicles (PSVs), lined up along the highway. The situation worsened gradually as some passengers began alighting from the vehicles.
The Motorists Association of Kenya, while commenting on the incident, called on the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) and the National Police Service (NPS) to intervene.
The Association accused President William Ruto's administration of reluctance to address the persistent traffic disruption along the ever-busy road.
"The Nairobi-Nakuru highway gridlock is superficial. The police and KeNHA should intervene and ease the traffic flow," wrote the Motorists Association.
The latest development comes just a month after Ruto announced the government's plan to commence the expansion of the highway from August this year.
Speaking on June 11, when he hosted a delegation of Nakuru leaders, the Head of State noted that the design works and other technicalities were almost complete ahead of the groundbreaking.
He explained that the expansion of the road would enhance the safety of travellers and facilitate easier and more effective movement of people and goods to and from the Rift Valley, Western, and Nyanza regions.
"We have agreed with the contractors to speed up the project and complete it by 2027. If not, they should have done a substantial portion of it by that time," he said.
Meanwhile, KeNHA on Tuesday, July 8, announced that it had approved proposals from two firms for the expansion of the highway, with another proposal from a third company currently under review.
