The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure has announced major changes on the Thika Super Highway effective today (Thursday).
CS James Macharia announced that the highway will have one lane dedicated for public service vehicles in a move aimed at reducing traffic on the busy road.
“We need more than 900 buses in these six corridors (into the CBD) and because we don’t have them, we have opened one corridor, the Thika highway.
"From Thursday, we are starting the demarcation and dedication of that lane,” stated the CS while addressing the Senate's Roads Committee.
[caption caption="CS James Macharia"]
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Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, an official at the Kenya National Highways Authority (KENHA) confirmed the new directive but stated that they were yet to decide on the specific lane that will be dedicated to that purpose.
Despite expansion of the road by the government, traffic has remained to be a nightmare for residents of the area.
This might be partly attributed to the fact that there are many estates along the highway including; Githurai, Zimmerman, Kasarani, Kahawa West, Kahawa Wendani, Kahawa Sukari, Ruiru etc.
Due to the high population in those areas, the highway is usually congested during peak hours and some residents complained that they were spending roughly two hours to commute to the CBD.
The road has been described as one of the African infrastructural masterpieces and its aerial view is a marvel.
Undoubtedly, it is one of the largest projects in modern Kenya even though it was constructed in a period of only three years.
Many Kenyans enjoy riding along the smooth road with multiple lanes, but little is known of the genesis of the Superhighway and some of the difficult decisions that had to be made to ensure successful completion of the project.
It was initially formulated in the early 1990s but the designs had been gathering dust in government offices until the NARC government took over in 2002.
President Mwai Kibaki started taking the project seriously by sourcing for funds and improving on the designs and it has been a source of conflict among leaders in the recent past.
NASA leader Raila Odinga, who was the Minister for Roads and Public Works at the time, claimed he pushed for the construction of the masterpiece and during the election period (2017) he aimed a dig at President Uhuru Kenyatta saying he should not claim ownership of the project.
All in all, the new directive by the government might go a long way in easing traffic on the busy highway.
[caption caption="Thika Super Highway"]
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