Nakuru county government will construct toilets amounting to Ksh20 million along the Nairobi- Nakuru - Eldoret Highway.
Currently, the only places members of the public can access washrooms are mainly in towns that are kilometers apart.
Tiny bladder or not, everyone at some point gets the call of nature. This makes the journey longer and dreadful.
It projects to reduce environmental pollution along the busy highway when motorists and passengers have to use open grounds, spend time hiding and identifying good spots along the highway for nature calls.
The construction of public toilets will offer relief to highway users, especially on long-distance travel as waiting to get to towns to use the washrooms can be challenging.
The project will cost Ksh20 million. Toilets will be constructed strategically at stopovers that are at Total Junction, Longonot, and Mai Mahiu.
A devolved unit put in place has already begun the construction. The county is partnering with agencies to set up over 20 toilets. Samuel King'ori, County Public Health Chief officer said that the project will also serve the Nakuru-Subukia-Nyahururu road.
"We are building public toilets at various stopovers along the busy highway including at Kinungi, Kikopey, Salgaa, Kibunja, Total Junction, Pipeline and Longonot," he added.
The highway connects Kenya to Uganda, South Sudan, Rwanda, and Burundi. Cargo from Mombasa and Nairobi to the western side of the country is transported via the highway.
Nakuru launched an Open Defecation Free campaign in 2017 to reinforce good hygiene measures to residents. This has seen 356 villages certified ODF.
The region had previously suffered an outbreak of diseases arising from open defecation. The areas affected were Kihoto, Kikopey, Salgaa, Kaptembwa, Ponda, Mali, Mogotio all bordering the highway.
The new project is also expected to help reduce the risk of disease outbreaks.
Transport Cabinet secretary James Macharia was criticised last year for not providing a policy that enforces the provision of public toilets along the highways.
Article 42 of the Constitution states that every citizen is entitled to a clean and healthy environment and reasonable standards of sanitation.
