The Kenya National Highways Authority(KeNHA) has announced a plan to expand the busy Kiambu Road into a dual carriage highway, in a bid to ease traffic congestion experienced along the busy route.
The move is set to open up the Kiambu town and its environs hence spurring the improvement of the infrastructure for Nairobi and Kiambu counties which will boost economic growth, especially easing the movement of agricultural produce from the latter.
The road commences at Pangani and Muthaiga interchanges along Thika Road, and proceeds through Kiambu Town ending at Ndumberi township.
"The State through KeNHA has proposed the development of Muthaiga-Kiambu-Ndumberi road into a dual carriage,” stated KeNHA in an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment filed with the National Environment Management Authority (Nema) seeking approvals.
Motorists can hence draw comfort from the authority's initiative to expand the busy route as some segments of Kiambu County served by the road have become key residential areas for many working in Nairobi.
This had led to a surge of numbers of road users plying the route, and this contributes to the congestion on the narrow road especially during peak hours.
In fact, both Thika Road and the Northern Bypass contribute to the heavy traffic experienced on Kiambu Road owing to the hourly flow of an estimated 1,824 vehicles along the highways.
In a feasibility report done by a consultancy firm on behalf of KeNHA on Monday, October 25, road users stated that more lanes, bypasses, and diversions should be created to reduce road mishaps and traffic jams.
The motorists suggested the design of the road should be made in such a way that it accommodates acceleration and deceleration lanes as well as pedestrians lanes.
This is after the government through KeNHA issued an update on the Western bypass that connects the two counties and is the last of the four highways that form a complete ring around Nairobi County.
Nairobi Western Bypass will have four lanes, and 20 services roads on each side as well as seven interchanges at Gitaru, Wangige, Kabete, Ndenderu, and Ruaka. Construction of the road, which began in August 2019, will be completed in September 2022.
The Western Bypass will connect Nairobi to Kiambu County with 11 traffic bridges, seven footbridges, slope protection walls, and steel barriers for pedestrian control.
