Following the completion of the Nairobi Expressway running from Mlolongo to Westlands, the government has set its focus on installing smart traffic lights in various junctions to curb the traffic menace.
Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) will oversee the Ksh6.5 billion project which taps into the expertise of a Korean.
The Korean firm will be tasked with building a traffic management centre (TMC) incorporating a system designed to automatically direct traffic without the aid of a marshall.
KURA wants Nairobi City to reduce its dependence on traffic marshalls who are mostly situated at junctions and roundabouts.
The Ksh6.5 billion will be divided according to the projects and designs to be effected on the main routes in the city.
Contractors will provide detailed analysis and projections during bid evaluation, negotiation, and supervision of detailed engineering as well as support the preparation of operation and the system's maintenance.
KURA director-general, Silas Kinoti, detailed that the new system involves improving the 21 junctions in the city.
"The entire project is expected to cost Ksh6.5 billion and is funded by the Economic Development Cooperation Fund through Export-Import Bank of Korea," Kinoti told Nation Africa.
The second phase of the project will entail the implementation and installation of intelligent transport system (ITS) facilities at 81 intersections.
To ensure the project becomes successful, KURA has already implemented a pilot project on Western Ring Road and Ngong Road, which has greatly reduced traffic snarl-ups.
Using artificial intelligence, the proposed system employs cameras and variable timing traffic lights linked to a control centre to observe and control traffic, easing police officers’ load.
The new system will complement the Nairobi Expressway to reduce gridlock in the city. At the moment, it takes less than 23 minutes to ply Nairobi Expressway from Mlolongo to James Gichuru Road.