The Nairobi Expressway is currently at an advanced stage as the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) rushes to meet April 2022 deadline set by the government.
As this goes on, some Nairobi residents have been wondering what will happen to the road beneath the Sh65 billion Expressway. The “old” Mombasa road has been significantly damaged during the construction of the Expressway, leaving many unanswered questions.
Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia has, however, clarified that CRBC will repair and upgrade the 27km stretch.
The CS said the Sh62 billion budget for the entire project will also be used to repair Uhuru Highway and Waiyaki Way, which are also in deplorable conditions.
“During construction, the old road was damaged as the contractor had to do pilling. But the contractor upon completion, will restore the old road and leave it better than they found it. Everything is done under one budget,” CS Macharia told nation.africa.
The CS said the old Mombasa Rd will be upgraded with a view to incorporating a lane for the rapid transport buses (BRT) system.
The BRT system is one of the features in the planned Sh62 billion first double-decker road.
“It will create walkways and cycling pads. Going forward, we are making sure that every piece of infrastructure we have provides for pedestrians and also cyclists,” added the CS.
“In the meantime, I know there are a lot of inconveniences as people are spending longer hours in traffic but the reason we are constructing the Nairobi Expressway is to solve the traffic jam that was there before. If there was no traffic congestion before there would be no justification to construct the highway. This pain we are having now is very short-term pain,” he said.
