Govt prioritizes safety as Nairobi expressway nears completion

The Government has placed the safety of pedestrians and other road users as a key priority in the design and construction of the Nairobi Expressway to make it a user friendly infrastructure.

Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) Project Manager, Eng. Stanley Mwawasi, who is In-Charge of the Nairobi Expressway, said that they have prioritized safety of pedestrians considering that vehicles will be speeding as the issue of traffic jams will be sorted out on roads underneath the expressway.

Mwawasi said that to facilitate safe pedestrian crossing on roads underneath the expressway, they will retain footbridges that are currently in existence and rebuild the ones which were pulled down to pave way for the expressway.

“We have put up a new pedestrian footbridge at General Motors (GM) while another one is under installation at Imara daima,” said Mwawasi.

He was speaking, Friday, in Westlands during a tour by the Presidential Delivery Unit (PDU), aimed at addressing issues concerning the Nairobi Expressway, which were raised by the Westlands Business Community.

Mwawasi added that the Nairobi Expressway is expected to be complete by April 2022 and once the roads underneath it have been rehabilitated, it will be a challenge to cross the over eight lanes in some sections, thus the need to prioritize pedestrian safety.

“We have put in place plans to construct additional footbridges in efforts to ensure that pedestrians don’t walk for over 400 meters to access a footbridge,” said Mwawasi.

He explained that they have laid down plans to have road marshals at designated zebra crossing points who will control traffic and enable pedestrians cross safely, adding that this will be complemented by adequate road signage and erecting temporary bumps in efforts to avoid deaths caused by road accidents.

He added that they will also be rehabilitating the walkways and do landscaping as well as cleaning up all the areas underneath the Expressway.

Mwawasi said that all the infrastructure which have been destroyed during the construction of the Nairobi Expressway will be rehabilitated, assuring that the leaking sewer and water pipes will be repaired as well as removing all the soil that has been blocking water when it rains causing heavy traffic along the routes, especially Mombasa road.

Nairobi Regional Commissioner (RC), James Kianda, said that they are going to provide a conducive environment for road users and business community along the Nairobi Expressway.

Kianda said  they will remove all the Matatus which are blocking the Westlands roundabout by dropping and picking passengers on the road, saying that they should park on designated areas and those who will not comply will be towed.

“We are also going to remove the road side traders who are blocking the walkways. The government has completed the Westlands market and the traders should move their businesses there since we are also risking the lives of Kenyans who eat food cooked by the roadside and under road construction sites,” said Kianda.

The RC highlighted that they will intensify security along the roads to tackle cases of mugging and pickpockets.

PDU Senior Director-In-Charge of Nairobi Region, Truphosa Awuor, said that they have employed a multi sectoral approach, which has been able to fast the construction of the Nairobi Expressway and other government projects, where respective Government Ministries and Authorities have relocated their infrastructure and provided the necessary services.

Awuor said that they are working with the Police, the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) and other stakeholders to ensure that there is free flow of traffic along the Nairobi Expressway in order to facilitate business and other road users.