Nairobi’s Outer Ring Road, which is one of the city’s key arteries, is once again the centre of attention after the recent major upgrade did not live up to expectations.
The 13km road that connects Thika Highway with Eastern bypass near Jomo Kenyatta International Airport was expanded and made dual carriage way in the hope of easing the perpetual traffic nightmare along the busy road and further opening up of Nairobi’s Eastlands. The project was funded by the Africa Development Bank.
But the road has continued to experience traffic snarl-ups even though rogue public transport vehicles and lack of adequate pedestrian footbridges have been partially blamed for the situation. The road was also criticized for lack of cycling paths and an unusual and inconvenient connection to the Airport North Road at the former Taj Mall. A tussle with owners of Taj Mall, who resisted the demolition of their property, saw an awkward completion of the section. Although the mall was later demolished and the section redesigned, motorists joining Mombasa Road from Outer Ring Road have to make a sharp u-turn.
The Government has now secured a Kes 6.4 billion loan from South Korea’s Export-Import Bank to build special lanes for high capacity buses to be used on the route. There will be boarding stations and more footbridges along the road.
