The government has urged motorists to use commuter trains to ease traffic along Mombasa road caused by the construction of the Sh62 billion Nairobi Expressway.
In a public notice, the Kenya National Highways Authority (Kenha) announced that it has partnered with the Kenya Railways Corporation to introduce additional wagons to offload travellers from Mombasa Road.
"The Kenya Railways management has undertaken to secure all vehicles parked at Syokimau Train Station as the vehicle owners transit to the train en route to the CBD," the notice read in part.
Kenya Railways Managing Director, Philip Mainga said they have increased the number of commuter trains on the route to ease the congestion on Mombasa Road.
"Traffic has been a great issue for passengers using Mombasa Road. Starting Monday (September 6, 2021) we will increase the number of commuter trains to help ease the situation. We will increase the number of coaches to and from the Athi River station and all inter-stations along that route. When we talk of a train with 20 coaches, we are talking of a trip of 1,000 people. That is a big number. We will also have an additional DMU to Nairobi central,” Mr Mainga said.
Kenha acting Director General David Muchilwa also warned that there will still be traffic congestion on some parts of the highway due to the ongoing construction.
"The sections along the road, where traffic congestion could still be experienced, include areas currently under intervention as indicated below: installation of steel and concrete hoarding at the Gateway Mall area; improvement of directional U-turns at various points e.g at k2+300, Mlolongo and blocking of an illegal U-turn at k3+300,” he added.
Re-opening sections of the road
"Securing of the sites through excavation so that vehicles do not drive through construction sites; continuous watering of the construction sites to reduce the rise of dust; widening the angles at diversion points e.g at Allpack area to ease vehicle movement and erection of additional safety signs along the road," Mr Muchilwa noted.
He said since the formation of a multi-agency team to solve the traffic menace on the road, there has been a significant improvement.
Last week, Kenha announced the projected dates for the re-opening sections of the road.
The JKIA to Mlolongo section along Mombasa Road will be reopened partially on September 10, 2021, and will be fully re-opened on September 30, 2021.
The Westlands to James Gichuru section will be re-opened on September 30, 2021, while the Haile Selassie to UoN Roundabout section will be re-opened on October 15, 2021.
The Authority also confirmed that the elevated section of the expressway, referred to as the viaduct, is 73.2 percent complete.
"Motorists are urged to continue exercising caution and road courtesy while driving as that has helped to manage traffic better," Mr Muchilwa noted.
