Heavy traffic as truck overturns on Machakos road

Most sections of the road that are used by tens of trucks from quarries in Katani.

In Summary
  • The road users have been on the road for hours now after a truck overturned at its section approximately two kilometres from Mlolongo town.
  • The road is located in the Mlolongo division within the Athi River subcounty.
A truck that overturned along Mlolongo-Quarry-Katani road causing heavy traffic in Mlolongo, Machakos County on April 22, 2024. GEORGE OWITI
A truck that overturned along Mlolongo-Quarry-Katani road causing heavy traffic in Mlolongo, Machakos County on April 22, 2024. GEORGE OWITI

Motorists were Monday stuck in heavy traffic stretching kilometres along the Mlolongo-Quarry-Katani road in Machakos County.

They spent hours on the road after a truck overturned approximately two kilometres from Mlolongo town.

The road is located in the Mlolongo division within the Athi River subcounty.

Motorists alongside other road users blamed the self-involved non-fatal incident on the road's poor state coupled with flood waters from the ongoing heavy rains.

Most sections of the road that are used by tens of trucks from quarries in Katani, Ngelani and Mulinge scheme areas are in a dilapidated state and currently filled with storm waters.

Residents from Katani, Syokimau, Mlolongo and their neighbourhoods have severally complained about the state of the road with others reporting to have spent nights on it while returning home from work in Nairobi City after they found it flooded.

On Sunday for instance, John Oloo said he reached his home at midnight.

"We found three accidents along the same area yesterday evening; one near the Kicheko Dam area, the second one near Kalembe Road and the third along Mlolongo - Quarry - Katani Road," he said.

Three vehicles separately overturned with no reported casualties.

Residents have piled pressure on the government to fix the road as soon as possible.

KURA director general Eng. Silas Kinoti recently toured the road among others in Syokimau and Katani areas.

Kinoti indicated that they would improve the road's drainage, especially in the Katani shopping centre.

Kinoti during his fact-finding tour acknowledged challenges faced by locals, motorists and other road users, especially during the rainy season as experienced apparently.

He raised concerns about overloaded trucks plying the road from quarries daily, which had destroyed it.

Many roads in Mlolongo/Syokimau, Athi River, Kinanie and Muthwani wards all within the Athi River subcounty are impassable, especially during the rainy season thereby exposing users to great despair.

The situation hampered the rescue mission conducted to rescue residents whose homes had been marooned by flood waters in Kinanie, Machakos County on Sunday.

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