Road closures will force motorists using the Capital Centre access and Waiyaki Way to use alternate routes because of the construction of the JKIA-James Gichuru Expressway, starting Monday.
The Kenya National Highways Authority announced the closure of the two Nairobi roads from Monday to allow for construction.
KeNHA director-general Eng Peter Mundinia said the Capital Centre access along Mombasa Road will be closed for 20 days, from Monday to July 17.
The ramp along Waiyaki Way to Forest Road will be closed to motorists and pedestrians for 34 days from Monday to August 1.
Closures will worsen traffic jams on the highway already overwhelmed by the construction.
“This is to pave way for construction of the Nairobi expressway along Mombasa Road. Motorists are advised to use alternative routes. KeNHA apologises for the inconvenience as it tries to provide an efficient, safe and reliable road network," KeNHa said.
The expressway construction has turned Nairobi into a nightmare with cars piling up for hours during rush hour.
Overlapping and resulting accidents have become a common feature, despite deployment of additional traffic police. Billions of shillings have been set aside for traffic management.
KeNHA had on June 6 directed the contractor in charge of the Sh65 billion project to implement a better traffic management system on Mombasa Road.
This came after concerns regarding increased traffic snarl-ups on the major highway were raised by motorists as well as claims of poor traffic management by the contractor.
The 18.5km road starts at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and ends at the James Gichuru Junction along Waiyaki Way in Westlands. The official name is the JKIA-James Gichuru Expressway.
In January 2021, Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia gazetted the expressway as a toll road.
It is to be completed in 2022.
(Edited by V. Graham)
