• Overpass will run 30km from Eldoret International Airport to the junction on the Eldoret-Iten road.
• Eldoret faces major traffic jams with 300,000 vehicles operating in the town daily.
Image: MATHEWS NDANYI
The government will build a Sh60 billion elevated highway in Eldoret town that will decongest the town suffering from poor infrastructure.
The 30km stretch will extend from Eldoret-International Airport, pass over Eldoret town and link with the Eldoret-Iten road. It will also have over-links to the Eldoret-Nairobi road.
DP William Ruto visited Uasin Gishu and Nandi on Tuesday and said, "It will help to decongest Eldoret town and open up this region for faster growth."
Governor Jackson Mandago was present during the tour.
The DP said work was going well on the Sh5.6 billion Southern Bypass in the town. I is being financed by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the government. He said plans for the Northern Bypass in the town were underway.
Mandago said the new roads will transform the town and make it a major economic hub. It is experiencing major traffic jams due to narrow roads.
Once completed, the elevated highways and bypasses will ensure heavy commercial vehicles ferrying cargo to neighbouring countries will not go through Eldoret as they do now.
The World Bank has financed the development of feeder roads in the town, especially with slum areas.
Governor Mandago has also invested heavily in infrastructure.
“Our aim is to ensure that we have a well-planned town where the movement of goods and cargo will be quick and smooth so trade between Kenya and neighbouring countries is not affected by transport delays," the governor said.
The count has put up pedestrian walkways alongside all major roads in the town to reduce accidents involving motorists and pedestrians.
Completion of the Southern Bypass had been delayed due to compensation rows for land taken over by the government but the matter is being resolved through the National Land Commission.
Construction of inter-links at Kapseret and Maili Tisa are underway and expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Eldoret is targeted to be upgraded to city status and Mandago has set up the town municipal board to deal with planning and growth.
More than 300,000 vehicles operate in the town daily.
Many MPs snubbed DP Ruto's tour in Nandi as their political row with Governor Stephen Sang intensifies. Their absence raised questions and caused political jitters as to why they kept off.
Ruto was hosted by Sang to open health projects but seats reserved for MPs at all events with the D were vacant.
He commissioned a 300-bed mother and child comprehensive health facility and flagged off ambulances for hospitals.
NO-show MPs included Alfred Keter (Nandi Hills), Vincent Tuwei (Nandi Hills), Alex Kosgey (Emugwen), Julius Melly (Tinderet) and Wilson Kogo of Chesumei.
Some MPs confirmed that they had boycotted the events but gave no details.
Sang has been in feuding with MPs and some key political leaders who accuse him of mismanaging the county, which they claim is riddled with corruption.
The row with the MPs intensified a month ago when Sand led residents to invade land at Kibware tea estate. The county claims it is public land but had been taken over by the tea firm associated with former powerful minister Henry Kosgey.
Sang was arrested and charged in a Kisumu court over the invasion but the MPs accused him of seeking political revenge using illegal means to repossess the land.
Kosgey had run for governor in Nandi but lost to Sang during the Jubilee nominations.
Kosgey’s lawyer son Allen has been causing ripples and is said to be planning to run against San in 2022.
“Yes, some of us did not attend the DP's tour because of reasons. We were passing a message,” Mosop MP Vincent Tuwei told the Star on the phone yesterday. Asked why they had boycotted the DP's functions, Tuwei declined to comment and hung up.
Last week Keter and Senator Samson Cherargei accused Sang of failing to improve healthcare, causing many patient deaths. He also accused Sang of protecting his senior staff alleged linked to funding irregularities.
Yesterday Sang did not comment on the move MPs boycott but last week he told the Star he would not be dictated to by politicians on how to run the county.
He said there must be due process in dealing with alleged graft among county workers.
“I will only act as provided for in the law and not because of being pushed to please anyone," Sang said.
Political analysts say Sang was being sidelined by other political leaders and the situation may problems has he plans to run for reelection in 2022.
Sang is a close ally of the DP who has tried unsuccessfully several times to sort out the dispute.
(Edited by V. Grahamn)