Engineers have begun ground assessments at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport as the government pushes ahead with a bridge and expressway plan meant to ease Nairobi’s traffic burden.
Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia said the team is testing the soil at JKIA and finalising the design of the bridge that will link to Kangemi in Nairobi.
He said the proposed “Express Highway” will stretch 28km and is intended to help motorists move around the city without having to pass through the centre.
Speaking after presiding over the ground breaking of Moi International Airport in Mombasa, Macharia said the project is part of a wider effort to complete a ring road system and add four link roads.
“Right now, we have engineers who are testing the soil at JKIA. It is no longer mere talks. We have done the bypasses around the city of Nairobi, we have done the Southern, Eastern and Northern bypasses and about a month ago we signed for Western bypass.
It critically important to make sure that people can go round the city of Nairobi without getting into the city,” said Mr Macharia.
He said congestion around JKIA remains one of the main problems his ministry is trying to address. According to him, travellers landing at the airport often spend another two hours getting into the city, a delay that also affects tourists and conference visitors.
The project is also meant to reduce the number of passengers missing flights because of traffic on Mombasa Road.
Among the roads lined up for improvement are Ngong and Outer Ring roads, while Lang’ata Road is set for expansion.
The World Bank estimates that Nairobi traffic jams cost Sh50 million in lost productivity every day.
The pressure to act is expected to grow as Nairobi’s population is projected to double to seven million by 2030. Car ownership is also expected to rise from a quarter of households in 2014 to half by 2025.
Macharia also said work is under way at other airports, including Malindi Airport, Isiolo Airport and Suneka.
“A vision is not complete until you have a hub and satellite airports dotted across the county. As a country, we shall continue to make these critical investments,” he said.
The Western Bypass remains central to the plan. The four-lane, 16.5-kilometre road will connect the Southern Bypass in Gitaru to the Northern Bypass in Ruaka, completing the ring road.
