This archive report was first published on 17 October 2019.
On October 17, 2019, President Uhuru Kenyatta officially launched the construction of the Sh65 billion JKIA-Westlands expressway, a major infrastructure project aimed at easing traffic congestion in Nairobi.
The 18.5-kilometer highway will be built by the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) under a public-private partnership (PPP) model, where investors will recover their costs and profits through toll fees paid by motorists.
The expressway will have multiple interchanges at key intersections, including Popo-Kapiti, Lang'ata-Lusaka, Bunyala, Rhapta, and James Gichuru roads. Motorists using the upper section of the double-decker motorway will be required to pay toll charges, while those using the lower section will be exempt.
The state-of-the-art highway will feature a bus rapid transit (BRT) system, with dedicated lanes for large-capacity buses to ease congestion. The construction will be carried out in three phases, starting with phase one from JKIA to Likoni Road, followed by phase two from Likoni Road to James Gichuru Road junction, and finally phase three from James Gichuru Road to Rironi on the Nairobi-Nakuru highway.
