This archive report was first published on 24 December 2019.
On Christmas Eve, a contractor working on a footbridge at Witeithie was forced to stop and open Thika Road to traffic, causing a massive traffic jam.
According to the Kenya National Highway Authority (KeNha), the contractor had been instructed to block the highway only between 11 pm and 4 am on designated days.
However, the contractor experienced a hiccup while hoisting part of the steel superstructure for the pedestrian footbridge, affecting traffic flow and causing a massive traffic jam, as reported by KeNha on Twitter.
KeNha blamed the contractor for poor traffic management plans but did not specify what actions the authority would take.
The Witeithie footbridge is one of four footbridges worth Sh820 million being constructed on Thika Road, which were contracted nearly three years ago.
The delay in completing the footbridges has been attributed to the importation of the footbridge superstructures from China-based factories.
Once completed, the footbridges will allow for faster flow of traffic by removing bumps that slow traffic to allow pedestrians to cross on Thika Road.
