Nairobi-Nakuru highway set for expansion

Nairobi, Kenya: The Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) has announced plans to expand the busy Nairobi-Nakuru highway.

The authority attributed the frequent snarl-ups on the highway to limited width of the road against increased volume of traffic.

The move comes barely three days after hundreds of motorists were caught up in a six-hour jam at the Gilgil weighbridge.

Senior Government officials visited the weighbridge following complaints over frequent traffic jams, mainly on weekends.

During the visit led by Nakuru County Commissioner Mohammed Birik, officials from SGS Company, which is manning the facility, were blamed for the crisis.

According to KeNHA South Rift Manager Clarence Ouma, the tendering process to expand the road was already under way.

He said the dual carriageway would be constructed to help decongest the highway.

"The number of vehicles using the highway have increased sharply in the last couple of years and this can only be addressed by expanding the road," he said.

Birik said measures had been put in place to address the weekend jams.

Nakuru County Commerce Chambers chairman Kamau Njuguna, who was present, said the crisis had adversely affected the tourism sector.