Completion of gravelling paves way for new road projects in Kakamega

The tarmacking of Nala road in Kakamega County. The county will tarmac 200 kilometres of roads in the county. (PHOTO: BENJAMIN SAKWA/ STANDARD])

The completion of a 1,200 kilometres roads gravelling project now paves the way for a new infrastructure project in Kakamega county.

Dr Collins Matemba, who is the County Executive Member in charge of, noted that 15 bridges and box culverts had also been completed and said the county had already tarmacked 15 kilometres of road in Kakamega and Mumias.

“There is also the ongoing tarmacking of another 3.6 kilometres of roads in Kakamega and Mumias towns,” he said.

The county constructed and renovated Ivichio Bridge at a cost of Sh31.4 million to replace the logs that were used by pedestrians to cross a river.

The gravelling project cost the county Sh228 million  and governor Wycliffe Oparanya says another Sh8 billion will be spent to upgrade a 200-kilometre road corridor.

The objective is to open up and improve roads in the less populated parts of the county.

Heavy rainfall

However, Oparanya has decried delays by the national government to release funds for the project. The county also anticipates that bad weather and the low number of skilled personnel, particularly civil engineers, could be a handicap.

Oparanya says the county  has opted to tarmac rather than gravel roads because  roads made of bitumen are ultimately cheaper and easier to maintain.

“We spend Sh30 million every year on road maintenance and since the county experiences high rainfall, I felt it prudent to tarmac the roads to reduce the cost of maintenance,” Oparanya said.

“Kakamega experiences  heavy rainfall. This makes most gravel roads impassable. Tarmac roads are more durable. This will save the county from high maintenance costs,” the governor said.

Key roads like Shinyalu, Likuyani, Lugari and Khwisero will be improved in the first phase of the five-year project.

The Roads and Infrastructure Department was allocated Sh1.8 billion this year, out of which Sh63 million was to pay staff while the   rest was to cover the cost of development projects.

According to Dr Matemba, the county will construct low volume tarmac road in each of the 12 sub-counties, and the project will be completed before the end of the year.

Matemba that each sub county will tarmac one kilometre of roads this year.

 “All roads under this programme will be constructed to a width of eight metres. Each of the 12 sub-counties will have a portion of tarmac road,” he said.

“It is expensive to construct tarmac roads but they are cheap to maintain. We have gravelled feeder roads and our focus now is on classified roads which link up the interior to main roads.”

The 5.7 kilometre Khayega-Shinyalu stretch in Kakamega will be the first to be tarmacked. Roads leading to major markets such as Matunda will also be tarmacked to promote trade.

The county government has purchased a bulldozer, a roller and an excavator to to reduce the cost of hiring road construction equipment.