The rehabilitation and upgrading of roads in Nakuru town has been speeded up as the town strives to attain city status by December.
The work is part of a 22-kilometre road modernisation project that will cost will cost Sh1.9 billion and is expected to link residential and commercial centres.
Roads serving Menengai, Milimani, Nakuru Prisons and London estates are in one cluster while another cluster will target Industrial Area, Naka, Free Area and Mwariki estates.
The work is funded under the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (Kura) and is part of a larger Sh9.8 billion project to upgrade a 137-kilometre road network, according to Kura Director General Silas Kinoti.
Mr Kinoti yesterday said the agency was committed to promoting urbanisation in rural towns as a way of helping counties attain their development goals.
The State-funded projects are going on alongside the county government's Boresha Barabara initiative, which resumed in September after the long rains.
The infrastructure executive, Lucy Kariuki, said the second phase of Boresha Barabara would cover all the 55 wards in the 11 sub-counties.
The programme, which is managed by the county infrastructure department, has been criticised by members of the county assembly, who complained that it denied local contractors a chance to benefit from county resources.
Governor Lee Kinyanjui, however, said the programme was different and the first of its kind because it aimed for long-term solutions as opposed to temporary renovations whereby roads degenerated after three months.
In the first phase of the exercise, which was undertaken in March and April, 525 kilometres of roads underwent heavy and light grading while 89 kilometres were gravelled.
Ms Kariuki stated that Sh23 million was used to buy fuel, pay operators' allowances and meet repair costs.
“Some of the money was also used to hire equipment from the chief mechanical and transport engineer.”
The county has allocated Sh171 million to buy additional tippers, rollers, graders, and compactors to expedite the second phase of the works.
