Nairobi-Nakuru highway traffic snarl-up: Travelers stranded for hours

Kenyans traveling upcountry for Christmas festivities have been stranded for hours following traffic snarl-ups stretching for kilometres.

As of 9.00 pm on December 23, motorists had spent several hours at Ahero on Kisumu-Kericho Road due to heavy traffic jams stretching several kilometres.

The situation was the same on Nairobi-Nakuru Highway, despite the national highways' regulator KeNHA notifying motorists plying the route.

The Kenya National Highways Authority issued a warning of a possible snarl-up on major highways on Friday, via its official Twitter page.

"Traffic Advisory the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) wishes to notify motorists plying or planning to use the Nairobi - Nakuru (A8) Highway of a traffic buildup between Gilgil town and the rail over road bridge as people travel for the festive season," KeNHA said.

The Authority advised motorists plying the route to practice road discipline and avoid overlapping.

The Nakuru-Nairobi Highway is not foreign to huge traffic jams during the festive season considering it is a key route used by Kenyans traveling upcountry to Western and Rift Valley regions.

Last year, the government approved the construction of the Sh160 billion toll highway from Nairobi to Mau Summit.

The project will also involve widening the existing Rironi- Mai Mahiu-Naivasha road to become a seven-meter carriageway with two-metre shoulders on both sides.

It will also include the construction of a four-kilometer elevated highway through Nakuru town, and the building and improvement of interchanges along the highway.