Posted on :Monday , 28th February 2022

The Nairobi Expressway will be open to vehicles in March, according to Kenya's Transport Cabinet Secretary, James Macharia. The 27-kilometer highway, which runs from Mlolongo via Uhuru Highway to the James Gichuru Road junction in Westlands, will be tested in March 2022, three months sooner than expected.

Previously, Kung'u Ndung'u, the director-general of the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA), disclosed that the highway's construction was 82 percent complete overall. The operating and monitoring centre was 99.5 percent complete, while the elevated parts were 98.5 percent complete.

According to the Transport Cabinet Secretary, the highway is now 95 percent complete, and the majority of the machinery that was being used has been relocated to build the Langata road viaducts.

'What remains to finish the project is ancillary infrastructure, including the nearly completed 27-toll booths." "Once the toll booths are finished, we will test the cashless system, which will require drivers to have a card that they will fill with money and then use to obtain access to the highway,' Macharia added.

The Nairobi Expressway's greenery is being restored.

According to CS Macharia, the contractor will plant new trees and flowers along the freeway as part of the project to help restore the flora. The practice has already begun on Mombasa Road, where flowers, including wall creepers, have been planted using aquaponic vertical farming, a new agricultural technology.

The initiative, according to Kenya's National Environment Management Authority (Nema), would create green areas to compensate for irreversible loss of vegetation and damage of bird habitats at Nyayo Stadium and the Westlands roundabouts.

'The proponent will work with private partners and state agencies to replace vegetation loss by planting trees in sites including Nairobi National Park, Uhuru Park, City Park and Arboretum, public schools, and other properties along the corridor,' said Nema in a statement.

The Nairobi Expressway Project is a 27.1km road project that runs from Mlolongo to Westland via the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and Nairobi's CBD. The nearly US D 560 million road project is Kenya's first significant public-private partnership (PPP) project.

The Nairobi Expressway will have four and six-lane dual carriageways within the existing medians of Mombasa Road, Uhuru Highway, and Waiyaki Way, as well as ten interchanges. The segment between the Eastern and Southern bypasses will be six lanes of dual carriageway, while the sections from the Eastern Bypass to James Gichuru will be four lanes of dual carriageway.

The elevated roadway will begin at the Ole Sereni Hotel and proceed through the CBD along the Uhuru route until it reaches the James Gichuru interchange. The elevated route will run beneath Haile Selassie Road, Kenyatta Avenue, and University Way.

The route is projected to cut the time spent on Mombasa Road during rush hour from around two hours to between 10 and 15 minutes once completed. The project is expected to be finished in December 2022.