Nairobi-Thika Highway
Kenya’s first 8 lane highway
[pull_quote_center]Due to the successful completion of the road, commuters are enjoying faster, reliable, comfortable and more affordable journeys[/pull_quote_center]The 50km, KES 35 billion (US$418million) Nairobi -Thika Superhighway, officially opened in November 2012 by former President Kibaki, will contribute greatly into transforming Kenya into a strong economic hub for the region and beyond. The transformation of the road into a super highway is one of Kenya’s first large-scale transportation infrastructure projects.
The Government of Kenya through Kenya National Highway Authority (KeNHA) embarked on a grand project to have the Nairobi to Thika road expanded from a four lane highway to an eight lane superhighway. The road, which is part of the classified international trunk road A2, originates in downtown Nairobi and extends to Moyale at the Ethiopian border. It is also an important link on the Great North Trans African highway -that traverses from Cape Town in South Africa to Cairo in Egypt one of the highest priorities in the NEPAD short term action plan.
The highway had earlier been constructed to bitumen standard in the early 1970’s and re-sealed with an overlay in the early 1990’s.After rigorous feasibility and capacity studies, it was esteemed to be operating beyond capacity, carrying more than 60,000 vehicles per day.
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