Latest Developments on Nairobi Expressway Project in Kenya

The government of Kenya has reportedly begun negotiations with the Kenya Railways Golf Club (KRGC) to free up land for the construction of the Nairobi Expressway exits to the central business district (CBD). Stiff opposition from environmentalists and activists, private developers, and non-governmental organizations over the encroachment of the said land blocked the implementation of the original design of the Nairobi Expressway which had exits to CBD at Haile Selassie and near Nyayo house.

To construct the exits, Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia said that the Nairobi Expressway project contractors had to touch the railway’s golf club and Uhuru Park. People however protested and insisted that Uhuru Parkland would not be slashed to accommodate the expressway exit points, despite it being government property.

“We were even taken to court by NGOs and activists, but we are currently trying to negotiate with the golf club to take a bit of its land, which we shall pay for so that the design can be implemented as it was,” explained CS Macharia. KRGC grounds, which has for long been under major duel with the Kenya Railways Corporation, the national railway of Kenya, is held by a board of trustees and members of about 3,000, comprising top government officials.

Nairobi Expressway Project Background

The Nairobi Expressway Project is a 27.1km road project beginning from Mlolongo through the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and Nairobi’s CBD to Westland’s area along Waiyaki Way. The over US $560m road project is the first major project in Kenya to be carried out through a PPP model.

The Nairobi Expressway will have a four-lane and six-lane dual carriageway within the existing median of Mombasa Road, Uhuru Highway, and Waiyaki Way as well as 10 interchanges. The section between the Eastern and Southern bypasses will be a six-lane dual carriageway while the section from the Eastern Bypass and that from the Southern Bypass to James Gichuru will be a four-lane dual carriageway.

The elevated highway will begin near Ole Sereni Hotel and run through the CBD along the Uhuru highway up to the James Gichuru junction. Haile Selassie Road, Kenyatta Avenue, and University Way will be below the elevated road.

Upon completion, the road is expected to significantly reduce the time spent on Mombasa road at rush hour from approximately two hours to between 10 and 15 minutes. The project is scheduled for completion by December 2022. Below is the project’s timeline and all you need to know.

Also Read: Delhi-Mumbai expressway project timeline and all you need to know

Reported earlier

2019

The project broke ground in October with China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) as the contractor. CRBC is responsible for the design, financing, and construction of the road under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) framework. The company will also operate the road for about 27 years so as to recoup its investment through the collection of road tolls.

What we reported in July 2020

Kenya is in search of a consultancy firm for the Nairobi Expressway Project

The national government of the Republic of Kenya through the Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure, Housing, Urban Development and Public Works represented by the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA), a state corporation established under the Kenya Roads Act and charged with the mandate to manage, develop, rehabilitate and maintain national roads is in search of a consultancy firm for the ongoing Nairobi Expressway Project.

Also Read: Mombasa-Nairobi expressway to receive government funding in budget allocation

The authority has already published a tender notice that is valid until the 4th of August this year, inviting proposals from qualified and experienced consulting firms with the capacity to independently assist in the management of the implementation of the project agreement between the authority and the contractor, China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC).

The selected firm will be given the mandate to review plans by CRBC, inspect, and monitor the progress of construction works and eventually conduct tests on the road before issuing the contractor a certificate of completion.

The Nairobi Expressway Project

The Nairobi Expressway Project is a 27-kilometre road project beginning from Mlolongo through the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and Nairobi’s CBD to Westland’s area along Waiyaki Way.

The project broke ground in October last year with China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) as the contractor. The latter is responsible for the design, financing, and construction of the road under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) framework. The company will also operate the road for about 27 years so as to recoup its investment through the collection of road tolls.

The over US$ 560M road project is the first major project in the East African country to be carried out through a PPP model. It is expected to be completed by December 2022, bringing much-needed relief to traffic congestion in the Nairobi municipality.

According to Peter Mundinia, KeNHA Director-General, the road will significantly reduce the time spent on Mombasa road at rush hour from approximately two hours to between 10 and 15 minutes.

September 2020

Traffic disruptions on Waiyaki Way amid expressway construction

Traffic along Waiyaki Way will be disrupted and diverted between September 26 and April 1, 2021, in a bid to facilitate the ongoing construction of the Nairobi Expressway. This is according to a statement released by Peter Mundinia, the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) director-general.

Mundinia said that Waiyaki Way from Goodman Towers opposite St Marks Anglican Church to Sanlam Towers some 500 meters away will be closed completely while they pull down the St Mark’s footbridge.

Also Reda: Kenya: Reconstruction of Kisumu-Chemelil-Muhoroni road to commence next month

“All vehicles from CBD to James Gichuru Road will have to turn left into the service road before the St Mark’s footbridge and rejoin Waiyaki Way after Mvuli Road. Pedestrians are advised to use designated pedestrian crossing in front of Park Inn Hotel,” explained the KeNHA director-general.

The disruption will also affect some sections of Mombasa Road and Uhuru Highway within the same period.

An overview of the Expressway

The 27km highway that starts at Mlolongo, connects the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) to the city centre and terminates at James Gichuru Road in Westlands.

It will have a four-lane and six-lane dual carriageway within the existing median of Mombasa Road, Uhuru Highway, and Waiyaki Way as well as 10 interchanges.

The section between the Eastern and Southern bypasses will be a six-lane dual carriageway while the section from to the Eastern Bypass and that from the Southern Bypass to James Gichuru will be a four-lane dual carriageway.

The elevated highway will begin near Ole Sereni Hotel and run through the CBD along the Uhuru highway up to the James Gichuru junction.

Haile Selassie Road, Kenyatta Avenue, and University Way will be below the elevated road.

The construction works

The construction of the Expressway has started, signalling a possible end to traffic jams in the Nairobi metropolitan. Excavators, rollers, graders, loaders, and bulldozers are busy doing preliminary groundwork on the area.

2020

In July, CRBC announced that it has successfully completed the foundation expansion of two bridges, indicating that the construction of the first section of the project was in full swing.

“The pouring content is the expanded foundation of No.10 pier and No.11 pier of the viaduct of the Project. The size of the lower foundation is all 11.8 * 5.8 * 1m and that of the upper foundation is all 7.8 * 3.8 * 1m, totalling 199.5m2 of concrete. After pouring, the data tested are normal,” read the statement.

The company said that the Project Department has overcome the adverse impact caused by the epidemic situation, made overall arrangements for construction, paying attention to safety protection, quality monitoring, logistics support and other aspects, and ensured the high quality and efficient completion of this pouring task, accumulating valuable experience for subsequent construction and laying a solid foundation for successful completion of subsequent construction tasks.

In December, the erection of Box Girder for the project was launched ushering in a new stage for the project. CRBC said that since the commencement of construction, the expressway project department has planned ahead of time, organized and made overall arrangements scientifically, focused on epidemic prevention and control and highlighted key routes, steadily pushed forward construction and production, and fulfilled the annual tasks and targets ahead of schedule, laying a solid foundation for the smooth completion of the Project.

2021

What we reported in March 2021

Four footbridges to be relocated to pave way for the new Nairobi expressway

In March Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) director-general Peter Mundinia announced that four pedestrian bridges will be demolished and relocated to new sites along the corridor to pave way for the Nairobi Expressway project.

The first two footbridges are situated at Mlolongo and Imara Daima near Libra House along Kenya’s first-double decker highway; while the other two are situated at General Motors on Enterprise Road and at St Mark’s church in Westlands, Nairobi.

What we reported in July 2021

Kenya’s Nairobi Expressway project is to be ready in February 2022

In mid-July, Transport and Infrastructure Cabinet Secretary (CS) James Macharia announced that the Nairobi Expressway project is set to be ready by February next year, six months ahead of schedule. According to the CS, the government has pushed the contractor to deliver it early to ease traffic snarl-ups on the busy highway.

“We requested the Ministry of Interior to offer security to the contractor to ensure smooth operations on a 24-hour basis. We are glad they are working in shifts that will see the road completed before schedule,” said CS Macharia.

August 2021

The completion date for the expressway project in Kenya pushed to June

The completion date for the Nairobi Expressway project in Kenya has been pushed to June 2022 from February as initially planned. The Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) announced that the project is 57% complete with the heavy work having been accomplished.

“Between now and December 2021, we are likely to see all the heavy works involving deep excavation, and diversions completed and in the period between January 2022 and June 2022, we will proceed to install the infrastructure that will enable us to operate the road furniture, marking, and the toll stations,” said Wangai Ndirangu KeNHA chairman.

The Nairobi Expressway project is a 27.1km road project beginning from Mlolongo through the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and Nairobi’s CBD to Westland’s area along Waiyaki Way. The project began in June 2020, and the completion date was slated for September 2022.

Also Read: Nairobi Expressway project timeline and all you need to know

Time travel reduction

There will be 4-lane and 6-lane motorways within the existing median of Mombasa Road, Uhuru Highway, and Waiyaki Way as well as 10 interchanges in the expressway project. The section between the East and South Ring Road will be a 6-lane dual carriageway while the section to the Eastern Bypass and that from the Southern Bypass to James Gichuru will be a 4-lane dual carriageway.

The elevated highway will begin near Ole Sereni Hotel and run through the CBD along the Uhuru highway up to the James Gichuru junction. Haile Selassie Road, Kenyatta Avenue, and University Way will be below the elevated road.

The over US $560m road project is the first major project in Kenya to be carried out through a PPP model. China Roads and Bridges Company (CRBC) won the project contract. Once completed, the expressway is expected to significantly reduce travel time on the Mombasa road during rush hour from about two hours to 10-15 minutes.

November 2021.

The highway was nearing completion.

Earlier in November, Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia revealed that the Sh63 billion Nairobi Expressway was at 75per cent completion and only needed another four months to be finalised.
Museum Hill’s road link to Thika Superhighway was not complete but was opened to ease traffic flow. Due to the ongoing construction on the expressway, a number of roads linked to the project were closed, resulting in massive traffic along the route.
He revealed that construction on the main section of the road and its supporting infrastructure such as toll stations was complete. The mega-infrastructure scheme has also impacted the value of the real estate in the area. Experts are reckoning that the 27-kilometre (km) project will lead to the rezoning of some of the parts it stretches through.

December 2021.

On Thursday 24th, President Uhuru Kenyatta made an extensive inspection tour of the 27.1km Nairobi Expressway which was 93% complete.

He was accompanied by Infrastructure CS James Macharia and NMS DG Mohamed Badi, who expressed his satisfaction with the progress of the 8-lane elevated dual carriageway whose completion is scheduled for March 2022.

Nairobi Expressway to come into use on Trial Basis in March 2022

Nairobi Expressway will start being used by motorists in March the Transport Cabinet Secretary in Kenya, James Macharia has announced. The 27-kilometre expressway that stretches from Mlolongo through Uhuru Highway to the James Gichuru Road junction in Westlands will be used on a trial basis in March 2022, approximately three months earlier than anticipated.

Earlier Kung’u Ndung’u, the director-general of the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA), had revealed that the construction works on the highway were 82 per cent complete overall. Construction of the operation and monitoring centre stood at 99.5 per cent while 98.5 per cent of elevated sections had been built

According to the Transport Cabinet Secretary, the expressway is now 95 per cent complete, and most of the machinery that was being used has been moved to construct the Langata road viaducts.

Also Read: Kinango-Kwale Road construction in Kenya begins

“What is remaining to complete the project is auxiliary infrastructure including the 27- toll booths that are almost done. Once everything is ready on the toll booths we will test the cashless system which will require drivers to have a card that they will load in money and then use to gain access to the expressway,” explained Macharia.

Restoring vegetation along the Nairobi Expressway

CS Macharia said that the contractor as part of the project will be planting new trees and flowers along the expressway in a bid to restore the flora. The exercise has already begun on Mombasa road where flowers including wall creepers have been planted using a modern agricultural process known as aquaponic vertical farming.

According to the National Environment Management Authority (Nema) of Kenya, the exercise will open green spaces to compensate for the permanent loss of vegetation and destruction of bird habitats at Nyayo Stadium and the Westlands roundabouts.

“The proponent will collaborate with private partners and State agencies to offset the loss of vegetation by planting trees in areas such as Nairobi National Park, Uhuru Park, City Park and Arboretum, public schools, and other lands along the corridor,” said Nema in a statement.

May 2023

Nairobi Expressway to be Expanded at Museum Hill and JKIA to Reduce Congestion

The Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) has announced plans to alleviate congestion on the Nairobi expressway by constructing extra lanes at the Museum Hill exit and JKIA entrance.

KeNHA aims to enhance and improve the expressway by adding these additional lanes and building a new Haile Selassie toll station to ensure smooth traffic flow into the Central Business District (CBD).

To carry out the upgrade works, KeNHA has enlisted the services of Centric Africa Limited to conduct an environmental and social impact assessment.

Additionally, public consultations will be held in accordance with the Kenyan constitution and the Environment Management and Coordination Act.