The 420-meter-long Kilifi Bridge has for the longest time been Kenya’s longest bridge. This however changed recently with the development of the country’s Standard Gauge Railway project. The SGR has delivered bridges that have dwarfed the Kilifi Bridge, becoming not only the longest bridges in Kenya but also some of the top 10 longest bridges in Africa.
Here are the top 5 longest bridges putting Kenya on the map.
- Nairobi National Park Super Major Bridge in Nairobi (length 6.5 kilometres)
- Chora Super Major Bridge in Kajiado (length 3.0 kilometres)
- Athi River Super Bridge in Machakos (length 2.78 kilometres)
- Tsavo River Super Bridge in Taita Taveta (length 1.99 kilometres)
- Kilifi Bridge in Mombasa (length 420 meters)
The top 5 longest bridges in Kenya
1. Nairobi National Park Super Major Bridge
Nairobi National Park Super Major Bridge is the largest bridge in Kenya and the third largest bridge in Africa.
Cutting across the Nairobi National Park, the bridge is a 6.58-kilometre section of the 120-kilometre Nairobi–Naivasha Standard Gauge Railway. Its average height from the ground is 18 metres, starting from approximately 8 meters at the entrance into the northern side of the park and 41 meters at the exit southern end of the park. This ground clearance allows large animals such as elephants and giraffes to pass through comfortably.
Also Read: Kenya Standard Gauge Railway (Kenya SGR) project
In addition, the bridge features a 5.9-kilometre-long and 2-meter-high sound barrier on either side of its guardrail to minimize the noise caused by trains.
Construction of the Nairobi National Park Super Major Bridge was completed in 2019.
2. Chora Super Major Bridge
Chora Super Major Bridge is a 3-kilometre-long railway bridge along the 120-kilometre Nairobi–Naivasha Standard Gauge Railway in Kenya.
The bridge is the second longest in the country stretching from Ongata Rongai Station to Merisho.
The construction of the Box girder Prestressed concrete bridge was completed in 2019.
3. Athi River Super Bridge
This is the third longest bridge in Kenya.
Like the other two, it is a railway bridge and a part of the country’s standard gauge railway. However, unlike its predecessors, this bridge forms a part of the 609-kilometre Mombasa–Nairobi Railway. The latter is famously known as the Mombasa–Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway.
Completed back in 2018, the Athi River Super Bridge is also a box girder prestressed concrete bridge. it is 2.79 kilometres long.
4. Tsavo River Super Bridge
At number four is another bridge courtesy of the Kenya SGR project. Dubbed the Tsavo River Super Bridge, this bridge has a total length of 1.987 kilometres.
The post-tensioned prestressed concrete Tsavo River Super Bridge is situated within the Tsavo National Park near Voi town. It has 60 spans each of which is 32 meters long, approximately 215 bored piles and 43 pile caps. A total of 18 open excavation foundations, 59 bridge piers and two bridge platforms also make up the bridge whose bearing abutment is a solid round concrete structure.
The construction of the Tsavo River Super Bridge was completed back in 2017.
5. Kilifi Bridge
Kilifi Bridge is a name not new to many people. The bridge has been the country’s longest of its kind since it opened back in 1991 with a total length of 420 metres.
After enjoying the status for over 3 decades, the prestressed continuous box girder bridge is now the fifth largest in the country. It could also be kicked out of the top five longest bridges list in the near future following the completion of the proposed 1.4-kilometre Mombasa Gate Bridge.
Carrying two lanes, the three spans Kilifi Bridge connects Kilifi and Mnarani. The road it serves heads to Mombasa towards the south and Malindi, Lamu and Garissa towards the north.
