The government of Kenya through the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) has begun the process of constructing two overpasses and a series of road interchanges linking Upper Hill to the Nairobi Central Business District (CBD).
Of the two overpasses, one begins from valley road around the integrity center and ends at Kenyatta Avenue while the other will be from Upper Hill on Milimani close ending at the Haille Selassie Avenue. The project also involves the construction of an interchange at Ngong/Nyerere Road and other associated road networks.
The over US$ 26M project, fully funded by the national treasury will be executed by the China Road and Bridge Corporation-Kenya within a span of 36 months at the most beginning from next year.
According to Kura resident engineer Benjamin Asin, the agency is at the moment, undertaking the preparatory works that involve the relocation of works planning and geotechnical investigations.
The project’s design
Engineer Benjamin Asin stated that the design of the project was strategic such that the carriageways, would approach the Nairobi Expressway, which is slated to be completed in 2022, at lower levels and into the CBD through Haile Selassie and Kenyatta Avenues.
Also Read: Kenya: KeNHA to begin construction of a fly-over at T-Mall junction
“The two will not be connected in any way because the Nairobi Expressway is for traffic that is going express. We do not want to mix the traffic,” he explained.
Provision has also been made to cater for closed lanes, cycle tracks, and side lanes, including two Bus Rapid Transport corridors along with Haille Selassie and Kenyatta Avenues.
Asin also explained that no buildings will be pulled down to make way for the project. “We are optimising the existing corridors, so no major buildings are going to be affected, but just strips of land including All Saints Cathedral, where a 3-meter strip will be utilized,” said Anim, adding that there was no provision for compensation in the contract.
