Construction works on 13km dual carriageway in Meru town Kenya is set to begin. The Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) made the announcement and said that orders have been given to people occupying road reserves along the planned project to vacate or risk their buildings being demolished.
“There is encroachment on the road reserve especially around Makutano area and very soon we will issue a 30-day notice to owners of those structures. If they don’t leave we will demolish them. There is no negotiations and the the law does not recognize encroachers to be considered for compensation. However those who will be genuinely affected will be adequately compensated,” said KeNHA Upper Eastern Regional Manager Albert Semutwa.
Also Read:Reconstruction of Ado Ekiti – Akure federal highway in Nigeria to begin
Meru dual carriageway
The authority further affirmed that it has secured a 40-metre corridor in the 13.6-kilometre road whose construction will take place. The project involves construction of a dual carriage across Meru town which will link the western and eastern bypasses.
Both bypasses originate at Gikumene – three kilometres from Meru town along the Meru-Embu road – and have been built by the Kenya Urban Roads Authority’s (KURA) at a cost of US $27m. The 8.8 km western bypass links motorists to the Meru-Nanyuki road at Gitoro near Meru National Polytechnic while those travelling to Maua and the National Park take the 12.6 km eastern bypass, linking the Meru-Maua road at Kaaga Girls high school.
The new road also starts at Gikumene across the town to Makutano where an interchange will be built, to Gitoro, connecting with the western bypass. Another 5.4 km dual carriage will be built from Makutano, linking the eastern bypass at Kaaga Girls to Ruiri junction from where motorist can drive to Isiolo airport.
According to Mr. Albert Semutwa, preliminary designs on the project have been done and after the current sensitization forums with the stakeholders the authority will work on the detailed designs and tender documents which should be ready by February next year. The contractor should break ground by the end of 2020.
Upon completion, the road is expected to be the solution to frequent traffic snarl ups in Meru town which has become a transit point with the growth of Isiolo and Nanyuki towns. The project will be funded by World Bank or African Development Bank (AfDB).
