After months of false starts, Kasarani residents can now breathe a sigh of relief after the dilapidated Kasarani-Mwiki road works have finally started.
The contractor started work last week just days after the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (Kura) announced that the long overdue repair works will commence after the tender to construct was awarded.
REHABILITATION
According to Kura, the main project works is to rehabilitate the approximately 3km of roads in Kasarani-Mwiki Road and Sunnyside Court Estate Roads which is approximately 0.6km long both in Nairobi City County.
“The main project works comprise of rehabilitation of Kasarani-Mwiki Road and Sunnyside Court Estate Roads,” the contract reads in part.
The main project roads is approximately 3.6km and will consist of but not limited to rehabilitation to bitumen standards and construction of drainage structures on instructed sections.
The works proposed will include but not limited construction of 7.0m carriageways with 1.0m wide shoulders, open drains on either side of the road, road furniture, utility relocation, safety provisions and protection works.
The contractor will maintain the road for a year once the construction has been completed.
VIOLENT PROTESTS
In January, transport was paralysed in Kasarani and Mwiki areas for four days as matatu operators protested over the poor state of the road.
The situation would later degenerate into running battles between the police and the protesters.
During the four day demonstrations, police used teargas and a water cannon to disperse the angry protesters who had barricaded the roads leaving one person dead and several others injured.
But even after Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja and top security officers from the DCI, Kura committed to have a contractor on site to commence the works, nothing has been done to date.
In February Kura Acting Director General Cyrus Kinoti blamed the rains and pledged to embark on pending repairs as soon as the rains subside, noting that the Kasarani-Mwiki road had been allocated Sh300 million of the Sh1.7 billion set aside for city road repairs.
For now motorists who use the road will have to contend with daily traffic snarl ups for the next few months as work progresses.
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