Saturday, August 13, 2011

Sh1.9bn road project set to ease traffic



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President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Ondinga are shown the map of the roads to be upgraded in Nairobi during the official launch of the Western Ring Road to decongest the city by the Kenya Urban Roads Authority director Eng. Joseph Nkaday August 12, 2011. PPS
President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Ondinga are shown the map of the roads to be upgraded in Nairobi during the official launch of the Western Ring Road to decongest the city by the Kenya Urban Roads Authority director Eng. Joseph Nkaday August 12, 2011. PPS 
By PETER NG’ETICH pngetich@ke.nationmedia.com and JACOB NG’ETICH jngetich@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted  Friday, August 12  2011 at  22:30
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A Sh1.9 billion road project launched by President Kibaki on Friday is set to ease traffic flow in the western part of Nairobi.
The 8.4-kilometre Western Ring Road will run from Ngong Road, Nakumatt Junction, to Westlands roundabout.
The stretch, also known as the ‘Missing Link Road’, which is part of Vision 2030, is meant to divert traffic away from the city centre.
The road is expected to enhance connectivity between the city suburbs and greatly relieve traffic flow from Uhuru Highway.
Urban transport
President Kibaki said the road project, to be funded by the Japanese Government was one of the many government projects meant to ease congestion in Nairobi. It is expected to be completed by September 15, 2012.
The Head of State said that a masterplan for urban transport in Nairobi had been prepared and several other missing linkages had been identified for construction.
He said six corridors had been identified in the city that will go a long way in alleviating congestion in the city. (Read: Traffic jams to last as long as road repairs)
“Last year, the government undertook a study on a mass transit system within the metropolitan that can be served by a bus, light rail system or a combination of both,” he said.
At the same time, President Kibaki ordered the National Environment Management Authority (Nema) to ensure that all road constructors in the country have a green environment component when carrying out projects.
He told Nema to ensure contractors planted trees and grass on completion of roadworks to make the places green.
“We do not want to turn Nairobi into one big concrete jungle, we have to make it look green by planting trees and grass after completion of the construction,” he said.

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