Opening of Southern Bypass Postponed

The opening of the Southern bypass was scheduled to be opened today have been postponed to Sunday due to failure to meet the deadline as  grading works have been hampered by bad weather and is only 80 per cent complete.

Heavy commercial trucks will from Sunday not be allowed to use Mombasa Road - Uhuru Highway - Waiyaki Way stretch and will instead divert to the Southern bypass providing a huge relief for city motorists.

Nairobi governor Evans Kidero has announced that the Southern bypass, which was closed last weekend to allow for accelerated grading of an unfinished section, would be opened
then.

It is estimated that the heavy commercial trucks and other traffic not destined for the city centre accounts for 30 per cent of the traffic on this highway stretch.

Source: Business Daily

''No Bus Deal With Foton'' Says Kidero.

Nairobi governor Evans Kidero appeared to trash a Sh4.6 billion deal that he signed last year with Chinese carmaker Foton for supply of high-capacity buses.
In a statement, Mr Kidero maintained that the deal he signed with the Chinese firm did not have any legal effect.

“The document in question, the Strategic Framework Agreement for Nairobi Public Transportation Improvement Programme remains that, a framework. It creates no legal
obligations on either party and no money was committed by the Nairobi county government, nor was it ever contemplated that any money would be committed,” he said, adding that any specific agreements would have been subjected to procurement rules.

The EACC is investigating claims that Mr Kidero presided over a deal where county officials may have side stepped public procurement rules to hand-pick Foton for City decongestion project.

Last year, City Hall said the MoU with Foton would pave the way for the supply of the first 266 buses for the planned metro transportation system, attracting protests from local motor vehicle assemblers who felt they were unfairly locked out.

The investment was to be the first phase of 2,000 buses that Foton was expected to deliver in five years.

Foton initially said it had not decided whether to assemble the buses locally or import ready-made units from China.

Source: Business Daily

Kidero Reopens Bunyala and Lusaka Roundabouts

The government has re-opened Nairobi's Bunyala and Lusaka roundabouts in an effort to curb the traffic menace experienced in the last few days.

Speaking at a press conference in Nairobi, Governor Evans Kidero said the move was a short-term solution as the county awaits the opening of the Southern Bypass on Friday.

Dr Kidero said all trailers are expected to start using the bypass from next week to ease traffic on Mombasa Road.

Motorists using the road have been spending more hours on traffic jams during peak hours, a situation that has made a number of public service vehicles increase their fares by 50 per
cent. Kidero said the government had
allocated Sh25 million for the road's
completion.

Source: Standard Media

Southern Bypass to be Opened Next Week to Reduce Nairobi Traffic

The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure and Nairobi county govt have announced that the southern bypass which was set to be opened in November will be opened Friday next week.

Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero and the Ministry of transport have moved to address the nightmare of daylong traffic jams in the city. Vehicles using Mombasa road and  weighing more than eight tonnes will not be allowed into the city beyond Ole Sereni Hotel between 5am and 10pm and will be required to use the bypass.

The bypass project launched in 2012 involves construction of a 28.6km dual carriageway with 12km slip roads and an extra 8.5km service roads. It starts from the junction of Mombasa Road interchange and ends on the Kabete-Limuru Road in Kikuyu town.

Motorists will enter the bypass from the Nairobi-Mombasa highway near Park Side Towers and run on the edge of the Nairobi National Park, Langata South Estate, Ngong Road, Dagoretti, Gitara and Thogoto in Kiambu County where it will then join the Nairobi-Nakuru highway.

Construction of the 28.6km Nairobi Southern Bypass was initially set to be completed in July at a cost of Sh17.1 billion and is 85 per cent funded by China’s EXIM Bank with the Kenyan government catering for the remaining 15 per cent.

Clarification on Removal of roundabouts in the city.

Nairobi Governor, Dr.Evans Kidero has issued clarification regarding the planned removal of roundabouts in the city via his Facebook page. Here's the full statement.

Evans Kidero:

Good evening Nairobi, contrary to word going round that the Westlands and Langata road roundabouts will be removed tonite, this is not true! We are still doing the design of the junctions that will replace the Roundabouts.

However, we had planned to implement the revised movements this weekend but are delayed by the ongoing civil works at the South C bridge to facilitate movement towards Langata road.

We will roll out Westlands revised movements early in the week once the signages have been erected. We will only have right turn removal only in Westlands and Lusaka roundabouts tonight.

Be safe and God bless you all!

#bettercitybetterlife

Removal of Westlands and Langata Road Roundabouts Commences.

As earmarked in a raft of measures by Nairobi County Government aimed at reducing traffic congestion in the city, the county has started removing roundabouts along Langata Road and Waiyaki Way in a bid to ease traffic congestion.

Roundabouts on Langata Road and Westlands are scheduled to be
removed on Saturday from 7pm throughout the night.

Nairobi traffic boss Edward Mwamburi has urged motorists to be
patient and expect traffic delays on these roads. “I urge motorists using Langata road and Westlands to use alternative routes,” he said.

Consequently, motorists plying these roads will have to use different
routes to enter and leave the Central Business District to allow the
removal of the roundabouts.

"We are looking at all the arterial roads that feed the CBD. What we
have started with is the A104 which constitutes Uhuru Highway,
Waiyaki Way stretch and Mombasa Road because it serves both local
and international traffic," said County Executive Member for Roads and
Transport Mohammed Abdullahi.

Source: Standard Media

Roundabouts face the axe in new Measures.

In a raft of measures by City Hall and the Ministry of Transport aimed at reducing traffic snarl ups in the city, the roundabouts will be replaced by signalled intersections. The opinion on the effectiveness of this move is however divided. Auto Newsdesk will bring you a comprehensive insight into this development. In the meantime, read more about the move: