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

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.