Footbridge works to disrupt Mombasa road traffic Sunday

A traffic jam along Mombasa road. The A104 highway will be partially closed on four weekends as two footbridges are hoisted at the General Motors and Bellevue sections. DIANA NGILA. Photo/FILE  Nation Media Group

In Summary

• Traffic on the A104 highway will be temporarily redirected onto one carriageway in Nairobi this weekend.
• Motorists using Nairobi’s Mombasa road have been warned to expect disruptions on four Sundays.
• Pedestrian crossing footbridges are to be hoisted at the hazardous General Motors and Bellevue junctions.

By BD TEAM
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Motorists using Nairobi’s Mombasa road have been warned to expect disruptions on four Sundays as two pedestrian footbridges are hoisted into place.

 

The highway linking the capital city to southern parts of the country will be partially closed for several hours at a time beginning this weekend.

The Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) says contractors hired to do Sh363 million in works on the A104 highway will install a footbridge near the General Motors section between 5am and 9am on July 27 and August 3 this year.

Traffic will be diverted to share one of the carriageways as work on the Sh185 million crossing goes on.

A second footbridge will be erected at the Bellevue/South B section of the same road in August, also requiring the diversion of traffic on two separate weekends. That bridge is expected to cost Sh177 million.

KeNHA communications head Charles Njogu released a statement detailing arrangements to keep traffic moving during the erection of the crossings.

“The Mombasa-bound lanes will be closed at the Enterprise Road (GM)/ A104 junction,” the notice reads. “Traffic will be directed to the Nairobi-bound lanes at the U-turn near the Enterprise junction.”

Only one of the three lanes on the carriageway will be available for traffic headed out of the capital. Motorists will be returned to the Mombasa-bound lanes at the U-turn just after the Total Petrol station. 

READ: KeNHA to construct two footbridges on Mombasa road.

On August 3, when the span over the Nairobi-bound lanes is hoisted, traffic will be redirected to and from the Mombasa-bound ones at the Total Petrol Station U-turn and the Enterprise road junction U-turn.

“Motorists are urged to plan their travel with this in mind,” KeNHA says. “They are also urged to cooperate with the contractor’s staff and the police, who shall guide traffic as the works are carried out.”

The elevated crossings are part of works intended to make the highway safer for pedestrians. Dozens of people have been killed on the highway since it was expanded to a six-lane dual carriageway.

“Studies conducted last year indicated that majority of the accidents took place at General Motors and Bellevue, partly due to the growth of industrial and residential developments around those areas,” Njogu said.

The works along Mombasa road, which began in August last year, are being carried out by H Young & Company East Africa Ltd. They consist of the GM and Bellevue junction footbridges, public toilets, paved pedestrian walkways, railings and road furniture, including traffic signs covered in a contract for Sh363 million. KeNHA also plans to construct an additional ten footbridges along Nairobi's Thika Road to complement the existing 18 crossings.

Meanwhile, residents of Nairobi’s Westlands, Parklands and Loresho areas can expect further misery as Kenya Power upgrades its substations and electricity lines. Kenya Power has warned them they will spend the weekend in darkness work proceeds on a Sh50 million rehabilitation of area sub-stations and transmission networks.

CLICK HERE to read about the power disruption in Nairobi on the Daily Nation site