Gatundu North MP Elijah Njoroge alias Kururia now says he will lead a demonstration to the State House over the delayed completion of the Thika-Magumu road, a 68-kilometre project that remains an eyesore.
The major road linking Kiambu, Nyandarua and Murang’a counties through Thika town, Mang’u, Kamwangi, Kanyoni, Kanjuku, Gakoe, Kirasha and Magumu has been at the centre of protests from furious road users who have been accusing the contractor of digging terraces on both sides of the road resulting in numerous accidents, traffic snarl-ups and mechanical damage of vehicles.
Construction works which include re-tarmacking and expansion of the width of the carriageway began in August 2020 and were set for completion in December 2021.
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Redoing the ring road had been envisioned to decongest the Nairobi metropolitan area by linking the busy Thika road to the Nairobi-Nakuru highway.
Over two years since the construction began, however, numerous potholes, clouds of dust, and dangerous terraces continue to make road users suffer.
It is the dilapidated state of the road that has irked the legislator who has given China State Construction Company, the contractor 14 days to either explain delays or have him push for the cancellation of the contract.
“We are very angered as Gatundu North residents. It cannot be that this road will be constructed in four years yet in other areas, roads are taking a very short time to get completed,” the lawmaker decried.
Adding;
“We are giving the contractor only 14 days to tell us whether he will build the road or otherwise. We also want our CS in charge of transport to expedite cancellation of the contract if the contractor has no capacity to do his job.”
The legislator at the same time took issue with other contractors in his constituency whom he said have been doing shoddy jobs leaving his constituents suffering.
He singled out the contractor who did the Ksh1.5 billion Kairi-Mataara Road whom he accused of poorly constructing the road leaving numerous potholes.
“We will protest all the way to the State House and to the Deputy President’s office against this and other contractors in my constituency who are doing a very shoddy job. If you cannot work on a project, leave it from the onset to stop destabilizing our people,” Kururia stated.
Due to the poor state of the road, commuters have been forced to pay higher fares by the few matatus that still ply that route, with most now going the long way through Nairobi.
Users of the run-down road decried major movement hurdles that delay the transportation of their farm produce such as tea, avocados, coffee, milk and pineapples.
