Part of Mombasa Road to be closed at Mlolongo: KeNHA

The Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) says a part of Mombasa Road at Mlolongo area will be closed for one week to allow installation of a footbridge.

The closure takes effect on Tuesday, November 12 and ends on Wednesday, November 20.

“KeNHA wishes to inform the general public that a section of Mombasa Road (A8) at Mlolongo will be closed between November 12 and November 20, 2019 in order to install the deck of the footbridge in Mlolongo Town. Motorists heading to Nairobi and Mombasa will use the provided diversions as directed by the signs and traffic marshals,” said the Authority in a tweet sent out on Tuesday.

The closure resulted in heavy traffic snarl-up on Mombasa Road on Tuesday.

Twitter user Muga the P said: “Unfortunately, there are not many viable alternatives out of the mess. We need proper links to Kangundo Road, Lang’ata Road and the various bypasses to manage this mayhem. I hope that happens in the near future.”

Besides commuters on Mombasa Road, road users in other parts of the capital city also experienced disrupted vehicular movement due to a suspected closure of several roads following the start of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), which begins on Tuesday (November 12) and ends on Thursday (November 14) in Nairobi.

Several travellers took to micro-blogging site, Twitter, to express their frustration for staying in the same spot for at least one hour.

Oscar Kendele tweeted at 10:24am, saying: “Lang’ata Road traffic has extended to Petrocity on Magadi Road. [If possible], find alternative routes.”

Another user, I am Tyga, said: “Lang’ata Road traffic is all the way until Galleria [Mall] and Ngong road traffic is all the way until the by-pass. Wueh!”

Another Twitter user said: “Kiambu Road is a big mess today! Three lanes to town, and none is moving.”

J Meka Official said: “Between DCI headquarters to Muthaiga, traffic is not flowing at all.”

Same sentiments were shared by commuters using Jogoo Road, Waiyaki Way, Thika Superhighway, Mombasa Road, and even those in Nairobi’s central business district. A Twitter user claimed she had stayed on Kenyatta Avenue for one hour – from 8am to 9am.