Nairobi Expressway: Gov’t Shelves Plan to Hive off Uhuru Park Land

The design of the JKIA-Westlands Expressway has been altered to ensure no land is hived off the iconic Uhuru Park.

There was a public uproar after it emerged that the 27-kilometer dual carriageway would take up part of the popular recreation facility located along Uhuru Highway.

On Wednesday evening, Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia announced the design of the expressway was revised to ensure Uhuru Park remains untouched.

“We all recognize that Uhuru Park is an important public park and is one of the remaining parcels of green areas within Nairobi CBD that needs to be preserved for posterity, and further to ensure the environment is maintained in pristine condition,” Macharia’s statement read.

In the original design, an estimated 1.3 acres were set to be hived off Uhuru Park to give way for the road’s construction, according to Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA).

The Sh65 billion highway will be built via a private-public partnership (PPP) between the government of Kenya and the China Road and Bridge Cooperation (CRBC).

Its construction will begin near JKIA and end at the James Gichuru junction in Westlands. The first phase will involve the construction of four lanes at ground level from Mlolongo to the Eastern Bypass junction and covers 10 kilometers in total.

The second stretch will have six lanes at ground level to the Southern-Bypass Interchange (Ole-Sereni) covering five kilometers.

The last section will incorporate four lanes of an elevated road through the City-Center and along Uhuru Highway to the James Gichuru junction and covers 11.2 kilometers.

CS Macharia indicated that an elaborate Traffic Management Plan will be put in place to ensure safety and minimal disruption to the road users during the construction of the double-decker highway.

 “The current existing A8 Road will still be open and available to the road users as the contractor works on the median,” said the CS.

“The Traffic Management Plan will continuously be reviewed and improved during the construction period to ensure safety and improved road user experience.”