Erection of 11 Outer Ring Road footbridges underway

The Kenya Urban Roads Highway Authority (Kura) has begun erecting pedestrian footbridges on Outer Ring Road in Nairobi in a move aimed to enhance safety on the newly built highway.

According to Kura, Chinese firm Sinohydro Tianjin Engineering Limited is expected to install the 11 footbridges at a cost of Sh880 million.

“Works for installation of 11 footbridges along Outer Ring road is currently ongoing. We urge the public to be patient as we endeavour to promote safety on our roads,” Kura said in a statement on Friday.

At a total budget of Sh880 million, a single footbridge on Outer Ring Road will be built at an average cost of Sh80 million.

The footbridges will be erected at strategic locations on the entire 13km highway, which runs from Taj Mall on North Airport Road to the GSU headquarters at Allsops in Ruaraka.

Construction of Outer Ring Road has been underway since September 2014 – with completion initially scheduled for September last year. This did not happen and the project is now expected to be completed in July.

However, according to Kura, the road has been operational since July last year as most of the works have been completed.

The project has over the months received negative feedback from residents of Nairobi’s Eastlands suburbs who argue that the newly expanded road has not lived up to expectations.

The lack of footbridges, bus stops, and road markings have particularly upset commuters who blame Kura for not caring about pedestrian safety – a charge that has been disputed by the roads agency.

“We consider public safety as a key component of our service. We have marked clearly areas where the public can cross but they ignore,” acting director-general Silas Kinoti said.

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