The Nairobi Expressway is nearing its completion, having been under construction since 2019.
The project, which is 27 km long, is expected to go into use as early as next month. Also, word from the Ministry of Transport has it that the elevated road is 95 percent complete.
Another development from the ministry is about the use of the road. According to CS James Macharia, motorists will pay between KES 100 and KES 1550 to use the Expressway.
It will also be fitted with 27 toll booths from James Gichuru Road all the way to JKIA. It has 11 interchanges.
Now, drivers will need to have a special toll payment card to access the road.
They will load their wallets on the card with money, meaning they won’t have to stop along the way to pay their bill in cash.
The cashless system will see motorists who have not paid denied access to the Expressway.
The toll system and the technology has been developed by China Roads and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) and will go live in March.
Another firm called Moja Expressway will manage and collect toll fees for nearly three decades before the system is given to the Kenya government.
Other than easing traffic on Mombasa Road, the government is also planning to do the same thing on Thika Road with the launch on bus rapid transport (BRT) vehicles. The buses will also be deployed on Mombasa Road.
In 2021, and according to the Nairobi Metropolitan Area Transport Authority, 300 BRT buses were to be deployed this February.
If the plan remains, then we will see the launch of six BRT corridors in the city that will accommodate up to 950 high-capacity buses.
Similar to the Expressway, the BRT service will be managed by a transport service contract for 12 years.
