Government to build Sh200m bridge connecting Naivasha and Kinangop

NAIVASHA, KENYA: The government has allocated Sh200m towards the construction of a new bridge connecting Naivasha and the agriculture rich area of Kinangop.
This came as the current bridge connecting the two constituencies was declared as unsafe after a section of it collapsed.
Motorists using the busy Naivasha-Kirima road were put on high alert as officers from Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA) moved in to access the colonial bridge.
This emerged when Nakuru Governor Kinuthia Mbugua and officers from the roads authority visited the bridge and agreed to repair the damaged section.
Addressing the press, Mbugua said the road was crucial to the economy of the county and wondered why the bridge had been neglected for such a long time.
The governor welcomed the move to construct another bridge noting that the current one posed a major threat to motorists using the road.
"The government has allocated Sh200m in the financial year 2016-2017 towards constructing a new bridge over River Karati," he said.
Mbugua at the same time directed county and KeRRA officials to repair the bridge with immediate effect as tens of vehicles were being damaged on the section on daily basis.
The governor noted that his government was keen to address the issue of infrastructure adding that ten percent of the county budget had been allocated to roads.
He said that plans to rehabilitate 10,000kms of roads across the county in five years were on track with 6,000kms already done.
"In the last financial year we had allocated Sh1.1 billion towards roads rehabilitation and we expect this to rise to Sh1.2 billion in the coming year," he said.
On his part, KeRRA regional manager Joseph Irungu admitted that the bridge at its current status was not safe.
He was however quick to add that bridge engineers from the authority had visited the site and made their recommendations.
"The bridge is not safe at its current form but we are making immediate plans to repair the damaged part," he said.
Irungu added that a bypass would be constructed near the road to facilitate the construction of a new bridge.
"Our engineers have visited the bridge and made the necessary recommendations on how a new bridge should be constructed over this river," he said.