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| Vehicles negotiating the busy Eldoret-Nakuru highway while construction was going on last year. The State has moved to construct bypasses that will be used by trucks, which are the main cause of traffic on the busy highway. [Photo: Kevin Tunoi/Standard] |
By Vincent Bartoo
Uasin Gishu, Kenya: Deputy President William Ruto has announced plans by the Government to build two multi-billion road bypasses in the Rift Valley.
He said the by-passes would be built along the Kenya-Uganda highway to ease traffic especially for trucks ferrying goods through the route.
Mr Ruto said work on the by-passes will commence this year, adding that the roads will aid East African countries using the route to transport goods from the port of Mombasa.
One of the by-pass, he said, would enable long distance trucks to avoid passing through Eldoret town that has lately witnessed constant traffic gridlocks.
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“We will prioritise this one because goods going through the Malaba border are always stuck due to traffic congestion through Eldoret,” said the Deputy President.
The Kenya-Uganda highway passes through the Eldoret Central Business District (CBD) that is always characterised by daylong traffic jams.
“The by-pass will cut through Cheplaskei to connect through the Eldoret airport to Kikaren and will mainly be used by trucks,” he said.
The second by-pass will be built in Timboroa to connect the Kenya-Uganda highway to the Eldoret-Kabarnet highway.
“It will start from the highway through Dry’s Girls to Nyaru in Keiyo all the way to Marakwet,” he said.
Ruto said the by-pass would not only decongest traffic on the busy Kenya-Uganda highway, but also boost agricultural farming in the region.
Farmers have for years complained of impassable roads that have hampered delivery of farm produce to markets.
“We want to assist uplift the living standards of farmers in these areas by making accessibility from their farms easy,” said Ruto.
Meanwhile, the deputy President announced that the Government intends to use Sh13 billion to expand the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTH) based in Eldoret.
He said the Government had secured 200 acres of land in Eldoret town that will be used to expand the facility, which is the country’s second referral hospital after the Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi.
