Government to ban heavy load transport by road

By Patrick Muthuri

The government will ban transportation of heavy goods by road from June next year.

Roads minister Franklin Bett said overweight goods that have been getting special clearance in order to be transported by road would be ferried via railway to check continued destruction of the roads.

"We have been incurring hefty costs in continuous road repairs and maintenance. Our roads have been damaged by heavy trucks that exceed the roads’ carrying capacity," the Minister said.

The Minister who was commissioning the construction of Maili Tatu-Mutuati Road in Igembe North regretted that the roads cost billions to construct only to be destroyed by few individuals.

He further warned developers from encroaching onto road reserves.

Bett noted that there have been increasing cases of developers cutting across roads to install water pipes or fibre cables leaving without repairing the damaged sections.

"You have no right dig trenches across the road without permission from the ministry," remarked Bett,

He acknowledged that some roads and bridges have been cut off due to heavy rains but called on Kenyans to be patient since no repairs can be done in the rainy season. 　

The 23 kilometre Maili Tatu-Mutuati Road is expected to cost the exchequer Sh800 million and will be complete in 18 months.