Traffic congestion in Thika town is expected to ease up after the county government announced plans to open up a section of Kenyatta Avenue linking the town to the Thika-Garissa highway in a month’s time.
Kiambu County chief officer for Roads, Transport, Public Works and Utilities, Lucas Wahinya, while on a tour to assess the progress works on Friday, said the only thing remaining on the section of the road was to lay the tarmac. Wahinya said that by the end of February, the laying of the tarmac would be complete and the road would be opened up for vehicles going out of Thika town.
''The road is now a dual carriageway and once opened, it will ease up the congestion currently being experienced in the town since it will be able to handle more vehicles to move,'' he said.
The chief officer was quick to set the records straight after rumors emerged that the road would cost more than sh350 million, saying that the total cost of the project is sh220 million.
''The total length of the road is three kilometres. The construction works started in May 2015 and are expected to take two years. However, we are working closely with the contractor to see if we can hasten the works and complete it in one and a half years,” he explained.
Wahinya stated that delays had been caused by the fact that a section of the road passed through the prison and there were some 16 senior prison officials who were to be relocated before embarking on the construction on that segment. He called on the residents of Thika to be patient as the snarl up would be a thing of the past once the entire road is completed.