A Nakuru county government official has blamed the high number of accidents and traffic jams in Nakuru town on the lack of bypass roads. The county government's public works engineer Clement Kariuki said on Friday that despite Nakuru town being among some of the most fast growing urban centres in Kenya, the lack of alternative passages makes it congested. According to Kariuki, the Nakuru-Nairobi highway that transcends to the Nakuru-Eldoret highway is the main road that connects all other major roads used by vehicles within and around Nakuru town. These include Nakuru-Nyahuru highway that connects with the main highway at Kunste and Section 58 Estate, Nakuru-Narok highway that connects with the main highway near the former Eveready Factory. “These two major roads that are fed by small ones connect with the major highway within the town and that definitely provides for no breathing space. All vehicles coming or passing through Nakuru on their destinations hence must enter the town. This is the major cause of traffic jams and accidents,” he said. The engineer observed that the matter is further complicated by the existence of the railway line that cannot allow for a construction of a major bypass off Nakuru-Nairobi highway and the Lake Nakuru National Park but he says it can be possible with modern technology. He argues that the major hindrance to construction of bypasses in Nakuru is the commercial and residential buildings developments that have been concentrated in areas like Lanet, Pipeline, and White House and on the outskirts of Nakuru-Eldoret highway. “If there could be a way in which heavy commercial vehicles and others not interested in the town could not reach the town centre, we could not be counting all these accidents and traffic jams. We need to put our heads together and make a lasting decision however expensive it may be, because we are still growing while the space is the same,” said Kariuki.

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