Expensive, poorly-planned and time-consuming is how Thika-Gatitu Road has been described a few days after it was opened to traffic.
The road had been closed for almost two years for expansion and repairs.
According to Thika businessmen and motorists, the 2-year wait was not worth it. Thika District Business Association (TDBA) Secretary Alfred Wanyoike on Wednesday said that the road has many structural shortcomings, omissions and was poorly planned.
"If you look at the road carefully you will notice that it has a number of omissions. For example, Section 9 Estate that neighbours Thika town centre has totally been cordoned off. It cannot be accessed from the CBD," said Wanyoike.
He added: "Everyone leaving town or Tuskys Hypermarket complex to Section 9 has to drive all the way to Total Petrol station along Thika-Garissa highway in order to make a U-turn to come back to town to connect with the entry that takes you to Section 9."
Wanyoike termed the omission as time-consuming and costly which the contractor and the county government failed to notice despite having delayed the completion of the project by close to a year. Motorists say that the road may not serve the purpose it was meant for which was to reduce traffic when entering or leaving Thika town centre.
"If all the vehicles going to Section 9 from town have to use this road all the way to Garissa highway and then again join the road on the other side going to town in order to access the estate, then I don't see traffic jams ending here. It is midday and some traffic is already building up," said Benson Kimani, a Manchester bus driver.
They now want the contractor to fix the road.
"There should be an intersection between the road coming from town and the one leading to town to allow those coming from either sides (Section 9 and town) be able to access their destinations without having to drive all the way to Garissa highway. This is taxpayers' money and the contractor has to be asked to fix these structural omissions," said Paul Kuria, a Section 9 resident.