Motorists operating along the Nairobi-Nakuru highway almost spent Sunday night in a traffic jam.
The traffic jam was occasioned by a lorry that broke down at the Ngarariga area in Limuru Sub-county, leaving many vehicles trying to overlap to escape it.
However, a few meters away, there is a diversion that enters and exits Limuru town, which was created by the contractor after blocking an underpass as the expansion goes on.
Speaking on Monday, a driver, Ben Kihara, said vehicles were also not giving way to enter and leave the diversion, thus causing more vehicles to be held longer in the jam.
”Our drivers are always in a hurry. Whenever there is a traffic jam, an accident, or you are near a junction, do not overspeed. You will either cause another accident or block the road more,” Kihara said.
Kihara said traffic police from Tigoni police station led by base commander Agripina Lugonzo arrived shortly and started unblocking the jam.
The police had a difficult time dealing with motorists who were also fearful of turning their vehicles off the road since the contractor had graded the road reserve, and thus it was muddy owing to the heavy rains that had been witnessed in the region.
Lugonzo advised motorists to exercise respect for each other so as to reduce traffic jams.
”All of us want to leave the road. We want to move, but we must respect each other. We must accommodate each other by giving each other a chance to move but not a chance to block each other,” she advised.
The road, which was blocked at around 7 pm, was completely unblocked at 3 am when the police ensured that there was a free flow of vehicles.
The motorists who used alternative rural roads would get stuck in potholes where it is muddy.
Motorists also asked the contractor working on the expansion of the Nairobi-Nakuru highway from Kamandura to Mau Summit to work on the diversions so as to reduce the traffic jams which are normally witnessed on end-of-month weekends.
”We have been seeing police all night working on unblocking the roads. The traffic jams are occasioned by our ignorance, overspeeding, and poor timing,” said matatu driver Kevin Kimani.
