The tarmacking of 15-kilometres BAT-bypass road that connects Thika Superhighway through Del Monte pineapple farm up to Garissa road in Thika will be completed in June.
The Sh.1.8 billion national-funded project will ease traffic congestion in Thika town as well as open up businesses in Kiambu County to Murang’a and by extension Nyandarua and Machakos Counties.
The project started two years ago and is being done by Tosha Holdings Ltd. It is 80 percent complete and has other link roads that connect Makongeni bus stop and through Broadway bakery to Umoja estate in Thika town.
To beat perennial traffic snarl ups in Njomoko inter-pass along the superhighway towards Garissa road up to Ananas mall, transporters and matatu operators will now be able to take the turn past Blue Post hotel to the bypass and within no time, will have arrived at Ananas Mall.
Thika MP Patrick Wainaina and his Gatanga counterpart Nduati Ngugi who inspected the road yesterday termed it a milestone in easing traffic and opening up the four counties known to have huge agricultural and industrial potential.
Thika constituency has also gotten several other road tarmacking projects including Sh1 Billion Gatuanyaga road in Thika East Sub County whose works has already started making it the first tarmac in the Sub County and another Sh.700 million project to re-carpet Thika town roads that has already started.
“These projects are among the many infrastructural projects being undertaken by the national government in Central Kenya. The roads will open up Thika town known to be highly industrial, ease traffic jams, cost of transportation and help transporters to avoid snarl-ups in the town,” said Wainaina.
He intimated that talks with the national government to have the Thika- Garissa road expanded to a dual carriageway is at an advanced stage, and that if granted the town will be one of the country’s big investment hubs.
He said phase one of the dueling will begin from Njomoko inter-pass along the Superhighway up to Ananas mall, a few kilometres away and which experiences huge traffic, adding that the project will later be extended to Kilimambogo in Thika East Sub county.
“Thika is still highly industrial and companies and employees need smooth traffic flow for business. The current situation of perennial traffic jams has frustrated industrialists and such projects will boost their confidence and ease their ability to do business,” he said.
Nduati said transporters of agricultural products from Murang’a and Nyandarua counties to Thika and markets in Kitui and Machakos counties will benefit highly from the link road.
He said his constituency has benefited immensely from the national government projects of road tarmacking and water supply, hitting hard on leaders from the area who accuse the government of neglecting them.
“The projects that the national government has initiated in Gatanga constituency is in several billions of shillings. We wonder why Murang’a MPs complain of neglect despite such multi-billion investments,” said Nduati.
By Muoki Charles
