The Kenya National Highway Authority (KeNHA) has assured road users in the Coast region of passable roads amid the raging floods.
KeNHA Coast Region Senior Engineer Peter Maruti says they have 24-hour surveillance of major roads to ensure the safety of users in the wake of the pounding El-Niño rains that have led to loss of lives and destruction of properties.
In Mombasa County, the Makupa causeway that connects Mombasa Island and Mombasa West for years has been synonymous with flooding, causing delays to passengers heading to the Moi International Airport and SGR terminus.
The inlets of the main drain of the road are usually overwhelmed according to Eng. Maruti.
“The capacity of the inlets was increased and the drain problem was solved within six hours.
“The rains that we have experienced, even the ones that caused flooding all over Mombasa County have not affected this section,” said Eng. Maruti.
In Kilifi County, KeNHA is constructing a 100-metre bridge which will be four metres higher to replace the Mbogolo bridge.
The bridge at 95 percent complete, is expected to be open to traffic by end of December.
Last Friday, Kilifi County had heavy rainfall that resulted in the overtopping of the Mbogolo bridge and washout on the approaches to the bridge.
The wash-out sections were later filled with rocks by the contractor.
“I want to clarify that what was washed away is not the bridge itself but the approaches to the bridge which left the bridge hanging,” stated Eng. Maruti.
He went on: “We were able to respond through the contractor and restored traffic within 24 hours.”
Ramisi and Perani bridges in Kwale County were also over-topped. The water subsided overnight at Ramisi making the road passable while at Perani there were minor damages to the pavements.
“Our contractor is onsite repairing the bridge, hopefully at the end of this week the section will be fully restored but traffic movement has not been affected,” revealed Eng. Maruti.
KeNHA lauded contractors for quick responses pledging to keep an eye on the roads and quick dissemination of information to the public during the rainy epoch.
“We expect that we should be able to respond to any emergency that might occur. We expect also that the rains will continue through January. We cannot afford to let our guard down at this point; we will be ready,” said Eng. Maruti.
By Sadik Hassan
