The notorious tailbacks that once turned the Juja weighbridge into a lorry park for days are now history, thanks to a sweeping automation overhaul that has cut waiting times from hours to minutes.
Under Kenya National Highways Authority supervision and managed by Danka Africa (K) Ltd, the facility now boasts a second weighing deck, high-speed automated scales and a dedicated trailer park for any truck caught overloading. Officials say compliance has soared to 99.9%, leaving the offloading bays almost empty.
Drivers who once bribed their way past manual checks now roll straight onto the scales, where sensors instantly flag excess weight and cameras record number plates. “You cannot argue with the machine,” one transporter said on Tuesday. “Either you are legal or you pay the price.”
Transport Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir earlier this year, gazetted twenty-eight new weighbridges across the country, including virtual stations that weigh vehicles at highway speed and static ones at Malaba, Ahero, Eldoret, Mayoni, Kamulu and Kaloleni.
Mobile patrol units from the Axle Load Enforcement and Highway Unit have also been reinforced to go after a section of rogue sand trucks and other notorious bypassers who try to dodge the scales.
KeNHA says the Juja model will be replicated nationwide, blending technology with tougher enforcement to protect roads while keeping goods moving.
