Residents of Gatundu North have decried the poor condition of the Thika-Magumu road, accusing the contractor and area leadership of inaction.
Four years after construction began, the 68-kilometer project remains an eyesore.
Residents demonstrated on Friday, blocking the road near the Mwea police station with bananas and branches.
They went ahead and lit fires and barricaded the road with rocks, effectively stopping traffic.
“We are urging the local leadership to push for the road to be repaired or we will continue to protest,” one protester said.
The major road connecting Kiambu, Nyandarua, and Murang’a Counties, which passes through Thika town, Mang’u, Kamwangi, Kanyoni, Kanjuku, Gakoe, Kirasha, and Magumu, has been the target of angry road users who have accused the contractor of digging terraces on both sides of the road, causing numerous accidents, traffic jams, and vehicle damage.
Construction work, which included re-tarmacking and expanding the carriageway’s width, began in August 2020 and was scheduled to be completed in December 2021.
Rebuilding the ring road was intended to relieve congestion in the Nairobi metropolitan area by connecting the busy Thika road to the Nairobi-Nakuru highway.
Four years after construction began, the road still has numerous potholes, dust clouds, and dangerous terraces.
Commuters have had to pay higher fares for the few matatus that still operate on that route.
Users of the dilapidated road complained about major traffic delays that slowed the transportation of their farm produce such as tea, avocados, coffee, milk, and pineapples.
Motorists, on the other hand, lamented the widespread breakdown of their vehicles, which they are now required to maintain on a regular basis.
