Africa-Press – Kenya. Heavy traffic on Sunday, December 28, paralysed movement along the busy Nakuru–Eldoret highway, forcing motorists and passengers travelling upcountry for the holidays to spend hours on the road.
Images shared by the Long-Distance Drivers and Conductors Association showed long queues of vehicles stranded near Gilgil, even as the government continues efforts to dual the usually busy highway.
The congestion was primarily attributed to a surge in holiday travellers heading to Eldoret and other parts of Western Kenya, compounded by heavy rains that disrupted traffic flow along the corridor.
Also, construction activities along the route are also thought to have caused the traffic, as it is reported that construction is ongoing, and attempts to improve the road continue.
Notably there were no indications of an incident along the busy corridor, with the snarl up occuring largely because of the presence of many vehicles plying the same route at the same time.
Motorists have since been advised to use alternative routes, warning that there were no immediate signs of the traffic easing.
One social media user stuck on the highway highlighted his plight as he lamented about the heavy rains which made it impossible to use the steep landscape beside the road to overlap.
“We are at Shinners Boys, and there is a major snarl-up. It is so bad that motorbikes also have nowhere to pass,” the user revealed.
The Nakuru–Eldoret highway often experiences severe congestion during the festive season as many Kenyans travel upcountry to spend the holidays with their families. Traffic typically intensifies again in January when schools reopen, and workers resume duty.
Ahead of the holiday rush, the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) had issued a list of alternative routes after projecting increased traffic along major highways during the festive period.
For passengers destined for Nakuru, the authority directed them to use the route through Naivasha-Njabini-Olkalou-Ol Joro Orok-Lanet, whereas others going to the Western and Nyanza regions could use the route through Nairobi-Suswa-Narok.
The authority also urged motorists to check its official sites for timely updates while exercising patience to resume regular traffic flow.
KeNHA had continued to issue advisories to motorists, constantly issuing updates on planned traffic disruptions across their official communication channels.
President Ruto had also promised that the traffic witnessed during the festive season along the highway would be the last one, urging road users to exercise patience at this time as the government intensifies plans to dual the road from Rironi to Mau Summit.
