Kura floats tender to build Haile Selassie overpass
Kenya Urban Roads Authority (Kura) on Thursday called for bids for the construction of an overpass link road, around Haile Selassie Avenue, in Nairobi.
The project, which has been in the pipeline for the last two years, is expected to divert traffic from the city centre, consequently reducing congestion in the CBD.
The flyover will link Enterprise Road to Central Business District to ease traffic on Mombasa Road and pass over the Nairobi Railway station and Wakulima Market.
The Japanese agency, JICA, had initiated feasibility studies in 2016.
“The Government of Kenya in collaboration with Japan International Co-operation Agency intends to construct a viaduct over the railway yard at the Nairobi Central Railway Station,” said Kenya Urban Roads Authority acting director-general Silas Kinoti in 2018.
The flyover was captured as a missing link and a priority project in the Nairobi Integrated Urban Development Master Plan 2030 (NIUPLAN).
The road will be a game-changer in the city centre, easing traffic flow in Jogoo road and Landhies road, while offering an infrastructure solution to Nairobi CBD’s traffic problems.
The overpass is expected to take up the space occupied by the old Wakulima Market.
Last year, Kura said traders at Wakulima market will be relocated to pave way for the construction of a new road.
The traders will be relocated to the new Wakulima market along Kangundo road, which is almost complete.
Construction of the new market along Kangundo Road is “now substantially complete except for external works like parking, drainage, access road and street lighting,” Kura said a statement.