The newly constructed Nairobi Expressway will be operational for use on May 14.
While making the announcement Sunday morning during the inaugural Nairobi City Marathon, President Uhuru Kenyatta said the government will allow Kenyans to use the expressway so that it can evaluate any loopholes that exist prior to its official launch.
Emphasizing that it will not be an official launch, he said the exercise will help reduce the long traffic jams witnessed in the city and its environs.
“This week on Saturday, we shall open, not officially but on a trial basis, so that Kenyans use it, and this will allow us to put final touches on some unfinished sections,” he said.
Motorists who choose to use the road can either use the Manual Toll Collection (MTC) or the ETC once they reach the service centres.
H.E President Uhuru Kenyatta announced the opening of the Nairobi Expressway on a trial basis, on 14th May 2022 after the ending of the inaugural Nairobi City Marathon.
The athletes who competed at the Uhuru Classic Nairobi City Marathon were the first to use Nairobi Expressway. pic.twitter.com/D5qHNncopZ
— KBC Channel1 News (@KBCChannel1) May 8, 2022
Last week, the government revised toll rates for the yet to be commissioned expressway by 16 per cent.
This was done to reflect foreign exchange changes for the dollar-denominated charges, following the weakening of the Kenyan shilling.
The toll rates are set for future adjustments based on not just the prevailing exchange rate, but also changes in the Consumer Price Index.
The 27-kilometre expressway that stretches from Mlolongo through Uhuru Highway to the James Gichuru Road junction in Westlands will be operated by Moja Expressway, a subsidiary of China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) which designed, financed and constructed the road.
To register with Moja Expressway you will be required to physically visit Nairobi Expressway Plaza Service Centre on Mombasa Road, opposite General Motors.
The Ksh 88 billion expressway has 11 interchanges at Mlolongo, Standard Gauge Railway, Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Eastern Bypass, Southern Bypass, Capital Centre, Haile Selassie Avenue, Museum Hill, Westlands and James Gichuru Road.
The expressway, with 18.2km on the ground and 8.9km elevated, is a class A four-lane dual carriageway with a design speed of 80km per hour.
