Two weeks after residents of Uthiru, Kinoo and Regen held a peaceful protest over rising cases of accidents, the Senate Transport Committee has visited the residents.
The section lies along the Nairobi-Nakuru highway, which has been undergoing expansion from James Gichuru Road up to Rironi, courtesy of the China Wu Yi Company.
The residents said the section had footbridges, which were demolished by the contractor.
Peter Muturi, a resident, said some sections of the road are complete, but motorists were driving at a very high speed, making it nearly impossible to cross.
“We were discussing how we might buy sand, cement and other materials to build bumps to reduce motorists' speed,” he said.
Kiambu Senator Kimani Wamatangi, who is also the chairman of the committee, said they had lost more than 20 people in two months.
He said those who survived are left with permanent injuries, adding that speeding should be controlled.
The committee members were accompanied by Roads Principal Secretary Paul Maringa, Kenya National Highways Authority and China Wu Yi officials, among other government officers.
Wamatangi said schoolchildren, people living with disabilities and old people experience difficulties while crossing the highway.
“We want bridges and underpasses to be designed, but the government must come up with a strategy of reducing the motorists' speed as we wait for those bridges and underpasses,” he said.
Residents said that some motorists disregard road signs that ask them to drive at 40km/h.
Maringa asked Kenha to build speed bumps and rumble strips so as to reduce cases of people being knocked down by speeding vehicles.
He said they were also inspecting the drainage project, saying they had received complaints from people that rainwater was flowing to their farms, schools and churches.
(edited by Amol Awuor)
