Long-distance lorries will be banned from using the main highway crossing through the city of Eldoret.
This is one of the measures being implemented by the Uasin Gishu government to decongest the city, which has been experiencing heavy traffic jams, especially when it rains.
A multi-sectoral committee chaired by Uasin Gishu County Commissioner Edison Nyale has been formed to enforce the new measures.
One of its recommendations is that all the long-distance lorries with no business in the city centre, will be diverted to the Southern Bypass, whose construction was completed over a year ago.
The 40-kilometre bypass branches from the main Uganda highway at Cheplaskei and passes at Kapseret on the Eldoret-Kisumu road before re-joining the Uganda highway at Leseru.
Eldoret was last year elevated to city status and is yet to have a city board to manage its affairs as required by the law. However, the chairman of the Eldoret municipal board Julius Kitur said the new measures would be implemented in the next few weeks.
“We have already agreed we will not allow long-distance lorries to pass through the city centre because they are causing unnecessary traffic jams,” Kitur said.
He said they were working with the Kenya National Highways Authority to ensure the bypass is used by the lorries.
Kitur said Governor Jonathan Bii would soon commission traffic lights, which are being installed in the town to help control the flow of vehicles.
“We will work with the police to educate our people on the use of the traffic lights because they have not been used by our drivers previously,” he said.
The county is also in discussions with Kenya Power to start using underground cables instead of the overhead cables installed on poles along all roads in the town like in other parts of the country.
Kitur said the county had also banned the parking of lorries in undesignated areas contributing to the traffic jams.
Governor Bii is also targeting improvement of infrastructure in Eldoret through construction of several new roads that will open up traffic flow in the city and enhance business.
Since the elevation of Eldoret to be Kenya’s fifth city, Bii’s administration has partnered with the Kenya Urban Roads Authority and the World Bank who are helping to finance work on the new roads.
Bii said the new roads under construction will give Eldoret a new face and ease the movement of goods and Kenyans engaging in various economic activities in the region.
The new roads under construction will cost more than Sh2 billion.
“Eldoret is a key economic hub in this region and once we complete the new roads, we will open up the town for an even better trade environment to benefit farmers among other residents,” Bii said.
