The Mombasa–Garissa Road, also B8 Road (Kenya) is a major

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way. In the United States, it is also used as an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

, the largest economy in the

East African Community The East African Community (EAC) is an intergovernmental organisation in East Africa. The EAC's membership consists of eight states: Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Federal Republic of Somalia, the Republics of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, S ...

. The road connects the port city of

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital status in 1907. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

to the inland city of

Garissa Garissa ( Arabic: قارسا) is the capital of Garissa County, Kenya. It is situated in the former North Eastern Province. Geography The Tana River, which rises in Mount Kenya east of Nyeri, flows through Garissa. The Bour-Algi Giraffe ...

. This road is composed of the Mombasa–Malindi Road and the Malindi–Garissa Road.

Location

The road starts in the city of Mombasa and takes a general northerly direction through

Kilifi Kilifi is a town on the coast of Kenya, northeast of Mombasa by road. The town lies on the Kilifi Creek and sits on the estuary of the Goshi River. Kilifi is the capital of Kilifi County and had a population of 122,899 during the 2009 census. ...

Malindi Malindi is a town on Malindi Bay at the mouth of the Sabaki River, lying on the Indian Ocean coast of Kenya. It is 120 kilometres northeast of Mombasa. The population of Malindi was 119,859 as of the 2019 census. It is the largest urban centr ...

, Garsen and Bura, to end at Garissa, a distance of approximately The coordinates of this road west of the town of Garsen, Tana River County are:02°16'13.0"S, 40°04'24.0"E (Latitude:-2.270284; Longitude:40.073323).

Overview

The road employs a single-

carriageway A carriageway (British English) or roadway (North American English) is a width of road on which a vehicle is not restricted by any physical barriers or separation to move laterally. A carriageway generally consists of a number of traffic lane ...

system that is subject to the country's

national speed limit A speed limit is the limit of speed allowed by law for road vehicles, usually the maximum speed allowed. Occasionally, there is a minimum speed limit. Advisory speed limits also exist, which are recommended but not mandatory speeds. Speed limi ...

of . In 2006, the Kenyan Government budgeted KSh.2 billion/= (almost £16 million stg. in 2008) to resurface the section between Mombasa and Malindi, through Kilifi. The Garsen to Garissa section of this road, measuring about , remains in poor condition, marked by potholes and a dusty surface.

Major road connections

In Mombasa, the Mombasa–Garissa Road connects to two other major roads: (a) the

Nairobi–Mombasa Road Mombasa Road, also known as the Nairobi–Mombasa Road, or Mombasa–Nairobi Road or A109 Road (Kenya) is the main road between Nairobi, Kenya's capital and largest city and Mombasa, the country's largest port city. The road is a component of th ...

(A109) and (b) the Malindi–Bagamoyo Highway (A14), north-eastern Tanzania. In Garissa, this road meets the Thika–Liboi Road, connecting

Thika Thika () is an industrial town and commerce hub in Kiambu County, Kenya, lying on the A2 road , northeast of Nairobi, near the confluence of the Thika and Chania Rivers. Although Thika town is administratively in Kiambu County, the greater ...

, in

Kiambu County Kiambu County is a county in the former Central Province of Kenya. Its capital is Kiambu and its largest town is Thika town. Kiambu County is the second most populous county in Kenya after Nairobi County. Kiambu County borders Nairobi and Kaji ...

Liboi Liboi () is a town in Garissa County, Kenya, at the border with Somalia. Location The town is located approximately , by road, north-east of Garissa, the location of the county headquarters. Liboi is located about east of Dadaab. This is approx ...

Garissa County Garissa County is a county in Kenya located in Eastern Kenya bordering Somalia to the East, Wajir County and Isiolo County to the North, Tana River County to the West, Lamu County to the South and the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest ur ...

, at the border with

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

Towns

The following towns, listed from south towards north, are located along the highway:

References

External links

Visiting Kenya: the tides of change
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mombasa-Garissa Road Streets in Mombasa Roads in Kenya Mombasa County Kilifi County Tana River County Garissa County