Nairobi Northern Bypass Highway is a road in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

, the largest economy in the

East African Community The East African Community (EAC) is an intergovernmental organisation composed of seven countries in the Great Lakes region of East Africa: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the United Republic of Tanzania, the Republics of Kenya, Burundi, ...

. It connects the neighbourhood of Ruaka to the neighborhood of

Ruiru Ruiru is a municipality and sub-county in Kiambu County. It sits within the greater Nairobi Metropolitan region. According to the 2019 national population census, Ruiru is the 6th largest urban center in Kenya by population.http://housingfinanc ...

, both 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. Kiambu County is the second most populous after Nairobi County. Kiambu County borders Nairobi and Kajiado Counties to the So ...

Location

This road starts in the Ruaka neighbourhood, approximately , north-west of the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

, the capital and largest city of Kenya. From Ruaka, the road travels in a general easterly direction through

Runda Runda is an affluent neighbourhood located in the northern part of Nairobi. The name Runda was borrowed from the name of the coffee estate that existed in the area before it became a residential area; it is an abbreviation for Reserved United Nat ...

. It briefly crosses into

, passes above Kiambu Road, re-enters Nairobi County and continues to Marurui in

Kasarani Kasarani is a commercial and residential neighbourhood in Nairobi. Kasarani is also used in reference to the city's sub-county with the same name, which spans through neighbourhoods in the northeastern areas of Nairobi. Located within the larg ...

. At Marurui, the road takes a north-easterly direction, crosses Kamiti Road, then passes through

Kahawa Kahawa is a suburb settlement spanning the Kiambu County and Nairobi County borders along Thika Road. It is administratively divided into four wards across the two counties: Kahawa and Kahawa West wards in Nairobi county and Kahawa Wendani and Kah ...

West and the

Kenyatta University Hospital Kenyatta University Hospital (Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral & Research Hospital (KUTRRH)) is a National Referral Hospital with a 650-bed capacity. The hospital is equipped to offer specialized Oncology, Trauma & Orthopedics, Renal, Acc ...

and re-enters

at the Kamiti River bridge near Membley Estate and Kiwanja (Nairobi County) neighbourhoods. It ends at the intersection with the

Nairobi Eastern Bypass Highway The Nairobi Eastern Bypass Highway is a road in Kenya, forming a semi-circle through the south-eastern and north-eastern neighborhoods of the capital city of Nairobi. The road allows traffic from Mombasa, destined for the central parts of Keny ...

OJ neighbourhood. The highway measures approximately , from end to end.

Overview

This road is one of the four bypass highways built to direct motorized traffic away from the central business district of the city of Nairobi, to alleviate the perennial traffic jams on the city streets. The bypass highways include (a) Nairobi Western Bypass Highway (b) Nairobi Eastern Bypass Highway (c) Nairobi Southern Bypass Highway and (d) Nairobi Northern Bypass Highway. It is one of these four bypass roads that form a ring-road around the city.

Construction

The highway was constructed between 2009, and 2014, as a two-lane, single carriageway road. The work was performed by

China Road and Bridge Corporation China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), a subsidiary of Fortune Global 500 company China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), focuses on global civil engineering and construction projects such as highways, railways, bridges, ports, and ...

. Work on this road together with the Nairobi Eastern Bypass Highway, was budgeted at KSh8.5 billion (US$85 million). The funding for both these roads was as illustrated in the table below.

Expansion

In 2018, the Kenyan government contracted Sinohydro Limited to convert the Nairobi Northern Bypass Highway to a four-lane dual carriageway with culverts, drainage channels and walkways on both sides. It is estimated that dualling the Northern and Eastern Bypass Highways will cost anywhere from KSh30 billion to KSh40 billion (US$300 million to US$400 million). The process is on-going, as of March 2019.

References

External links