Mombasa Road, also known as the Nairobi–Mombasa Road, or Mombasa–Nairobi Road or A109 Road (Kenya) is the main

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

between

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

, Kenya's capital and largest city and

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 ...

, the country's largest port city. The road is a component of the Northern Corridor. It is part of the Lagos–Mombasa Highway.

Location

The road starts in the city of Nairobi, at the confluence of ''Langata Road'', ''Uhuru Highway'' and ''Lusaka Road'', immediately west of ''DHL House''. It continues in a general southeasterly direction, through seven Kenya Counties to end in the city of Mombasa at the confluence of ''Digo Road'', ''Langoni Road'' and ''Abdel Nasser Road'', a total distance of about . The coordinates of this road south of the town of Athi River, Machakos County are: 01°30'15.0"S, 37°05'20.0"E (Latitude:-1.504167; Longitude:37.088889).

Overview

This road, together with its sister road, Nairobi–Malaba Road, is part of the ''Great North Road'', that links the Kenyan coast to the land-locked countries of

Burundi Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is located in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa, with a population of over 14 million peop ...

, Eastern DR Congo,

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

and

South Sudan South Sudan (), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the north by Sudan; on the east by Ethiopia; on the south by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Kenya; and on the ...

. The road moves more than 50 percent of all goods traded in the East African Community. Due to the volume of traffic, and the concentration of heavy-duty transport vehicles, the route is accident-prone, accounting for a large number of injuries and fatalities in the region. In 2013 alone, 3,179 people lost their lives in traffic accidents on the combined Mombasa–Malaba Road. The

government of Kenya The Government of the Republic of Kenya (GoK) is the Central government, national government of the Kenya, Republic of Kenya located in East Africa. It is composed of Counties of Kenya, 47 Counties, each county with its own semi-autonomous gove ...

has plans to expand the road to dual carriageway, with a total of six lanes outside

Mombasa Island Mombasa Island is a coral outcrop located on Kenya's coast on the Indian Ocean, which is connected to the mainland by a causeway. Part of the city of Mombasa is located on the island, including the Mombasa_Old_Town, Old Town. History The old ...

, increasing the number of lanes to twelve, on the island itself. It is expected that solicitation of bids from funders and contractors will be announced before the end of calendar 2016. When completed, the road will become Nairobi–Mombasa Expressway

Towns

The following towns, listed from west towards the east, are located along the highway:

Intersections

The following major intersections lie along the Nairobi–Mombasa Road, listed from the west towards the east: # The

– Malaba Road, also referred to as the

–

Road # The

– Namanga Road, part of the

–

Arusha Arusha is a city in Tanzania. The city is the Capital city, capital of the Arusha Region. It has a population of 617,631 people.

Road # The Voi– Taveta Road # The Mariakani–Kaloleni–Mavueni Road # The Dongo Kundu Bypass Highway # The Mombasa–Garissa Road # The Malindi–Bagamoyo Highway.

References

External links