President William Ruto has announced plans to construct a new link road that will connect western Kenya to the proposed Nakuru-Malaba highway, which is currently undergoing feasibility studies.

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Speaking during a church service in Busia County on Sunday, July 26, the President said the road is intended to improve transport connectivity between Nairobi and the western region.

According to Ruto, the proposed link road will run from Malaba through Kimaeti, Kimilili, and Bungoma before joining the planned Nakuru-Malaba highway, which will be an extension of the Rironi-Mau Summit Expressway.

The President said the government would begin constructing the Malaba link road instead of waiting for the Rironi-Mau Summit highway to be extended to the western border, allowing the two roads to eventually connect into a continuous transport corridor.

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According to Ruto, building the two roads simultaneously will improve connectivity to western Kenya sooner while laying the groundwork for a seamless highway linking Malaba to Nairobi once the larger Nakuru-Malaba corridor is completed.

"We are building the Rironi-Mau Summit highway, which will eventually reach Malaba. However, I have said that as we wait for that one to reach Mau Summit, we start another one from Malaba as it climbs and connects with that one," Ruto said.

The proposed Malaba-Kimaeti-Kimilili-Bungoma road will eventually connect with the planned Nakuru-Malaba highway, creating a continuous transport corridor linking the Kenya-Uganda border to Nairobi.

The new link road is expected to strengthen transport infrastructure in Western Kenya while improving access to Malaba, one of the country's busiest border crossings and a key gateway for regional trade within the East African Community.

The announcement comes as construction plans for the Rironi-Mau Summit Expressway gather pace , with the government maintaining that the project remains on course for completion by June 2027.

The 233-kilometre highway will run from Rironi in Kiambu County through Naivasha and Nakuru to Mau Summit, and is set to ease chronic traffic congestion along the Northern Corridor and improve the movement of goods and people.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke