The government will build a Ksh389 million footbridge across the Thika superhighway in Juja where a number of pedestrians have lost their lives after being hit by vehicles.

Announcing the decision, Kiambu Governor James Nyoro and Infrastructure Secretary in the Ministry of Roads, Francis Gitau said funds have already been set aside for the project whose construction is expected to start immediately and take five months to complete.

The move comes a month after residents led by Juja parliamentary aspirant Aloise Kinyanjui held a demonstration to protest the removal of speed bumps at the spot in December last year, which led to a rise in the number of people knocked down crossing the busy road.

Uhuru orders construction of footbridge on Thika Road

Addressing hundreds of residents at Juja Highpoint area, Nyoro said as a stop-gap measure, the speed bumps will be restored to minimize accidents awaiting completion of the bridge.

The governor disclosed that he and Kinyanjui met and petitioned President Uhuru Kenyatta for the funds to be released, recalling that road engineers had flatly opposed the idea of erecting bumps on the highway.

“We were summoned to State House where we explained to the President the pain through which residents were going after the bumps were removed. Besides the deaths, many small traders and boda boda operators lost business as a result,” Nyoro stated.

He thanked the President for responding to the plight of Juja residents many of whom had closed their businesses following the closure of the road crossing point by the Kenya National Highways Authority.

“The lives of our people matter more than traffic regulations and rules. We are grateful to President Kenyatta for hearing our cries,” Nyoro said.