The national and Kiambu county governments have embarked on construction and expansion of a road network in Thika town and its environs meant to ease perennial traffic congestion.

The Sh5 billion venture to be coordinated by various departments including the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA), Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) and the county government is part of Governor Kimani Wamatangi’s plan to make Thika an Industrial Smart City.

It will include the expansion of Garissa Road from the Thika highway flyover all the way to the Makutano junction in Kilimambogo area, turning it into a dual carriageway covering 25 kilometers.

Besides this, there will be two major interchanges; on the entrance to Thika Town and the Gatitu junction. Additionally, there will be dualing of the Thika-Gatanga road and construction of a bridge near Blue Posts hotel.

However, the project has drawn concerns from some traders in the town who are likely to be displaced once construction work kicks off by end of the year.

Governor Wamatangi who led a team of engineers and local leaders on a tour of the proposed project, assured traders who may be affected by the road expansion that the county government would compensate them or find alternative places to do business.

“I want to assure our people that whoever will be affected by the roads expansion will be compensated accordingly. We will resettle the few traders whose businesses shall be affected or pay them to find alternative areas of operation,” said Wamatangi.

The Governor maintained that Thika residents stand to gain immensely from the upcoming roads project and establishment of an industrial city which is expected to create thousands of jobs and business opportunities.

“One of the benefits of this new infrastructural plan is ease of traffic flow while thousands of our youth will get jobs and our traders as well as farmers are expected to gain immensely. The economic impact of all these will be immeasurable,” said Wamatangi.

The county leader said once Thika acquires city status, the regional government will be allocating Sh 1 billion yearly towards development projects which are to set to have a huge economic impact.

“We have already started building the Thika stadium besides constructing two major markets; one at Jamhuri and another in Makongeni. Apart from this, there are at least five other smaller markets under construction,” he stated.

Members of the County Assembly including John Njiru (Hospital ward), Kennedy Mwangi (Township), Jackson Kung’u (Gatuanyaga) and Peter Mburu (Kamenu) welcomed the initiative and told local leaders not play petty politics with it.

Wamatangi’s administration had been embroiled in a tussle with some members of Parliament from the region over construction of markets leading to a violent confrontation earlier this year in which a young man was shot dead.