Relief for Kiambu locals as road repairs begin
The Kiambu County government has begun rehabilitating roads which were destroyed by the recent floods at Juja South Estate and Gwa Kigwi villages in Juja sub-county.
The five-kilometre stretch has been in a pitiable state especially after the heavy rains that pounded the region rendered the area inaccessible.
The Kiambu county government has already deployed earthmovers in the villages to rehabilitate the road to murram standards with plans to tarmac the stretch that will link the Juja-Juja Farm Road and the Thika Superhighway in the pipeline.
According to Kalimoni ward MCA Godfrey Mucheke who spoke while inspecting the rehabilitation works, the stretch has been a thorn in the flesh for locals residing in the area adding that it has immensely contributed to underdevelopment in the area.
The MCA, who doubles as the Majority Leader at the Kiambu County Assembly, said that rehabilitation of the road will open up the region for investments and settlement by land owners who have for years shied from developing their parcels due to inaccessibility.
“As Kiambu County Government administration which is headed by Governor Kimani Wamatangi, we have adopted a new strategy that will see rehabilitation of thousands of kilometres of roads across the 60 wards in the county. This administration has dropped the archaic contractual method of doing works and instead has procured machinery that are being used in the revamping works thereby saving on costs and time as well as ensuring more roads are done,” he said.
The MCA called on residents to be patient as the works are being undertaken in all wards adding that once complete, transport will be improved, businesses will boom thereby improving the county’s economy.
Heavy rains
Locals led by Victor Ngiyai hailed the project as a godsend noting that it was long overdue as they have suffered for long. Ngiyai said that accessing the villages has been a tall order due to the pathetic state of the road.
“It has been tough for us who live here as we have had to struggle with clouds of dust and mud during heavy rains. Many have been caught up in accidents courtesy of the potholes that were there. The movement crisis has seen so many stop developing their parcels but we are now optimistic that this will be a thing of the past,” said Ngiyai.
He averred that besides enhancing accessibility, property value in the villages will increase and also pave way for investments in the area that is characterised with large tracts of undeveloped land.
Transport charges
Francis Maina, a boda boda rider also welcomed the project noting that they have for long incurred huge losses in their business due to the poor state of the road.
“Our motorbikes have been wearing down frequently. Hardly a week passes without visiting the mechanic, a situation that had forced us to hike transport charges to meet tear and wear and fuel costs. This is now in the past after the road was done and we hope this will also be done in other areas in the county,” said Maina.
The Kiambu County government has procured machinery including trucks, rollers, buckles and graders among others which are being used to rehabilitate roads that were damaged by the rains.
