Motorists held-up overnight at Gilgil weigh station
Motorists travelling along the Nairobi-Nakuru highway were forced to spend the night at the Gilgil weigh station following a traffic snarl-up yesterday, 2 September.
As of this morning, the road is still clogged with scores of cars stretching for 20km and the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) advised motorists heading to Western Kenya to use alternative routes.
Many travellers who have been pinned at the bridge for over 10 hours lamented online, calling on authorities to act quickly.
“We have slept on the road from 8 pm Nairobi to Gilgil (currently). No movement. No idea what’s causing the gridlock,” one Lilian Oranga lamented on her social media page.
According to KeNHA, the traffic snarl-up was caused by a traffic incident near a rail on the roads bridge. The agency has requested motorists not to overlap which will further compound the issue.
In a traffic update on Twitter, KeNHA urged all trucks planning on using the route to delay their travels until the situation eases.
In 2019, a similar incident saw hundreds of motorists spend more than 12 hours as the flood of vehicles stretched for more than ten kilometers.
The majority of those who unleashed their anger online questioned why the government has not paid attention to the area that is prone to such terrible traffic jams.
“Police are currently on site and working on the situation to restore normalcy. Motorists are advised to exercise lane discipline and avoid overlapping as they approach this section in order to avoid further congestion,” the road agency stated.