Construction of the Sh7.5 billion Nithi Bridge has formally commenced, with Deputy President Kithure Kindiki directing the contractor to speed up the works while maintaining quality and safety standards.
The 880-metre bridge will rise 100 metres above the Nithi River and connect Marima and Mitheru through 2.7 kilometres of approach roads along the Nairobi-Embu-Meru highway.
The government has secured funding for the project, which is scheduled for completion within 24 months. Kindiki said the construction period should be shortened without compromising engineering standards.
Speaking during the commencement of works in Maara Constituency, Tharaka Nithi, on Thursday, Kindiki said residents had spent four decades asking successive governments to replace the existing bridge, which was built in 1985.
He said hundreds of people had died in accidents at the crossing, where buses, lorries and private vehicles have plunged into the river.
“From 1985, we began pleading with the government to design and build a new bridge. For 17 years, during President Moi’s administration, the government did not have the money to construct a new Nithi Bridge,” he said.
Kindiki said residents continued to make the same appeal during the administrations of former presidents Mwai Kibaki and Uhuru Kenyatta, but the project was not delivered.
He said residents had expected the bridge to be built during Kibaki’s presidency after overwhelmingly supporting him in the 2002 General Election.
“We thought that now that our own man was in power, the Nithi Bridge would be built. For the ten years of the Kibaki presidency, we pleaded, cried and petitioned for a new, modern bridge, but the government did not have enough funds to build it,” he said.
Kindiki said Uhuru's administration also left office without constructing the bridge, despite his personal association with the former President.
“I thought that the man I had helped at The Hague, together with his deputy, would ensure that the Nithi Bridge was built. But was it possible? The money was not available,” he said, referring to his work as a lawyer for Uhuru and President William Ruto during their cases at the International Criminal Court.
The Deputy President said the Ruto administration first prioritised stabilising the economy and clearing outstanding payments owed to contractors before expanding road construction.
“When President William Ruto took office, we found the economy in a difficult position,” he said, citing the reduction of fertiliser prices from Sh7,000 to Sh2,500 per 50kg bag as one of the measures undertaken to support farmers.
Kindiki said the government had since cleared Sh177 billion in arrears owed to contractors, allowing stalled road projects to resume.
He said engineers had been directed to develop a more ambitious bridge design after an initial proposal estimated at between Sh1.7 billion and Sh1.8 billion was found inadequate to address the safety challenges.
“We have suffered enough misfortune here, and we do not want any more problems,” he said.
Kindiki also announced plans to construct an additional 515 kilometres of tarmacked roads in Tharaka Nithi County, covering Maara, Chuka Igambang'ombe and Tharaka constituencies.
He warned contractors against delays and said those who fail to meet implementation targets would be replaced.
“If he does not, I will dismiss him and bring in a contractor who will speed up the work because the time is now,” he said.
