Infrastructure

Covid-19 Delays Completion of Thika Road Footbridges

The Sh800m skywalks have been under construction since 2017.

Updated on

July 27, 2020

Thika Road footbridge — Past installation of a footbridge on Thika Road. PHOTO | FILE

The erection of additional footbridges on Thika Road has been delayed further due to Covid-19, the highways authority has said, amid criticism over the execution of the project.

The Witeithie, Njomoko, Garden City Mall, and the Kenya School of Monetary Studies footbridges have been in the works since 2017 for Sh822 million.

The skywalks were to be done by February 2018 but that did not happen, with the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) now saying the bridges would be ready next month.

The structures for the bridges were welded in China but their delivery into Kenya was delayed after the virus outbreak, according to KeNHA director-general Peter Mundinia.

“It took us quite a while to ship the bridges from China because Covid-19 broke out when we were about to start. They arrived on May 7 (because of a huge pile-up of shipments in China). We should have everything complete in the next three weeks,” he said.

Interestingly, Mr Mundinia had in July 2019 said the structures were already being shipped into the country from China for installation by the end of August 2019.

This came amid criticism over KeNHA’s decision to weld the structures in China. However, the agency defended its action saying it was seeking a cheaper and faster solution.

The long wait for the materials has been a major setback for the scheme that saw KeNHA officials fly out to China last July to inspect the structures before their shipment into Kenya.

Construction of the Witeithie and Njomoko footbridges was awarded to Interways Works Limited on September 4, 2017, and the contractor was expected to complete the project on December 19, 2018, at a cost of Sh430,327,157.

On the other hand, Fourways Construction Limited was on November 8, 2017 contracted to build the Garden City Mall, and Kenya School of Monetary Studies footbridges at a cost of Sh392,480,925 – with an expected completion date of February 2019.

In February this year, KeNHA said Interways Works had already concreted the deck at the Njomoko footbridge and was waiting for the concrete to cure before opening the skywalk to pedestrians by the end of March.

The agency also said the steel decks for bridges at Survey and Garden City would be installed in April, with the contractor set to deliver the project by the end of May. This too did not happen.