Motorists spend night on Nairobi-Nakuru highway after traffic snarl-up at Gilgil

Hundreds of motorists and passengers were on Friday forced to spend the night along the Gilgil weighbridge section of the Nairobi-Nakuru highway after a heavy traffic snarl-up that began in the afternoon and persisted into Saturday morning.

Witnesses said queues of private cars, mini-buses and heavy trucks stretched for kilometres as traffic stalled between Gilgil and Mbaruk area.

According to Gilgil Base Commander Hussein, the heavy traffic started on Friday at around 2pm. He added that the high volume of vehicles plying that stretch as well as indisciplined drivers engaging in overlapping were the main causes of the gridlock

Bus company Ena Coach, in a statement released on Saturday morning, said the snarl-up was affecting travel as well as parcel delivery services.

“This situation is affecting departures from Nairobi to Upcountry, Upcountry to Nairobi, as well as arrivals from and at Mombasa,” read the statement.

“Consequently, parcel deliveries may also experience delays. We truly regret the inconvenience caused and kindly ask for your patience and understanding as the relevant authorities work to restore normal traffic flow.”