Nairobi Expressway To End Existing Footbridges
How would one solve the contentious issue of footbridges bordering the Nairobi Expressway?
Marvin Chege 
The Nairobi Expressway linking the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and James Gichuru Road continues to grow in potential, as the multi-billion project inches closer to its 2022 deadline.
However, members of the public have noted one small flaw. The overpass of the expressway collides with the exisitng footbridges built along Mombasa Road at a cost of Ksh362million.
Nairobi residents have requested the Kenya National Highway Authority (KeNHA) to provide a solution as to whether the bridges will stand, or be torn down to pave way.
From images observed by Bright Kenya News, the road and the footbridge intersect, however the distance between the two raises questions as to whether or not the bridge would remain.
Clever netizens took to social media to examine the fate of the Bellevue and General Motors footbridges.
"The beams will clearly higher than a tall person. There will be enough room under the road", noted one user.
"The footbridge will not be demolished. At Bellevue the Chinese will put big bumps on the road so that residents can pass underneath", joked another.
Sources have told Bright Kenya News that the bridge at General Motors will be demolished to pave way for the road, with KeNHA expected to provide alternative means of crossing the road.
Director-General Engineer Peter Mundinia noted that new footbridges will be constructed to replace exisitng ones. The South C footbridge will thus be spared.
The construction of the Expressway is expected to reduce the degree of traffic jams on the road that have been rampant during its construction.
In a matter of months, the project has emerged from a concept to a series of towering beams that will soon be floating above one of Kenya's busiest road corridors.
The issue of footbridges however has raised concern amongst Kenyans, who called out intrusion into walkways by motorists and hawkers.
On Mombasa Road for example, all footbridges are boda-boda cycling lanes, with pedestrians opting to cross at dangerous sections. On the Airport North Road, hawkers rule the crossways through the sale of their wares.
The result is Kenyans appealing to relevant authorities to come up with safer crossing paths for pedestrians in the city.
