The Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) has issued a traffic advisory following a night-long traffic jam along the A8 road between Kariandusi and Nakuru town.
In a statement released on Saturday, May 10, 2025, KeNHA attributed the congestion to overlapping and widespread driver indiscipline, which significantly hampered the flow of vehicles throughout the night.
“We are experiencing a snarl-up on the A8 between Kariandusi and Nakuru that lasted all night due to overlapping and driver indiscipline,” the authority said.
KeNHA has urged motorists to stop overlapping to allow its teams and the police to restore order and improve traffic flow along the busy highway.
“Motorists are advised to stop overlapping, as this will assist our teams and the police to restore order,” the agency stated.
Alternative routes
To ease the traffic pressure and facilitate smoother movement, KeNHA advised motorists heading towards Nakuru to consider using alternative routes.
Travellers can reroute through Gilgil, pass through Olkalou and Dundori, and proceed to Lanet.
Another option is to use the Flyover route through Njambini, then continue to Olkalou and Dundori, and finally join the road at Lanet.
Motorists have been asked to exercise patience and cooperate with traffic police officers as efforts to decongest the road continue.
The A8 highway is a key transport corridor connecting Nairobi to Nakuru and onward to western Kenya, making it one of the busiest roads in the country.
Notorious stretch
In December 2024, President William Ruto’s economic advisor, Moses Kuria, proposed strategic investment in the highway to address recurring traffic problems.
Speaking amid holiday-season gridlocks that left many Nakuru-bound travellers stranded for hours, Kuria advocated for the dualing of the Nairobi-Nakuru highway through a public-private partnership.
He argued that while many Kenyans complain about the chronic snarl-ups, they are often resistant to private sector involvement in infrastructure development.
“The mess in the Nairobi-Nakuru Highway is proof that we need new approaches to infrastructure development. The Rironi–Mau Summit Dualling must be carried out on a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) basis,” he said in a December 21, 2024, post on X.
Kuria warned that continued opposition to PPPs would only delay the necessary upgrades, despite the urgency of resolving traffic chaos on the crucial route.
“Sadly, the same people stuck in the gridlock today will also oppose the dualling using a private partner,” he noted.
