Kajiado East residents have raised concern over the destruction of the newly launched Kajiado-Imaroro-Isara road.
The residents complained that the road which was commissioned early last year by President Uhuru Kenyatta has started developing huge potholes as a result of overloading by lorries ferrying sand from River Eselenkei.
The 68 kilometre road that links Kajiado to Loitoktok town is a low- volume seal road and vehicles using the road must not weigh more than 10 tonnes.
Over 200 lorries that ferry sand from Mashuuru and Eselenkei River to be used for construction in Nairobi, Machakos, Makueni and neighboring counties ply the road on a daily basis.
However, the sand trucks are often overloaded beyond the recommended weight causing destruction on one side of the road.
John Parashina, a resident of Isara town revealed that the trucks ferrying sand from the rivers normally overload and operate late at night to avoid arrest.
Parashina said several parts of the low volume seal road have already developed huge potholes as the trucks ferry more than the recommended 10 tonnes.
“This road is barely a few years old but has already developed huge potholes that can cause an accident. The lorries ferrying sand from the rivers have destroyed the road as they overload and operate at night to avoid being caught,” he said.
Abraham Loisa, a matatu driver plying the Kajiado-Mashuru route echoed Parashina’s sentiments adding that the huge potholes were a time bomb.
Loisa appealed to the government to impose stiffer penalties on motorists caught flouting the regulations on road usage so as to save the road.
He further called on Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KERRA) to avail and maintain 24-hour mobile weigh bridges along the road to ensure that sand harvesters do not carry more than the recommended weight.
Sand harvesters, who are the main users of the road, have however appealed to the government to re-design the road to handle more than 10 tonnes so as to enable them ply their trade easily.
The harvesters complained that they hardly make any profit ferrying sand less than 10 tonnes and the road should have initially been designed to accommodate them.
