Kenya National Highway Authority has rolled out robust periodic road maintenance programmes targeting key roads in the Nyanza region.

The idea is to restore the dilapidated major roads, especially those serving the sugar belt corridors and others leading to the major landing beaches of lake Victoria.

The road works according to KeNHa Nyanza regional director engineer Julius Mak'Oderoh will open up the region for trade and ease the movement of people and attract various investments.

Speaking to journalists at his office in Kisumu, the director also announced that the Mamboleo road rehabilitation will be concluded in a month's time.

The road Constitutes key Sugar belt roads in the region.

"It was included as part of the major rehabilitation works in Kisumu. Initially, the contract was to last 24 months," he said.

However, the director noted that there were challenges, largely to do with inadequate budgetary allocations that affected works.

This led to delayed payments that saw contractors changed multiple times.

The current contractor is owed Sh260 million.

"We have prioritised Sh60 million to enable the contractor to resume work at the site. The Contractor in a show of good came back on January 20," Mak'Oderoh said.

He said the contractor is now doing Road- over-Crash barriers construction.

Other works in the remaining sections include laying the second bitumen (asphalt concrete overlay) that would allow the road to be opened to traffic.

The regional director noted that only a single overlay had been done by the time the road was temporarily opened for use during the Africities summit last May.

"Works on crash barrier has resumed. The intention is to finish the second overlay so that we can open the road for traffic," he noted.

"Pre-marking of the road will be done as soon as the construction is done," he said.

The contractor will then do two loop roads on each side of the railway, one on the north and the other on the south.

The loop roads, he said, will allow traffic to Migosi to safely turn and also allow traffic to the Lake Basin mall to safely turn without interference with the Kisumu CBD bound traffic.

"The most important aspect now is to open the road to traffic. This will happen in a month's time. We target mid-March. We will then need three months to do the loop road and paint," he said.

The major maintenance works also being undertaken by KeNHa in the region includes the Kisian Bondo- Road under periodic road maintenance.

"The scope is to do pavement strengthening. Where the base has completely failed, it will be reconstructed and where it is intact we will do an overlay," he said.

He added that new road marking will also be done along the road.

The regional director noted that the contractor working on the road will clear overgrowth and fix the drainage. This will be done routinely for 3 years.

He revealed that the works which stand at 50 per cent began in April last year.

"We are also working on the Bondo- Osieko, Bondo- Luanda Kotieno as part of government efforts to ensure the road assets are well maintained," he said.

Luanda -Siaya road, Kapsoit -Sondu road and Awasi - Nandi road are also being rehabilitated.

"There is a need for vegetation control along these sections even as we restore the poor state of the roads," he noted.

He said the works for the three roads were tendered for in December last year and bids opened in January.

"We hope the procurement will conclude early so that works begin in April," he said.

The scope of work will include restoring the shoulders and reinstatement of the road bases and completion of two overlays on the target sections.

Engineer Mak'Oderoh said the contractors are expected to also put guard rails on steep slopes and speed-calming measures like rumble strips.

"These works should go for 24 months including 6 months for defects liability," he said.

He said that along the Kapsoit-Sondu, the base is completely destroyed.

"The axle load allowed was of up to 10 tonnes but we get up to 40 footer containers on the road," he noted.

On this particular road, two layers and reimbursement of road furniture will be done. By mid-April contractor should be on the site.

"Awasi -Nandi road is also destroyed by the litter left by the sugarcane hauliers. Periodic maintenance will reinstate what had been destroyed," he said.

"Sondu- Kapsoit is the worst. We hope to restore it back to serviceable levels.

He said the contractor is also expected to reinstate the base along Bondo- Osieko road as it were before, including the overlay and the shoulders.

" The work targets to reinstate what has failed and put fresh tarmac on the road," he said.