Major infrastructure projects are reshaping transport and economic activity across the Mt Kenya region, with new and upgraded roads, bridges and other facilities opening up rural areas that have for years struggled with poor connectivity.
From Meru and Tharaka Nithi to Embu and the wider Central region, the government is accelerating road construction aimed at connecting farms to markets, reducing travel times and lowering the cost of transporting people and goods.
In Meru, a proposed 252-kilometre road programme and a Sh3 billion town bypass are among projects expected to improve movement within the county and strengthen links between rural areas and urban centres.
In neighbouring Tharaka Nithi, work on the Miomponi–Mukothima–Gatunga road is giving residents hope that roads that have remained difficult to use for decades will finally become reliable all-weather links.
For residents, the benefits extend beyond easier travel. Better roads are expected to give farmers improved access to markets while encouraging traders and investors to explore areas previously held back by poor infrastructure.
Mau Mau Road
At the centre of the infrastructure push is the reconstruction and realignment of Nithi Bridge along the Meru–Embu highway in Tharaka Nithi County.
For more than three decades, the existing bridge and its approaches have been associated with fatal accidents. Its steep descent and sharp bends have made the section particularly dangerous for motorists, heavy trucks, traders and miraa transporters travelling between Meru, Tharaka Nithi and Embu.
The government is now rebuilding the crossing on an entirely new alignment.
The project covers about 2.7 kilometres and includes an approximately 880-metre straight bridge. The new design is intended to eliminate the sharp curves and steep approaches that have contributed to accidents at the old crossing.
Once completed, the bridge is expected to rank among the longest in the region and will significantly change the movement of traffic along the Meru–Embu route.
For residents who have lived with the dangers of the old bridge, the project represents more than a transport upgrade.
Wilfred Mutai Kubai, a resident of Tharaka Nithi, recalls that accidents at the Nithi Bridge were a regular occurrence.
He says miraa vehicles, buses including Modern Coast and Sunbird, as well as heavy trucks, were involved in accidents at the blackspot, with many people losing their lives.
Kubai says President William Ruto announced the project while in Marimanti, but many residents remained sceptical until construction equipment arrived at the site.
The arrival of machinery, he says, has changed that perception and renewed hope among residents.
The project has also created employment opportunities for young people, some of whom previously spent much of their time idle at local stages.
Kubai believes the completed bridge will reduce accidents further, ease transportation, boost businesses and open new markets.
He also sees the project as a potential tourism attraction and an opportunity for residents to earn income from increased economic activity.
For him, one of the biggest benefits will be ending the cycle of residents rushing to accident scenes to rescue injured people or recover bodies.
Further south, improvements on the Kenol–Sagana–Karatina Highway have already changed the experience of motorists and traders using the route.
Jackson Gikunju, a driver at Kenol stage who has been behind the wheel for 13 years, says travelling between areas such as Kirinyaga and Nairobi has become easier following improvements to the highway.
He recalls that traffic congestion previously made the journey particularly difficult, with queues sometimes stretching from Makuyu and heavy congestion around Kenol.
Gikunju says further expansion of the highway into a wider multi-lane road would make transportation even smoother and reduce pressure on motorists.
For traders operating around Kenol, improved roads have also translated into increased business opportunities.
Mama Muthoni, a trader at Kenol stage, says the improved highway has increased the flow of vehicles from Murang’a, Meru and as far as Moyale.
Some motorists stop at Kenol, providing traders with a larger customer base.
She expects the town to continue growing as improved connectivity makes it easier for agricultural produce, including potatoes and groundnuts, to reach the area.
She is, however, calling for additional infrastructure, including a flyover to make it safer for pedestrians to cross the busy highway and a properly developed stage for passengers and public service vehicles.
In Embu, the Kivuwe–Makengi–Runyenjes Road is similarly changing expectations among residents who have waited for decades for a reliable paved connection.
Michael Kathomba says the road will make it easier for farmers to transport miraa, macadamia, bananas and avocados while supporting businesses in areas such as Kivuti and Karingare.
He expects the improved road to stimulate local trade and reduce the difficulties residents face during both rainy and dry seasons.
During rainy periods, poor roads have traditionally turned muddy, while dry weather brings dust and difficult travelling conditions.
Kathomba recalls that the road had remained untarmacked for much of his lifetime, despite being murramed as far back as the late 1970s.
Its transformation, he says, could mark a major economic shift for communities that have long relied on farming and small businesses.
In Nyeri, residents are also welcoming work on the Karatina–Kiamabara–Mungetho–Gatike/Mukurweini Junction Road.
Elizabeth Wairimu, popularly known as Mama Yvonne, says the road will make movement easier and improve access to markets for farmers and traders.
She expects boda boda operators to benefit from easier movement and increased business, enabling them to earn daily incomes and support their families.
Farmers, she adds, will be able to transport produce to markets with less risk of damage and delays.
Wairimu recalls that before the works began, the road was riddled with potholes and had deteriorated to the point where residents planted bananas on sections of it as a demonstration of their frustration.
Patients faced difficulties reaching hospitals, school vehicles were delayed and residents travelling to Karatina often arrived covered in mud.
The ongoing construction is therefore being viewed by residents as both a transport intervention and an economic investment.
The projects form part of a wider government infrastructure programme targeting roads, railways, sports facilities and markets across Kenya.
One of the largest road projects is the Rironi–Mau Summit section of the Northern Corridor, where expansion is intended to increase capacity and improve the movement of cargo between Nairobi and western Kenya.
The government has also committed to expanding road connectivity in northern Kenya through the Isiolo–Mandera corridor, which is expected to open up the region to trade and investment.
The railway network is also being expanded, with the government pushing ahead with the Standard Gauge Railway extension from Naivasha through Kisumu towards Malaba.
The railway is expected to strengthen links between western Kenya, the port of Mombasa and neighbouring East African markets.
Infrastructure development is also visible in the sports sector as Kenya prepares to co-host the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations with Uganda and Tanzania.
The 60,000-capacity Talanta International Stadium in Nairobi is among the country’s flagship projects, with construction having reached advanced stages.
The government is also upgrading the Nyayo National Stadium, Moi International Sports Centre Kasarani and Kipchoge Keino Stadium in Eldoret to meet international sporting standards.
Away from the capital, the Kenya Defence Forces constructed the 10,000-capacity Wajir Stadium in less than three months, while construction is progressing on more than 20 other stadiums.
In Kiambu, Thika Stadium is among the facilities being developed, with completion expected before the end of the year.
The investments are intended not only to prepare Kenya for international sporting events but also to provide facilities where young people can develop sporting talent.
The government’s infrastructure programme also includes the construction of more than 400 modern markets across the country.
The markets are being developed under the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda, with the government seeking to provide safer and more organised trading spaces for small-scale traders, including mama mbogas.
In the Mt Kenya region, markets at Thogoto and Gikambura are nearing completion, while facilities have already been developed at Lusigetti and Kamangu.
The projects are expected to give traders better working environments while improving sanitation, security and access for customers.
Taken together, the roads, bridge, railway, stadium and market projects represent a significant infrastructure push across the region and country.
For communities that have endured poor roads and limited public infrastructure for years, the most immediate measure of success will be whether the projects are completed on time, within budget and to the required standards.
For the government, however, the expanding network of construction projects is becoming a defining feature of President Ruto’s development record as the country moves towards the 2027 General Election.
Read: Kenya’s Infrastructure Boom Gathers Pace As Roads, Rail, Stadiums And Markets Take Shape
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