Greenpark pedestrian underpass to be open for public by June

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Pedestrians who use the Haile Selassie, Mombasa Road, Uhuru Highway and Ngong Road roundabout will, from June, use the Greenpark terminus pedestrian underpass that is now nearing completion.

The Sh2 billion underpass is now 99 per cent complete.

This was revealed on Thursday, during inspection of the tunnel by the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) Director General Luka Kimeli.

“We anticipate that come March, we shall have completed the remaining areas, so that in another 2-3 months, say by June, we should be having the public using this facility,” said Eng Kimeli

Already, CCTV cameras have been installed in the tunnel, seven elevators for differently-abled people and the lights are already on.

“We rely on the nearest police station so that they can give us manpower almost daily, round the clock,” Kimeli said

Once completed, the tunnel will be handed over to another contractor for management including leasing out the shops and other maintenance. 

“The challenge has been financing, but we are happy that this is a pilot one, so that once we are through with this, then we look for additional funding to be able to move ahead and do the same on about 5-6 junctions,” said the KeNHA boss.

The ongoing works include covering drainages and fixing a manhole that will ensure all the water spilling over is collected at one point and pumped out.

“We expect to serve about 1,000 people per day. A total of 8,500 during the peak hours, but the average per day is about 2,000,” the Director General said

The project being constructed by China Roads and Bridge Corporation as part of the city initiative comes with outstanding features for pedestrians, divided into four tunnels with a total length of 176 metres.

Underpass 1 cuts from Haile Selassie towards Railways, underpass 2 cuts through Mombasa Road, underpass 3 leads to Upper Hill and underpass 4 leads passengers towards Westlands.

For people with disabilities, the facility has seven elevators and tactile tiles to guide those with visual impairment.

The underpass has 39 stalls and shops that are expected to boost security around and to provide a business environment.