NAIROBI — At the bustling Haile Selassie–Uhuru Highway roundabout, where pedestrians have long jostled with speeding traffic, relief is finally in sight. The Greenpark Pedestrian Underpass, a KSh2 billion project years in the making, is now 97 percent complete and expected to open within weeks.
On Thursday, lawmakers from Parliament’s Transport and Infrastructure Committee toured the site, calling the project a much-needed intervention for a city straining under congestion.
“This facility will make movement safer and faster for thousands of Nairobi residents every day,” one committee member said during the inspection.
The project is financed through the Road Maintenance Levy Fund and built by the China Road and Bridge Corporation, with oversight from Civil One Consulting Engineers Ltd.
Stretching 500 metres underground, the walkway links key routes — Mombasa Road, Upper Hill, Westlands, and the Railway terminus. More than 21,000 pedestrians are expected to use it daily, according to figures from the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA).
Safety has been at the heart of its design. The underpass will feature CCTV surveillance, a police post, and seven standby generators to guard against blackouts. Elevators are being installed to serve persons with disabilities, the elderly, and expectant mothers. A drainage system with water pumps is meant to keep the tunnel clear during Nairobi’s heavy rains.
But it is not just a transport project. Inside, 39 shops, advertising billboards, and rental spaces will provide business opportunities and revenue streams for the city.
KeNHA said the remaining works involve installing lifts, completing electrical and mechanical systems, finishing interiors, setting up CCTV, landscaping, and final utility connections.
Once open, the Greenpark underpass is expected to ease traffic clashes between vehicles and pedestrians, cut travel times, and reshape how people navigate Nairobi’s busiest junction. For a city of more than five million, long plagued by traffic chaos, that could mark a quiet but meaningful shift.
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