[kictanet] RESPONSES FROM ENGINEER KIDENDA ON THE STATE OF KENYAN ROADS

Thu May 31 10:09:53 EAT 2012

I should have probably brought this one up earlier. I am an avid cyclist.
One of the biggest issues cyclists face is a lack of proper dedicated
cycling lanes.

City council guys once harrassed me for riding on what they called a
'pedestrian only' walk way. Is this the case or can I ride on this walkways
(with full respect for the other users of course) without fear of expensive
bike confiscation?

Obviously cycling on the road is a bit insane on some highways. Is there a
chance at least on the new roads this can be taken to consideration?

gitau

On Wed, May 30, 2012 at 11:49 AM, James Mbugua <jgmbugua at gmail.com> wrote:

> Listers
>
> I have removed them from the attachment and copied into the body of
> the mail for easier reading.
>
>
> 1. Where does Kenya stand when it comes to local road standards vis a
> vis international
> standards?
>
> Kenyan road standards are prepared to international standards. Our Road
> Design
> Manuals were developed from international standards and customized to suit
> local
> conditions. Furthermore, in Kenya, standards make reference to
> international
> standards like Road Notes, TRRL, AASHTO, FIDIC among others.
>
> 2. What are the “smart transport solutions” (ICTs integration) Kenya
> is considering to
> use in order to enhance road safety especially along the entire Thika road?
>
> We are considering installation of traffic lights, road signage and
> road marking to
> enhance road safety along the entire Thika road. Further,
> incorporation of ICT as part
> of PPP contract for maintenance of Nairobi-Thika Road is being considered.
>
> 3. What does KeNHA have to say about the quality of work being done on the
> road
> between Rimpa and Magadi (so far upto Kiserian town)?
>
> KeNHA has put in place the right quality control measures to ensure
> that the works
> done meet the specifications. However, National Water Conservation and
> Pipeline
> Corporation are laying water pipes along the same road between
> Kiserian and Ongata
> Rongai. The material being excavated has been dumped on the side drains
> and road
> shoulders. This situation is temporary. Once backfilling is complete,
> drains will be
> cleaned and shoulders reinstated.
>
> 4. How are roads categorized, in terms of those managed by the local
> authorities,
> central government and, if possible, those ones that are
> internationally managed?
>
> Roads are categorized into Class A, B, C, D, E, urban roads, park roads and
> unclassified roads. KeNHA manages Class A (International trunk roads),
> B (national
> trunk roads) and C. KeRRA manages Class D, E and rural unclassified roads
> while
> KURA manages urban roads. KWS manages park roads.
>
> 5. Why does the government award contracts to companies that do not do
> their job
> professionally?
>
> Government contracts are awarded in accordance with the provisions of the
> Public Procurement and Disposal Act, 2005 and Regulations, 2006. This
> includes
> competitive bidding process through tendering and award to the lowest
> evaluated bid.
>
> 6. There is a contractor who was awarded a contract to rehabilitate
> Nairobi-Naivasha
> Road (between the former Museum Hill roundabout and Rironi) and they’ve dug
> a whole stretch of the road, about a kilometre and a half. They dug up
> patches
> everywhere that drivers have to be extra cautious. Is there anything
> the Authority
> (assuming the said section is under Eng. Kidenda’s Authority) can do
> to make sure
>
> there are mechanisms in place for the Contractor to ensure he does not
> put the lives
> of road users at risk?
>
> The Contractor milled the road with an intention to immediately cover
> it with Asphalt
> Concrete (AC). However, the rains started and AC could not be laid under
> the wet
> weather conditions which lasted for two weeks resulting in further
> deterioration of the
> milled section.
>
> Nevertheless, the section was covered with AC after the rains subsided. The
> Contractor is under instructions not to open up large sections of road
> and leave them
> exposed for longer periods.
>
> 7. How ‘safe’ are our new roads? Would they pass muster if road safety
> audits were
> conducted?
>
> All new roads are designed and constructed to achieve the highest
> possible safety
> standards. Where the highest possible safety standard cannot be
> attained due to the
> nature of terrain, appropriate speed reduction measures are
> implemented. It is worth
> noting that safety on our roads is highly dependent on disciplined use
> of the roads by
> all the users i.e. motorists, cyclists, pedestrians, hand cart
> pullers, amongst others.
>
> 8. There is a fundamental design flaw on our roads. Are concerned
> parties now ready
> to listen or are we going to export these problems to Langata Rd, Ngong
> Rd, New
> airport terminals, Lamu Port etc?
>
> We are not aware of any fundamental design flaw on our roads. We will
> appreciate if
> you can highlight those fundamental design flaws for our further
> necessary action.
>
> 9. There is a role played by auditors at various stages. Do we have
> evidence that
> KeNHA engages these or in other words do we have people in
> Government/Private
> sector playing that role currently?
>
> KeNHA has an Internal Audit section which audits all the works and services
> undertaken by the organisation on a daily basis. In addition, KeNHA
> has a Quality
> Assurance department which is in charge of ensuring quality in all its
> endeavours.
> The Quality Assurance department usually engages the services of the
> Private sector
> to execute their function independently. Furthermore, Kenya Roads Board
> engages
> the Private sector to conduct audit checks on roads financed under
> Road Maintenance
> Levy Fund. Lastly, the Kenya National Audit Office conducts regular
> audits on all
> roads contracts countrywide.
>
> 10. There is data collection and its role. But as we know data is
> useless unless turned to
> information. Does the relevant authority use this data?
>
> All required data is collected and utilised. These include data on
> traffic surveys, axle
> load surveys, materials investigations, environmental impact
> assessment, topographic
> survey, accidents, weather patterns, among other data are all utilized
> for design and
>
> eventually construct roads.
>
> 11.There is the common user and there very annoying problems-turn-offs
> which are
> suddenly blocked with no notice, oncoming vehicle channelled to your
> lane, taking
> one hour to get to your gate while all the time you can see it a few
> metres from where
> you are stuck! Who is listening and helping?
>
> As explained earlier, road safety is a function of disciplined use by
> all the road users.
> Traffic rules are to be enforced by the Traffic Police. Our mandate
> does not include
> enforcement of traffic rules. There are traffic signs to notify
> deviations and speed
> limits to make motorists aware of the situations ahead. This calls for
> motorists to be
> vigilant and observant when driving.
>
> 12. There is the role that ICT can play to enable smart infrastructure
> – my take is that
> unless we embed it in at step 1 (design) above, it will be most likely
> be cosmetic.
>
> Currently we have employed use of ICT in monitoring our weighbridges and
> have
> also installed automatic counters on our roads to count vehicular
> traffic plying the
> roads. However, due to constrained funding from the exchequer, and the
> need to
> increase connectivity countrywide through construction of all weather
> roads, the
> authority has prioritized building of more new roads and maintenance of
> existing
> ones. With the advent of PPP and having its legal framework in place,
> the use of ICT
> and its utilisation in Smart Highways will easily be accommodated.
>
> 13. Are there any efforts to integrate intelligent transportation
> systems in these new super
> highways? (Making the infrastructure Smart) Should there be an
> accident on the one
> way lane (how do we alert speeding drivers coming from behind).
> Secondly is there a
> provision for transmitters that can allow smart driving and speed cameras?
>
> This question has been addressed above.
>
> 14. What strategy does KeNHA have for creating ducts for fibre optic
> and power cables,
> are we likely to see the new roads being dug up?
>
> We incorporate ducts in our road projects for passing of services
> across the road.
> Where the ducts are not in place we only allow micro-tunnelling.
> Digging up of roads
> for purposes of utilities is no longer accepted.
>
> 15. Are there frameworks for evaluating infrastructure alternatives
> and clear processes
> for evaluating infrastructure system designs?
>
> All these are taken care of at Feasibility, Preliminary and Detailed
> Engineering
> studies.
>
> On Wed, May 30, 2012 at 11:32 AM, Grace Githaiga <ggithaiga at hotmail.com>
> wrote:
> > Listers
> >
> > Greetings.
> >
> > Kindly find attached a response from Engineer Kidenda on the state of
> Kenyan
> > Roads.
> >
> > Rgds
> > Grace
> >
> > ________________________________
> > Date: Wed, 30 May 2012 09:23:03 +0100
> > From: ekebaya at yahoo.co.uk
> > Subject: RE: KENYA ICT ACTION NETWORK QUESTIONS TO ENGINEER KIDENDA ON
> THE
> > STATE OF KENYAN ROADS
> > To: ggithaiga at hotmail.com; dg at kenha.co.ke; otieno.barrack at gmail.com
> >
> > Dear Grace,
> >
> > I sent this response to you yesterday from our official mail but it
> seems it
> > did not get through.
> >
> > Kindly acknowledge receipt
> >
> > Regards
> >
> > Esther Kebaya
> > for: Director General, KeNHA
> >
> > _______________________________________________
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> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>
> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth,
> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do
> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
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-- 
**Gitau
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