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

Thu May 31 11:52:54 EAT 2012

haiya! @andrea the autobahn has a max of 120?

On Thu, May 31, 2012 at 10:09 AM, John Gitau <jgitau at gmail.com> wrote:

> 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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>> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform
>> 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.
>>
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>> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth,
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>
>
>
> --
> **Gitau
>
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> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform
> 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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