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

Thu May 31 11:59:57 EAT 2012

Km/h.

In principle, there's no general speed limit on the Autobahn - but speed
limits will be imposed for specific stretches if the conditions require it,
e.g. for a steep descent, or a construction site, or lanes being merged, or
rainy days, etc.

And, more importantly, it'll be enforced :)

On 31 May 2012 11:53, Collins Areba <arebacollins at gmail.com> wrote:

> wait, is that kph or mph?
>
>
> On Thu, May 31, 2012 at 11:52 AM, Collins Areba <arebacollins at gmail.com>wrote:
>
>> 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.
>>>>
>>>> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
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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.
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> *“The twentieth century has been characterized by three developments of
>> great political importance: the growth of democracy, the growth of
>> corporate power, and the growth of corporate propaganda as a means of
>> protecting corporate power against democracy”*
>>
>>
>
>
> --
> *“The twentieth century has been characterized by three developments of
> great political importance: the growth of democracy, the growth of
> corporate power, and the growth of corporate propaganda as a means of
> protecting corporate power against democracy”*
>
>
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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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