Deaths pile up on Nithi Bridge even as every president promises action that never arrives

On the last day of August, twelve people perished at the bridge when a van they were travelling in collided with a pick-up ferrying Miraa to Nairobi. Police reports indicate that the accident resulted in death of all van occupants while those in other car got away with serious injuries. 

First constructed in the early eighties, the Nithi Bridge has maintained a tragic history. The bridge is a constant reminder of how a faulty road design can prey on the lives of road users and their property for years if no action is taken. 

The decline to the bridge is rapid with steep terrain, sharp curves, and with insufficient safety measures, and as it reaches the bridge itself one would understand why the bridge has become synonymous with road carnage. It is not a desirable road trip choice for the faint hearted.

DARK HISTORY ON NITHI BRIDGE

Motor vehicle accidents on the Nithi Bridge has claimed hundreds of lives. One of the most horrifying accidents in Kenya took place at the bridge in 2000. A bus plunged into the waters beneath the bridge claiming over 45 lives. In years gone by, Nithi Bridge has become a notorious blackspot, constantly in the news with many recorded fatalities and injuries. 

In April 2018, due to brake failure, a bus overturned near the bridge, resulting in 2 deaths and over 20 passengers injured. 

In January 2019, a head-on collision between a lorry and a 14-seat public passenger van led to four deaths and 11 injuries. 

In February 2021, a 14-seat public passenger van collided with a truck killing 5 people instantly. Some were left with injuries.

A bus with 45 passengers fell off the guard rails killing 33 people while the rest survived with terrible injuries in July 2022. 

In April 2024, four people were killed when a Nairobi-bound bus rolled at the infamous Nithi bridge blackspot while over 8 were seriously injured.

The August 31, 2024 head-on collision between a 14 seat public passenger van and miraa pick-up resulted in 12 deaths and a few injuries.  

Despite the increasing number of accidents and fatalities, the bridge remains a perilous black spot, demanding urgent attention and intervention. Leaders from Meru have repeatedly called for a redesign of the road to lessen the occurrence of accidents. 

On Sunday former Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi appealed for its speedy redesign and reconstruction at a function attended by Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua. Gachagua said he had reached out to President William Ruto, who reassured him that the drawings of the Nithi Bridge redesign were almost ready and will be availed soon. He committed to ensuring the implementation of the changes as it is a promise they gave to the Meru people. 

EMPTY RHETORIC; ONE PRESIDENT AFTER ANOTHER

Since the Nyayo government era, promises to redesign the bridge have been made, as if to assuage frayed nerves especially after the occurrence of gory accidents. But just as would be observed from the Nithi Bridge today, they all peddled hot-air!  

President Mwai Kibaki and Uhuru Kenyatta’s administrations did nothing to help rectify the blackspot. President Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza is particularly on the radar, having pledged to have the bridge redesigned and reconstructed if elected. 

In 2022, President William Ruto, hot on the campaign trail for the 2022 presidential elections gave his word to redesign the bridge within 180 days (six months) in office. 

Nearly two years into office, the promise on Nithi bridge is unfulfilled and hence the continued loss of life and property. Hence another promise by Gachagua - that road engineers were on the final stretch of redesigning the road will be closely observed.

Immediate intervention is needed to address safety and design matters affecting this road. Without such interventions, the Nithi Bridge will continue to be a symbol of road carnage, it will continue killing and maiming more Kenyans as promises keep coming and as it casts a dark shadow over Kenya's road safety efforts.

BLAME ON ROAD DESIGN AND POOR SAFETY MEASURES

The major reason for high fatalities on the Nithi Bridge, according to road design experts, is its design relative to the area where the bridge is located. It is located on an almost 3 kilometers steep decline coming from Meru County. 

And with the dizzying twists, it turns as it meanders lower and lower together with randomly placed bumps; it is a hazard even to the most careful of road users. However, to drivers who are unfamiliar with the road, it is best used in the light of the day when decisions and judgements are backed by better visibility.

Nithi Bridge, with a span of around fifty meters wide, is fairly narrow. This is where human error coupled with poor road design have conspired to rob many families of their loved ones for the longest time without the requisite corrective action from successive governments. 

Built in 1983, the bridge is over 40 years old and this by itself would be a factor sufficient enough for the public to make a call for its remodeling and reconstruction in the interest of public safety.

WHAT A REDESIGN LOOKS LIKE

The insufficient warning signs, poor or missing guard rails on the road shoulders, poor or missing road markings are all contributors towards the lack of safety on and around the notorious bridge. The 40 meter drop into the bridge location would be better mitigated to help heavy vehicles drivers have better control of their trucks and buses. These factors should be at the top of the priority list of the implementing government agency.

The redesign of the bridge might mean relocating the road altogether away from its present site as well as using modern trends in civil engineering to ensure a manageable gradient of the road as it passes over the river. 

It might also mean a widening of the road to comfortably accommodate bigger vehicles on the bridge concurrently. The redesign of the Nithi Bridge should be done very well and for posterity. 

Even as they redesign and build a new bridge, let us not be told there is insufficient funds for the bridge and let not the contractor deliver a substandard civil works because of corruption. 

Public roads and bridges are common goods to society and so is public safety, the government should not spare nothing to ensure their fiduciary duty is carried out diligently over the Nithi Bridge.