Same story, new date: Why the expansion of the Rironi–Mau Summit road is still not happening

If you've driven on the Nairobi–Nakuru highway recently, you might have wondered whether the highly anticipated expansion of the Rironi–Mau Summit Road is a genuine project or just a ghost story told at transport ministry briefings.

Since plans of its expansion was first announced, the road has had more promised start dates than actual milestones, and each time we get a “progress update,” it comes bundled with a fresh delay and a new promise.

The latest update states that construction, which was originally scheduled to begin on July 1, 2025 with a projected completion date of July 2027, has now been postponed to 'before the end of August... if all goes well'.

When he appeared before the Senate on July 16, 2025, CS Roads and Transport's Davis Chirchir made this statement, and at this point, even that now sounds ambitious.

He said that construction of the 175-kilometre A8 highway will be dualised to address congestion issues and will run from Rironi to Mau Summit. Additionally, the A8 South section from Rironi to Mai Mahiu to Naivasha will also be dualised for the same reasons.

The irony is that each new update feels more like a reset button and less like progress. We've been here before, since 2019, with high hopes and then delays, and now we are on repeat. For road users along this stretch, the panic and fatigue are palpable, and it's reminiscent of the Nakuru Airport that we've been waiting for and have now given up on.

There is no longer any excitement about the flashy headlines we get every two months as updates for the road unless we hear bulldozers and see soil being turned and lots of traffic, as happened when the expressway or Thika Road were being constructed in Nairobi.

Every delay comes with technical jargon, contractor evaluations, financing gaps and design updates, but on the ground, nothing changes: there is still congestion, accidents, long travel times and frustration.

It's no longer about when the road will be built, but if it ever will.

So yes, the government insists the project is a top priority- but until we see it reach this side, we’ll hold the applause. For now, we move slowly, in a daily crawl of matatus, trucks, and prayers.