Flash floods have cut the Hola-Garissa highway at Bilbil area, 4 kilometers from Bura town. Commuters along the Hola-Garissa highway have been left stranded following heavy rains rendering parts of the Garissa-Hola road impassable.
Several buses headed to Hola from Nairobi and those headed to Nairobi from Bura detoured to the nearest towns, while other passengers swam across the flooded sections.
Vehicles carrying goods destined for Hola were forced to wait in Garissa as the Kenya National Highway Authority (KeNHA) issued travel advisory, warning motorists to keep off the affected sections.
Buses plying the same route parked in Garissa, as they wait for the water to subside.
KeNHA on the other hand has advised commuters to avoid the road as it assesses the damage. The affected section is a part was scheduled for repair after the 2018 floods.
According to County’s Roads Executive Stephen Wachira, the administration had addressed the concerns over the road with the KeNHA regional office, who promised to work on the section, which has now been washed away, for the fifth time.
Wachira noted that their appeals have been ignored by the road’s agency, while the situation reoccurred every rainy season.
Wachira stated that KeNHA was supposed to fix culverts in the broken path, with each culvert costing Sh12 million.
KeNHA Regional Manager, Erick Wambua explained that the contract was awarded in October 2018, but could not commence following subsequent floods in 2019 that once again washed away parts of the road.
Tana River County Commissioner Mbogai Rioba called on residents to cease traveling towards Garissa until KeNHA finds a safe solution to the problem.