The future of transport along the Maai Mahiu-Narok road could be cruelly terminated if the fault line that has been gradually developing isn’t dealt with soon enough.
According to the Transport Minister, James Macharia, vehicles will be rerouted far from the Rift Valley’s bed if it is established that the fault is severe.
“A technical team is weighing the options available if the fault line in Suswa expands more than it is right now,” Macharia told the Senate’s Roads Committee.
He further added that if the fault is serious, the rerouting would involve the construction of a different road with a higher gradient away from the bed of the Rift Valley. What this means is that the existing highway, which is often a flood plain, will be abandoned.
Considering the possible effects, the fault line might cause the Standard Gauge Railway, it was affirmed that the second phase of the project would not have interfered and the Nairobi-Naivasha route will continue as planned.
“The Kenya Geology and Mines Department is currently doing a comprehensive analysis of the region and will offer the way forward that will ease decision making,” said the National Highways Authority director-general Peter Mundinia.
According to the experts, the fault line is as a result of an activity in the earth’s crust causing the Somali tectonic plate to pull away from the African plate.