Kenya wants China to help build a new bridge where many people died. President William Ruto made this deal during his trip to China. The dangerous Nithi Bridge sits on the Embu-Meru road. State House official Hussein Mohammed said Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to fund the project. China will work with Kenya on several major road projects across the country.
Ruto promised in March that the bridge would be finished by 2027. The government looks at two plans - one costs about $38 million, another around $380 million. The current bridge dates back to the early 1980s. People call it the killer bridge because of all the crashes there. A bus accident in 2000 killed more than 45 people. Another crash in 2022 took 33 lives. Just last month, four more people died at the same spot.
Leaders from nearby areas have asked for safer roads for years. Nothing much has changed despite many promises from different presidents. Ruto said during his campaign that he would fix the bridge within six months of taking office. Two years have passed since that promise. Local people still travel across the dangerous bridge every day. The new funding might finally bring safety to this deadly stretch of highway after decades of waiting.
Ruto promised in March that the bridge would be finished by 2027. The government looks at two plans - one costs about $38 million, another around $380 million. The current bridge dates back to the early 1980s. People call it the killer bridge because of all the crashes there. A bus accident in 2000 killed more than 45 people. Another crash in 2022 took 33 lives. Just last month, four more people died at the same spot.
Leaders from nearby areas have asked for safer roads for years. Nothing much has changed despite many promises from different presidents. Ruto said during his campaign that he would fix the bridge within six months of taking office. Two years have passed since that promise. Local people still travel across the dangerous bridge every day. The new funding might finally bring safety to this deadly stretch of highway after decades of waiting.
