President William Ruto has announced that a major stretch of one of Nairobi’s busiest highways will undergo renovation and upgrades starting this month, a move he says is meant to ease chronic traffic jams and improve safety for motorists.

Speaking during Mashujaa Day celebrations on Friday, the President said the 27-kilometre corridor linking Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to ABC Place via Mombasa Road, Uhuru Highway and Waiyaki Way had been allowed to deteriorate for too long.

“When you go for Christmas this month, we will renovate the highway which connects from JKIA through to ABC, and beautify it so that Nairobi can look better,” Mr Ruto told the crowd. He said the road’s poor condition had become a recurring frustration for commuters and visitors arriving in the capital.

The President added that contractors had been instructed to return to stalled roadworks across the city, including along Valley Road, Ngong Road and Haile Selassie Avenue. His administration, he said, wanted to ensure that “the city moves again”.

Beyond the immediate repairs, Mr Ruto outlined plans to expand several major routes. Roads linking Bomas of Kenya to Rongai, Kiserian, Karen, Ngong and Embulbul are set to be dualled from next year. The government argues that widening these corridors will ease pressure on the southern and western parts of the city, where daily gridlock has become routine.

During the same address, Mr Ruto restated his intention to build a 60-kilometre expressway from Museum Hill to Thika, a project he said would complement ongoing work around the Nairobi metropolitan area.

The updates come only weeks after the President broke ground on the 175-kilometre Rironi–Mau Summit expressway, a KSh170 billion project expected to be completed by early 2027. The road is intended to open up travel between Nairobi and Nakuru while diverting heavy traffic away from the existing highway.

For Nairobi residents, the flurry of announcements signals another round of construction — and, officials hope, a long-term improvement in the city’s strained transport network. Still, questions remain about timelines, funding and how the works will affect movement during the holiday season, when roads are typically at their busiest.