Nairobi Expressway to be temporarily closed tonight

By Peter Ochieng

The Nairobi Expressway will be temporarily closed, ahead of the third edition of the Nairobi City Marathon to be held tomorrow, Sunday 09, 2024.

According to Moja Expressway, the company that manages the highway, it shall be closed from 9.30pm tonight.

“The Nairobi Expressway will be temporarily closed today from 9:30pm to host the Nairobi City Marathon. Please plan alternative routes in advance. We appreciate your patience and cooperation,” stated the company.

The Nairobi Expressway is a 27km toll road that runs from Mlolongo to the James Gichuru junction. It is managed and operated by Moja Expressway, under a public-private partnership.

The company was however not categorical on when the road will be opened. Reports indicate that it will be opened at 4pm on Sunday.

During the second edition of the Nairobi City Marathon in 2023, a tree-planting campaign was launched. This year's theme is ‘pushing ourselves to the limit.’

Organisers are targeting 15,000 participants before the close of the registration period later today.

On Thursday, Athletics Kenya (AK) President Jackson Tuwei revealed that 10,650 participants had registered. He said 731 will compete in the 42km, 3,655 in the half marathon, 4,278 in the 10km race and 1,986 in the 6km fun run.

"We've seen tremendous interest in this year’s marathon, with 10,650 participants registered. We anticipate reaching 15,000 participants by Saturday.”

“We’ve capped the entries at 15,000 to match the exact number of medals and bib numbers we’ve prepared,” said Tuwei.

The first edition in 2022 had 10,000 participants, while last year’s edition had 13,000. “We have foreign athletes from 40 countries including Ghana, Mexico, Portugal, Bosnia, Libya, Zambia, India, Costa Rica, Poland, Denmark, Finland, Burundi, Czech Republic, Italy, Portugal and Colombia,” added Tuwei.

He said 155 runners are from China, 130 from the United Kingdom, 75 from the United States and 56 from Tanzania among others.

Registration will automatically close upon reaching the 15,000-participant limit, or the Saturday evening deadline.