Naivasha residents have told the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) they will not accept a 30-year toll on the proposed Rironi–Mau Summit Expressway unless a free alternative is built alongside it.

The push-back came on yesterday, September 4, during a packed public forum in Nakuru County, where locals said the fee amounts to double taxation because motorists already pay a fuel levy that should fund roads.

A former Member of County Assembly who spoke at the session urged the crowd to reject the levy “until KeNHA gives us a non-toll option.”

KeNHA officials responded that design work is still open to change.

A feasibility study has already flagged sections that will need three to four lanes, and two Chinese contractors have submitted bids.

Public views will be woven into the final blueprint, including where toll plazas might sit.

Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi confirmed a week earlier that the expansion will start before the end of the year. Speaking on Citizen TV last week, he said China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) has teamed up with the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) in a public-private partnership proposal now on his desk for approval.

“I want to see the documents before I sign off,” Mbadi said, adding that the procurement process is still running.

Unlike the Nairobi Expressway which preserved the free road, proposals are to expand the existing Nakuru highway, with no alternative road on the same corridor. An alternative may be provided kilometers away, greatly inconveniencing those who can’t do without that route.