Resilience and isolation have been the defining hallmarks of the vast expanses of northern Kenya, whose communities were spread across thousands of kilometres that were mostly joined by dusty and unreliable roads.
But today, there is a quiet transformation in fortunes underway. Under the current regime headed by President William Ruto, the region has started to see some of the most ambitious infrastructure upgrades ever witnessed in its history-upgrading and opening new roads promising to unlock economic corridors, fortify security, and restore dignity to long-neglected communities.
Stretching across Garissa, Wajir, Mandera, and Marsabit, the upgrades are stitching together a region that has waited for generations for dependable transport networks.
In Garissa, construction has just begun on the 211-kilometre Garissa–Dadaab–Liboi road, the main artery connecting the county to the Somalia border. The route has for years been notorious for its bone-shaking travel, heavy dust, and expensive delays for transporters and humanitarian operations headed to the Dadaab refugee complex.
Few projects mean as much to Wajir residents as the upgrade of the expansive Isiolo–Mandera road corridor. For long, considered one of Kenya’s toughest routes, it is now being transformed into a bitumen-standard highway piece by piece.
The most anticipated are the Wajir sections, comprising Modogashe–Wajir and Wajir–Kotulo. The upgrading of Wajir–Kotulo, stretching 121 kilometres, reached a major milestone with the award of its contract by February 15, 2024, to be followed swiftly in March by the Kotulo–Elwak portion, showing continued progress along the corridor.
Equally, another breakthrough for Wajir and its neighbourhood, Mandera, is the 142-kilometre El Wak–Rhamu road, which secured about KSh 24.2 billion in financing from the African Development Bank.
To the communities along this far-flung stretch of road, the funding means more than an upgraded transport system; it signals the beginning of safer travel, faster responses to emergencies, and new economic avenues.
From across Wajir, the mood is changing from skepticism to cautious optimism as residents see long-promised projects finally come into reality.
Situated on the edge of Kenya’s northeastern frontier, Mandera stands to gain handsomely from the ongoing construction of the broader 750-kilometre Isiolo–Mandera road. When complete, the highway will more closely bind Mandera to the rest of the country, reducing travel times that can take days, and giving pastoralists and traders alike safer, more reliable routes to market.
According to residents, this is a historic step towards the incorporation of Mandera into national economic activity something many had hoped for but rarely seen in tangible form.
The upgrading of the Segel–Maikona road in Marsabit is currently under way, promising ease of transport across one of the most rugged areas of the county. This road is expected to improve the mobility of pastoral communities and facilitate easy access to markets and basic services.
Tana River Bridge and Access Roads (KSh 1.7 Billion) Another major investment is the construction and upgrading of the Tana River Bridge and its access roads, estimated to cost about KSh 1.7 billion.
The project will abolish seasonal isolation, enabling residents to move safely across the region even during the heavy rain seasons. A Region Finally on the Move Throughout northern Kenya, residents speak of the road projects not just as infrastructure but as long-awaited recognition.
Now, from Garissa to Mandera, the view of graders cutting new paths in the landscape is evoking something deeper: hope. As these projects go on, communities claim they are seeing the first signs of a region finally being connected-physically, economically, emotionally-to the rest of the country.
