When President William Ruto toured the Coast region this year, he was met by a familiar expectation from residents — that the long-promised roads linking their homes, markets and ports would finally move from speeches to asphalt.
From the busy tourist belt of Mombasa to the remote villages of Tana River and Lamu, the government is pouring billions into what it calls the most aggressive road expansion drive ever undertaken along Kenya’s coastline.
For many locals, the projects are not just about infrastructure. They are about dignity, opportunity and an end to years spent watching wealth pass them by.
At dawn, trucks groan past old town Mombasa, heading to and from the port. Residents say it is a rhythm that never stops — and one the city’s battered roads have long failed to cope with.
The government hopes to change this with the Mombasa Port Access and Mombasa–Kilifi Highway dualling, a Sh16 billion, 53.9-kilometre project designed to ease traffic on one of Kenya’s busiest trade corridors, while boosting tourism in Mombasa and the North Coast.
Work has also resumed on the 33-kilometre Bamburi–Mwakirunge–Kaloleni road, a Sh2.2 billion job that had stalled, leaving communities cut off during rains.
“I used to spend three hours just getting vegetables to the market,” said Aisha Said, a trader in the region. “When it rains, you either pay triple for transport or watch everything rot.”In the long term, the national government plans to dual the Mtwapa–Malindi and Mombasa–Lunga Lunga roads — 54 kilometres — under a 10-year public-private partnership programme.
Perhaps the most ambitious is the Nairobi–Mombasa Expressway, a 440-kilometre, 4-to-6-lane highway expected to break ground in 2026, financed through a PPP deal with a U.S. infrastructure fund.
In Kwale, abandoned sites have come back to life. The Kwale–Kinango Road, 23 kilometres long and costing Sh3 billion, is back under construction after years of delay.
The wider Mombasa–Lunga Lunga/Bagamoyo–Horohoro corridor, linking Kenya and Tanzania, is being upgraded and eventually dualled, with Phase 1 at 43 per cent progress.
Nearby, the Dongo Kundu Bypass — designed to divert port traffic away from Mombasa city — is improving access to Kwale, while the Samburu–Kinango road, 51 kilometres, is now complete.
“When the road was finished, boda riders started coming here,” said Mary, a shop owner in Kinango. “Before, people would walk kilometres just to buy flour.”In Kilifi, construction is underway along the Mombasa–Mtwapa–Kilifi–Malindi highway, with Phase 1 at 43% completion.
Ruto also inspected work on the 37-kilometre Dzitsoni–Jaribuni road, which locals say will help farmers reach markets without relying on informal middlemen.
On the banks of River Sabaki, the Baricho Bridge nears completion, offering an all-weather link to farms and to the Galana irrigation project.
Meanwhile, residents are waiting for the promised upgrade of the Jomvu-Mazeras-Kokotoni-Mariakani road, part of a wider push to modernize one of East Africa’s busiest truck routes.
The county also welcomed the first 5 kilometres of the Kilifi-Bamba road, a symbolic start to a long-delayed promise.
“We have been asking for this road since Kibaki,” said Daniel, a Bamba resident. “If they finish it, maybe our youth will finally get jobs.”In Tana River, infrastructure is not just about development, it is about access and safety. The new Tana River Bridge and approach roads, costing Sh1.7 billion, are replacing an old structure that frequently washed away during floods. The project is 55% complete and expected to be ready by December 2025.
The county is also seeing progress on the 410-kilometre Lamu–Ijara–Garissa–Garbatula road, now 50% complete, and construction of the Junction B8–Masalani road.
At Galana-Kulalu, a new bridge and access road will help farmers move food from irrigation blocks to markets.
“For us, when the river floods, we are trapped,” said Ali, a herder from Hola. “If a child gets sick, you pray the river is low enough to cross.”In Lamu, long tied to the mainland by unreliable ferries and poor roads, work is intensifying on strategic transport links.
The 410-kilometre Lamu–Ijara–Garissa–Garbatula road, part of the LAPSSET corridor, is halfway done, while work on the 113-kilometre Garsen–Witu–Lamu road, worth Sh10.8 billion, has resumed.
Within the islands, 50 kilometres of roads in Faza, Kizingitini and Mtangawanda are being built, the first structured road network in some of these communities.
Experts warn that the billions being sunk into the Coast will mean little if projects stall — a familiar story during previous administrations.
Yet for coastal residents, even partial progress is a lifeline.
“When the road comes, everything else comes,” said James, a boda rider in Malindi. “Shops, buses, tourists, even hospitals.”
