South end: Elwak Length 160.9 km | North end: Mandera | |
History: Designation TBD
Completion TBD Major cities Mandera, El Wak, Kenya, Rhamu | ||
The Elwak–Mandera Road, is a rural road in Kenya. The road links Elwak, to the town of Mandera, in the country's extreme northeast, near the tri-point where the borders of Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia meet.
Contents
Location
The road starts at Elwak, Mandera County, at the border with the town of El Wak, Somalia. It travels in a general northerly direction through a village called Warankara, continuing north to the town of Rhamu, at the border with Ethiopia, a distance of approximately 143 kilometres (89 mi). At Rhamu, the road turns east for another 73 kilometres (45 mi) to end at Mandera, the headquarters of Mandera County, for a total distance of 216 kilometres (134 mi).
Overview
This road is an important transport corridor for traffic from Mombasa and Nairobi destined for Mandera. It also facilitates trade between Kenya and her neighbors to the north and northeast; Ethiopia and Somalia respectively. Travel along this road, although safer compared to a shorter route through Lafey, is longer in distance and bumpier, due to the rough condition of the road.
Updating to bitumen surface
In March 2016, the government of Kenya publicly committed to upgrading this gravel-surfaced road to class II bitumen surface with culverts, drainage channels and shoulders, before the end of 2018.