Upgrading and maintenance of rural access roads

The Kenya Kwanza government promised to prioritize upgrading and maintenance of rural access roads as well as the improvement of roads infrastructure in urban informal settlement and critical national and regional trunk roads that have the highest immediate economic impact.

• The Kenya Rural Roads Authority and the Kenya National Highways Authority committed to upgrade and maintain rural access roads, especially in areas with poor access and connectivity in its strategic plan for the years 2023-2027.
• There has been a steady increase in routine road maintenance activities from 23,024.00 km in 2022 to 28,834.33 in 2025, with a peak of 32,385.40 km in 2024.
• There has, however, been a decline in the upgrading of roads to bitumen standards with the numbers falling from 633.97 km in 2022 to 472.73 km in 2025, with the lowest recorded upgrades of only 248.8 km coming in 2023.
• In January 2026, the Government Delivery Unit reported 2,669+ km of new tarmac roads completed. 
• Further, in February 2026, the State Department for Roads revealed that the Roads Sub-sector’s outstanding Government of Kenya (GoK) obligations stand at approximately Kshs. 850 billion, compared to the 2026 Budget Policy Statement (BPS) ceiling of Kshs. 70 billion for the 2026/27 financial year.  CS Davis Chirchir noted that, based on contracted timelines and contractor capacity, the portfolio would ideally require about Kshs. 320 billion annually over three years to be fully implemented.
• However, with the ceiling unlikely to increase over the next five years, the Department warned that clearing the backlog could take more than a decade — potentially escalating costs due to inflation, interest accruals, and contractor claims if alternative financing mechanisms are not adopted.