Sinkhole on Nakuru-Eldoret Highway linked to volcanic action
Rift Valley
By
Ken Gachuhi
| Sep 05, 2025
Traffic was temporarily affected along the Nakuru-Eldoret Highway on Wednesday evening through Thursday morning after a sinkhole emerged, cutting off a section of the highway.
This followed heavy rains for the better part of Wednesday afternoon, after which runoff water collected at the scene before the ground caved in, sending panic among residents and motorists.
This is the second time a similar phenomenon has been witnessed at the same scene, raising concerns about the safety of the road and surrounding residential areas.
“Engineers and geologists have been working on the occurrences in this area, which has a volcanic history. We presume this is a historical fault line,” said Nakuru County Commissioner Loyford Kibaara.
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The county commissioner said that the backfilling of the sinkhole was in progress even as the government waits for further advice from experts on a possible long-term solution.
“The drainage system is partly to blame for this, as more runoff water has been directed to one area. We also urge developers to take precautions while constructing houses in areas prone to these incidents,” said Kibaara.
Engineers from Kenya National Highways Authority (KENHA) reopened the road Thursday morning, restoring normal flow of traffic nearly twelve hours later.
Kibet Terigin, a director at KENHA, explained that an assessment conducted after the incident had indicated that the integrity of the road had not been compromised.
“We assure motorists using the road of their safety. We have reopened the road for use after an overnight assessment and backfilling,” said Terigin.
The engineer explained that the incident was due to geological activity beneath the surface, which, however, remains unpredictable.
“We are witnessing a pyroduct that exists in this area. The rains caused the overlying material to collapse, causing the deep gullies that have progressed towards the road,” said Terigin.
A pyroduct is an empty tube-like structure through which molten lava uses as an exit during volcanic action, and similar features exist in most parts of Nakuru linked to the nearby Menengai Crater.
“The pyroduct is surrounded by pyroclastic material, which is easily affected by the flow of water. The interim solution is to check on the flow of water that ends up in the micro-tunnels to avoid their collapse,” said Terigin.