It’s goodbye to potholes as jetpatcher debuts in Kenya



Published on 18/07/2011
By John Njiraini
The menace and inconvenience of potholes on Kenyans roads could finally be a thing of the past, following the introduction of a new machine that can fill potholes in ten minutes.
The Jetpatcher machine fills potholes on roads in the most efficient and affordable (http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/sciencetech/InsidePage.php?id=2000039165&cid=456&story=It’s goodbye to potholes as jetpatcher debuts in Kenya#) manner within a very short time, and without causing motorists needless hassles.
provide solutions
"The Government (http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/sciencetech/InsidePage.php?id=2000039165&cid=456&story=It’s goodbye to potholes as jetpatcher debuts in Kenya#) is doing a great job investing in the road system, but the bigger challenge lies on maintenance. The jetpatcher machine will provide solutions to Kenya’s pothole nightmare," said Ankeet Khimasia, the proprietor of Komarock Resources Limited, a regional representative of Jetpatcher of New Zealand.
A jetpatcher machine, which is mounted on a truck, uses high power velocity patching to clean (http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/sciencetech/InsidePage.php?id=2000039165&cid=456&story=It’s goodbye to potholes as jetpatcher debuts in Kenya#) and repair the potholes by blowing away loose debris or even water out of the pothole, and preparing it for an effective patch.
The machine then coats the pothole with an asphalt emulsion, which seals the pothole and prevents further damage from occurring due to moisture. More aggregate is added to stop the asphalt sticking to tyres while it dries.
Very durable
"The process is one smooth operation. A typical pothole is done is under ten minutes, and traffic can almost immediately drive over the pothole," said Khimasia.
He added the results is very durable because the technology (http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/sciencetech/InsidePage.php?id=2000039165&cid=456&story=It’s goodbye to potholes as jetpatcher debuts in Kenya#) uses high pressure, making the aggregate very compact and long lasting, as compared to manual patching that often wears out within days.
One Jetpatcher machine being operated by only two workers can fill up to 900 potholes per month.
The introduction of the machine in Kenya is bound to save motorists thousands of shillings spent on repairing vehicles (http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/sciencetech/InsidePage.php?id=2000039165&cid=456&story=It’s goodbye to potholes as jetpatcher debuts in Kenya#) after hitting potholes. The machine will also save the Ministry of Roads a staggering Sh3.3 billion annually spent on rehabilitating roads across the country.
In Africa, the machine is widely used in South Africa where it has been used to repair over 18,000 potholes.

This is good news!

This is awsome, we need something like this to maintain our (steadily growing) road infrastructure, but I wouldn't celebrate yet, there is still room for someone to f*ck it up -.-

This is awsome, we need something like this to maintain our (steadily growing) road infrastructure, but I wouldn't celebrate yet, there is still room for someone to f*ck it up -.-

LOL true, TIK(This Is Kenya)

They're definitely going to need this thing to keep thika road maintained.:D

edit: holy crap this was post 666 in the entire Kenya forums..creepy..:uh:

This is awsome, we need something like this to maintain our (steadily growing) road infrastructure, but I wouldn't celebrate yet, there is still room for someone to f*ck it up -.- I know right, I hope not this time.

They're definitely going to need this thing to keep thika road maintained.:D

edit: holy crap this was post 666 in the entire Kenya forums..creepy..:uh:
No am hoping thika road does not need it for the next ten years. Needed much by ncc notorious for paving on pools of water.

the article doesn't specify how many of these the government has purchased, because i think that would make a big difference too; if you have a few of them you cannot cover the roads of kenya... hopefully they purchase a lot of them

To avoid potholes from developing on a heavily travelled road like Thika road, it will be imperative that it be re-surfaced every few years. Anything over a three-year wait may be too long.


No am hoping thika road does not need it for the next ten years. Needed much by ncc notorious for paving on pools of water.

To avoid potholes from developing on a heavily travelled road like Thika road, it will be imperative that it be re-surfaced every few years. Anything over a three-year wait may be too long.

Correct me if am wrong but has thika road section between blue posts hotel and kenol ever had any resurfacing? I bet its only when they wanted to make the surface coarse;and it has been in use since around 94. Three years is too short.

To avoid potholes from developing on a heavily travelled road like Thika road, it will be imperative that it be re-surfaced every few years. Anything over a three-year wait may be too long.

3 Years is too short.Langata Road is an example of a road which has stayed for close to 10 years without re-patching/re-tarmacking.Although it could be argued that its probably because it does not have heavy traffic like Thika road.The Nakuru-Nairobi highway is now 4 years old and it still looks good and is smooth.

Three years might be too short but they still need to maintain the road otherwise we'll find ourselves back to square one.

3 Years is too short.Langata Road is an example of a road which has stayed for close to 10 years without re-patching/re-tarmacking.Although it could be argued that its probably because it does not have heavy traffic like Thika road.The Nakuru-Nairobi highway is now 4 years old and it still looks good and is smooth.

Langata road was resurfaced a few years ago.

here is how it works

7WN8uQnE8VE

I am not familiar with the section you mentioned, but I do not recall seeing any section of that road that was decent when I last used it, which was in 2005. The frequency of resurfacing I alluded to is dependent on how heavily the road is used. And basically what I have in mind is the scraping of the top few inches (this can be re-used) and then re-surfaced. If the three years is too short, then I hope our engineers can come up with a better time period. From earlier reports I have read, the Thika-Nairobi road is the most travelled road in East Africa, so it may need more maintenance than others. Had it been all concrete, then we could have been looking at a longer life-span with limited maintenance.


Correct me if am wrong but has thika road section between blue posts hotel and kenol ever had any resurfacing? I bet its only when they wanted to make the surface coarse;and it has been in use since around 94. Three years is too short.

I suspect that you are talking of the Nairobi-Naivasha road and not the entire Nairobi-Nakuru stretch. The Naivasha-Nakuru stretch is less than a year old. As for the Nairobi-Naivasha stretch, if something is not done soon there will be some need for major work in a year or two. That's from my observation from driving on it in February of this year. Sections of the recently re-done Nakuru-Eldoret stretch is already generating complaints from motorists.

3 Years is too short.Langata Road is an example of a road which has stayed for close to 10 years without re-patching/re-tarmacking.Although it could be argued that its probably because it does not have heavy traffic like Thika road.The Nakuru-Nairobi highway is now 4 years old and it still looks good and is smooth.

Thanks, that is neat.

here is how it works

7WN8uQnE8VE

Another one using similar techniques.

here is how it works

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here is how it works

7WN8uQnE8VE thanks for the video

Another one using similar techniques.
Yeah the work pretty much the same this is good for Kenya but someone brought this up, how many of them do we have in Kenya we sure need many lol.

Well in that vid they did over 3,500 potholes a year with just one of those vehicles..Nairobi alone wouldn't probably need more than 3 of those vehicles. That'd be 10,500 potholes a year filled, assuming one vehicle could do 3,500.

Well in that vid they did over 3,500 potholes a year with just one of those vehicles..Nairobi alone wouldn't probably need more than 3 of those vehicles. That'd be 10,500 potholes a year filled, assuming one vehicle could do 3,500.

yes thats true but are kenyan workers really going to be able to accoplish at that pase especially with the "work like a snail mentality"?:dunno:

Where is this jetpatcher that is in kenya?????