Toll suspended on Rs 4,200 Kanpur-Lucknow Expressway just 13 days after opening

To conduct a technical investigation into the incident, it said an expert committee from IIT Kharagpur has been constituted.

A senior NHAI official said the rectification would cost around Rs 3 crore and that the contractor would have to bear the cost without any financial implication for NHAI. The official added that the loss of toll revenue would be recovered from the contractor.

On July 26, a slippage spanning about 300 metres was observed near the 64-km mark in Unnao’s Korari area on the expressway, after its inauguration on July 13. The issue went viral on social media, with several highway users questioning NHAI and the contractor over the quality of the Rs 4,200-crore expressway. Traffic has currently been diverted at the affected stretch.

Apart from taking action against the contractor, NHAI has removed the project manager of the construction agency, the team leader of the independent engineer and the resident engineer from the project. They have also been debarred from participating in any highway projects for the next two years. Theme Engineering Services Pvt Ltd, the independent engineer for the project, has also been issued a debarment notice.

The official said that a chargesheet is being issued against former NHAI project director Saurabh Chaurasia, during whose tenure a substantial portion of the construction took place, and the present project director Nakul Prakash Verma for alleged negligence in the project. Verma has been repatriated to his parent department.

Gautam Vishal Charan Pahari, Regional Officer and Chief General Manager of NHAI, said, “Road surface slippage was detected near Km 64 on the Kanpur-Lucknow Expressway on July 26. Restoration work was initiated immediately after the incident was reported, and directions were issued for a comprehensive technical assessment of the affected location. Traffic has been diverted at the affected stretch, and the expressway continues to operate smoothly.”

He added, “A team of pavement experts led by Professor K S Reddy of IIT Kharagpur has been appointed to conduct a detailed technical investigation. The committee will identify the root causes of the incident and recommend corrective measures. Simultaneously, NHAI is conducting a laser profilometer-based assessment of pavement conditions across the entire project stretch.”

The ambitious six-lane expressway is expected to reduce travel time between Uttar Pradesh’s capital Lucknow and its industrial hub Kanpur from around 90 minutes to about 40 minutes. It has been positioned as a game changer for residents of the region.

Videos of the damaged section of the expressway also triggered criticism from opposition parties, which alleged that the BJP government was compromising construction quality in one of its flagship highway projects.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, sharing a video on social media, posted: “Running less, sinking more: Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway! Cost: Rs 4,700 crore!” The SP, in a post on X, alleged that the expressway required repairs for the second time in 17 days. The Uttar Pradesh Congress also criticised the government in a post on X, alleging that the condition of the expressway was “direct and clear proof of the BJP government’s corruption”.