Fresh damage on Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway within a month of opening: NHAI orders probe, debars 3 engineers

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has ordered an inquiry into fresh road surface damage on the Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway and debarred three engineers pending the outcome of the investigation.

The action comes after the latest defect emerged less than a month after the highway was opened to traffic.

According to NHAI, the damage was reported near Korari in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao district at the approach embankment of a bridge, prompting repair work and diversion of traffic in the affected stretch.

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NHAI Project Director Nakul Prakash Verma told news agency PTI that the issue was confined to the bridge's approach embankment and not the bridge structure itself.

He said the damage had reappeared near a previously repaired 20-metre section, following which the authority decided to repair the entire 220-metre approach stretch.

Traffic has been diverted near the Korari toll plaza, and the repairs are expected to be completed within two days, after which normal traffic movement will resume, Verma said.

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INQUIRY, ENGINEERS DEBARRED

Verma said it would be incorrect to describe the incidents as five separate cases of road subsidence, maintaining that most of the damage was limited to the same approach section.

An inquiry committee has been constituted to examine the cause of the recurring damage, he said, adding that further action would be taken after its report.

As an interim measure, NHAI has debarred two independent engineers and one maintenance engineer associated with the construction agency.

Verma also said technologies such as Automated Intelligence Machine Guided Construction (AIMGC) were used during construction to ensure compaction and quality, but clarified that such systems are not designed to predict future road damage.

EXPRESSWAY OPENED LAST MONTH

The nearly ₹4,200-crore Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway was inaugurated on July 13 by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari in the presence of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The expressway was opened to traffic the following day.

The latest damage is the second such technical issue reported since the expressway became operational.