NHAI Denies Road Cave-In On New Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway

Unnao (UP):  The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on Sunday clarified that a viral claim about a section of the recently-inaugurated Lucknow-Kanpur Greenfield Elevated Expressway caving in was incorrect, saying only the upper surface of the road was affected, which was repaired within hours. NHAI Project Director Nakul Prakash Verma told PTI that only the upper surface was affected over a stretch of about 40 metres, and "it cannot be termed as a road cave-in." He explained that a cave-in means the soil beneath settles and the entire road sinks.

"Here, there was only slippage in the upper wearing coat," Verma said, adding that repair work was completed before 5 pm on Sunday and traffic was moving normally on the expressway.

Responding to questions over construction quality, Verma said such technical issues could occasionally arise on long stretches of asphalt roads.

"In such a long expressway, this type of technical issue may occur at some locations. It is sometimes seen on bituminous roads, whereas such situations are generally uncommon on concrete roads," he said.

Verma also said there was no proposal at present for any separate inquiry into the incident, describing it as a routine technical issue that was rectified immediately.

Earlier in the day, a video purportedly showing a damaged portion of the expressway in Unnao's Korari area surfaced on social media.

The video was first shared by a local Samajwadi Party worker, following which the party's media cell reposted it while questioning the quality of construction.

Several social media users also raised concerns over the project's construction standards, execution and use of public funds, with some alleging corruption.

However, these allegations have not been verified by any government agency.

The 63-km-long Lucknow-Kanpur Greenfield Elevated Expressway, built at an estimated cost of about Rs 4,700 crore, was inaugurated on July 13 by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

The project aims to reduce travel time between Lucknow and Kanpur and ease traffic congestion.