Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway Sinks, Yet Builder Bags ₹3,483 Cr Contracts

The government built a brand-new, super-fast road called the Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway, which cost about ₹4,700 crore.

The road opened on July 13, 2026, and was the first highway in India without toll barriers, so cars could drive without stopping to pay.

But very soon after it opened, parts of the road started to sink and break, and there were six places where the road caved in.

The company that built and ran the road is called PNC Infratech.

The National Highways Authority of India, or NHAI, is the government group in charge of highways, and it is very unhappy with the company's work.

NHAI sent a notice saying it wants to call PNC Infratech a 'non-performer,' which means it did not do its job properly.

NHAI also said the company must pay about ₹3 crore to fix the road, and drivers will not have to pay the road toll until the repairs are done.

Here is the confusing part: just days before the road problems, PNC Infratech signed deals to build two more roads in Uttar Pradesh worth ₹3,483 crore.

Some leaders, like Akhilesh Yadav, are asking why the same company is getting big new projects while being blamed for a broken road.

So far, NHAI has not publicly answered those questions.