Archive · 7 Aug 2026
Newly Opened Kanpur-Lucknow Expressway Gets Fans, Repairs After Rain
In India, there is a brand-new fast road called the Kanpur Lucknow Expressway.
It connects two big cities, Kanpur and Lucknow.
The road was opened on 13 July with a big celebration.
But soon after, a lot of rain fell, and the water went underneath the road.
This made the soil soft and weak, and a part of the road started to slip and slide.
To fix it, workers put big standing fans on the road to dry the wet ground.
Many people laughed at this and said it looked silly.
The people in charge asked a university called IIT Kharagpur to find out why the road broke.
The company that built the road will have to pay for the repairs.
Until the road is fixed, drivers do not have to pay the toll fee.
The newly opened ₹4,200 crore Kanpur-Lucknow Expressway developed surface slippage after continuous heavy rain, with NHAI saying rainwater seeped beneath the pavement layers and weakened the soil.
NHAI deployed pedestal fans to dry the waterlogged roadbed, and viral videos drew criticism such as 'Are we rolling back to stone age.'
Traffic between Kanpur and Lucknow is being routed through a single carriageway during repairs, raising commuter safety concerns.
Contractor PNC Infratech faces non-performing contractor proceedings and will bear the estimated ₹3 crore repair cost plus lost toll revenue.
NHAI has tasked IIT Kharagpur with a technical investigation and ordered a laser profilometer survey of the entire pavement.
- Who
- Commuters, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), contractor PNC Infratech, and IIT Kharagpur investigators
- What
- Surface slippage on the newly opened ₹4,200 crore Kanpur-Lucknow Expressway after heavy rain, leading to fan-based drying, traffic diversions and repair work
- When
- Expressway inaugurated on 13 July; slippage first reported on 26 July
- Where
- Kanpur-Lucknow Expressway, with the damaged stretch near the 64-km mark in Unnao's Korari area in Uttar Pradesh, India
- Why
- Continuous rainfall allowed water to seep into layers beneath the pavement, weakening the soil and causing the road to slip
Critics, commuters and opposition parties
NHAI and officials
Cause of the road failure
Critics, commuters and opposition parties
Questions were raised over construction quality; the same location reportedly required repairs less than a month ago, slippage was reported at seven to eight other locations, and the SP alleged the expressway needed repairs for the second time in 17 days.
NHAI and officials
NHAI says continuous rainfall allowed water to seep into layers beneath the pavement, weakening the soil and causing the road to slip.
Toll charges and passenger information
Critics, commuters and opposition parties
Passengers alleged they were charged toll without being informed about the disruption ahead and said they would have chosen an alternative route had they known.
NHAI and officials
NHAI has suspended toll collection on the affected stretch until repairs are completed and will recover the revenue loss from the concessionaire.
Traffic management during repairs
Critics, commuters and opposition parties
Commuters raised safety concerns about construction machinery operating alongside moving traffic and complained of being forced to drive on the wrong side, increasing accident risk.
NHAI and officials
Traffic is being routed through a single carriageway in both directions while repair work continues.
- Expressway
- Kanpur Lucknow Expressway (₹4,200 crore, 63 km, six-lane)
- Authority
- National Highways Authority of India (NHAI)
- Inauguration
- 13 July, by Nitin Gadkari, Rajnath Singh and Yogi Adityanath
- First slippage reported
- 26 July, about 300 metres near the 64-km mark in Unnao's Korari area
- Repair cost estimate
- Rs 3 crore, to be borne by PNC Infratech
- Investigation
- Technical investigation by IIT Kharagpur and laser profilometer survey of the entire pavement
- Toll collection
- Suspended on the affected stretch until repair work is completed
- Supervision officials
- Removed and barred from NHAI and related ministry projects for two years
