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The Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway has caved in at two locations just 13 days after its inauguration. Around 9 metres of the expressway, which was inaugurated on July 13, has subsided in total.
On the carriageway from Unnao towards Lucknow, the road has sunk near Korari, creating long trenches that have filled with rainwater. About 1 km before the toll plaza on the same carriageway, another section measuring around 8 feet has also subsided.
Unnao, Uttar Pradesh: Just 12 days after its inauguration, a large section of the main route of the Lucknow-Kanpur Greenfield National Elevated Expressway, built at a cost of 4200 crore rupees, has sunk due to rains. Following the emergence of a video of the road collapse on… pic.twitter.com/xfpN8UbD2z
— IANS (@ians_india)
July 26, 2026
The construction agency, Patel Infrastructure, has begun repair work at the site, while barricades have been installed to alert motorists.
Rs 4,200 Crore E-way
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) constructed the expressway at a cost of Rs 4,200 crore using Automated Intelligence Machine Guided Construction (AIMGC) technology. Touted as India’s first expressway built with the technology, following its use in the United States and Germany, the road has shown signs of damage during its first monsoon.
At kilometre marker 64.200 on the 45-km greenfield section, the asphalt has peeled off over several metres. Videos of the damaged stretch have surfaced on social media, sparking concerns over the quality of construction. Heavy rainfall has also caused the asphalt to come off at multiple locations along the greenfield stretch.
Repair Work Underway
The expressway had earlier witnessed soil erosion along its edges at several locations, while the approach road near Achalganj had also caved in. Patchwork repairs at multiple stretches have affected the road’s smoothness, with motorists reporting noticeable jolts while crossing expansion joints on bridges and culverts.
Expressway Project Manager V. Kundu said heavy rainfall had caused damage at a few locations and repair work was underway. He maintained that such issues were not unusual as the expressway was newly constructed and said traffic remained unaffected.
