About 30 feet of the newly inaugurated Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway caved in at two locations on Sunday, just days after the high-speed corridor was opened to the public on July 13.
The road collapsed near Korari on the Unnao-to-Lucknow carriageway. Nearly 30 feet of the road collapsed, creating a gaping trench filled with rainwater now. Similarly, another portion about 8ft wide had collapsed about a kilometre before the Bani toll plaza on the same segment.
After the incident, work began on rebuilding the affected parts by the construction agency Patel Infrastructure, which erected barriers to advise motorists, but repairs at Bani toll plaza have not started yet.
Earlier, several instances of roadside soil erosion had also been reported along the expressway. The approach road near Achalganj has developed cave-ins, while patchwork is required at multiple locations. Motorists have also complained of jerks while crossing expansion joints on bridges and culverts.
Expressway Project Manager V Kundu said the damage was caused by the ongoing monsoon season and assured that repairs are underway.
"Some problems occurred during the rainy season, which are being fixed. This is a new construction, so there are no traffic disruptions," Kundu said.
The Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway (National Expressway-6) is a 63-km-long, six-lane, access-controlled corridor inaugurated on July 13, 2026. The expressway has reduced travel time between Lucknow and Kanpur from two to three hours to around 35-40 minutes.