Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway Sinks At 10 Places After Rain, Construction Quality Under Scanner
The drainage arrangements at some of these locations were reportedly inadequate. In one place, a drain was also damaged, further affecting the movement of vehicles.
The Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway, built at a cost of around Rs 4,200 crore and inaugurated just about a month ago, has come under scrutiny over alleged poor construction quality. Repair work has been underway at several locations, but heavy rain on Sunday caused the expressway to sink at around 10 more places, disrupting traffic and causing inconvenience to commuters.
The expressway was inaugurated on July 13 by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari. Since then, reports of cracks, damage and portions of the road sinking at different locations have raised questions over its construction.
The monsoon has further exposed the problems, with rainwater accumulation and road damage reported at multiple points.
Expressway Sinks At 10 Locations After Rain
Uttar Pradesh has witnessed intermittent rainfall over the past few days. Following Sunday's rain, portions of the Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway reportedly sank at around 10 locations.
Waterlogging was particularly reported on the carriageway from Kanpur towards Lucknow. Water accumulated along an 800-metre stretch between kilometre points 47.9 and 14.1, while another 300-metre section between kilometre points 46.6 and 46.3 was also affected.
Road damage and sinking were reported around kilometre points 45.5, 44.4 and 41.3 as well. Several stretches of the expressway were visibly damaged after water accumulated on the road.
The drainage arrangements at some of these locations were reportedly inadequate. In one place, a drain was also damaged, further affecting the movement of vehicles.
Earlier Patchwork Repairs Also Damaged
Questions have been raised over the construction of the Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway since its inception. Areas that had previously been repaired through patchwork were also reportedly damaged after the rains.
Experts believe that hurried patchwork repairs may be contributing to the recurring problems. The repeated damage has intensified concerns over the quality of construction and the measures being taken to address defects on the newly inaugurated expressway.
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