Overview
- On Monday NHAI opened a formal inquiry and temporarily debarred three engineers after fresh surface damage was found on the Lucknow–Kanpur Expressway near Korari in Unnao district.
- NHAI said the defect was in the approach embankment to a bridge, not the bridge structure itself, and that the damage reappeared beside an earlier 20-metre repair.
- Repair work has been widened to cover the full 220-metre approach section, traffic is diverted near the Korari toll plaza, and NHAI expects repairs to finish within two days.
- An inquiry committee will examine whether the recurring settlement stems from construction, design, or maintenance failures, and NHAI has issued show-cause notices that could lead to contractor penalties or blacklisting.
- The expressway — a nearly ₹4,200-crore link opened mid-July with advanced compaction technology (AIMGC) used in construction — now faces short-term traffic disruption and longer-term scrutiny over quality, oversight and who pays for upkeep during the 15-year maintenance period.