LUCKNOW After a fresh instance of road surface damage was reported on the Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway, the construction company behind the ₹4,200-crore project is facing the possibility of being blacklisted with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) issuing two show-cause notices over recurring surface damage on the newly inaugurated highway.
The company, PNC Infratech, has been asked to provide a satisfactory explanation, failing which it could face a ban from future NHAI projects. Three engineers have already been banned by the NHAI from working on any of their projects for the next two years.
The action comes after a road surface damage was reported near Korari in Unnao district, barely three weeks after the 63-km greenfield expressway was opened to traffic on July 14 following its inauguration by defence minister Rajnath Singh, Union minister Nitin Gadkari and chief minister Yogi Adityanath. After that, damages were reported on July 28 and then on August 1.
According to NHAI project director Nakul Prakash Verma, the latest defect has been detected on the approach embankment of a bridge, not on the bridge structure itself. The damage resurfaced near a previously repaired 20-metre stretch, prompting NHAI to repair the entire 250-metre approach section to prevent further failures. He said PNC Infratech has been directed to improve storm water management as the company is responsible for the upkeep of the expressway for the next 15 years. The central government will not spend any money on the repairs or upkeep of the expressway for the next 15 years.
Verma clarified that it would be incorrect to describe the incidents as multiple cases of subsidence, saying most defects were confined to the same approach stretch. He added that despite the use of Automated Intelligence Machine Guided Construction (AIMGC) technology during construction for quality control and compaction, such systems cannot predict future structural distress.
Traffic has been diverted near the Korari toll plaza while repair work is underway and is expected to be completed within two days.
NHAI ordered a high-level technical inquiry into the repeated failures and, as an interim measure, debarred three engineers — two independent engineers and one maintenance engineer associated with the construction agency — pending the outcome of the investigation. Project manager of PNC Vivek Kumar Gupta, independent engineer and team leader Surendra Kumar and resident engineer Yatendra Kumar will not be allowed to work on any projects of the NHAI for the next two years.
The inquiry committee is expected to determine whether the recurring damage resulted from construction deficiencies, design flaws or maintenance lapses. Its findings will decide further action against the contractor, including the possibility of blacklisting if the company’s response to the show-cause notices is found unsatisfactory.
Responding to the controversy, PNC Infratech general manager Anguluri Satyanarayan said: “Only a slight surface depression had developed along the edge of a 20-metre patch of the Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway. However, as a precautionary measure, the company has decided to repair the entire 250-metre stretch to eliminate any possibility of further surface depression.” On the show-cause notices issued by the NHAI, he said the company would submit its response shortly.
