Union Ministers Rajnath, Gadkari inaugurate Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway

Union Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday jointly inaugurated the 63-km Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway in Lucknow, a project expected to reduce travel time between the two cities from two hours to 40 minutes.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Singh said that the demand for an expressway between Kanpur and Lucknow was pending for a long time and the opening of this expressway solves the long-standing problem of traffic congestion between the two cities.

“The request for construction of the highway from Kanpur to Lucknow was pending for a long time and I would like to express my gratitude to Nitin Gadkari for this; he immediately approved it as soon as he came to know about it. Today, I come to say that you have given a lot and if I ask for more in the future, you will not be late in giving it too. With the opening of the highway, the long-standing problem of traffic congestion between the two cities has been resolved. The foundation stone of the project was laid in March 2019,” said Mr. Singh.

Projects initiated include Kanpur-Lucknow six-lane Expressway and four-lane construction of Hardoi-Lucknow National Highway (Package 4), while the foundation stone of a four-lane flyover was laid at Chauraha College of Engineering.

Mr. Gadkari said that considering the ever-increasing traffic between Lucknow and Kanpur, hours-long congestion and journey times of up to three hours, a Detailed Project Report (DPR) has been prepared at an estimated cost of around 4,500 crore. The aim of the project was to provide first-class, safe and fast connectivity between the two cities.

In December 2020, the Union government granted it National Highway-6 (NE-6) status due to its importance, making it the country’s first highway fully equipped with AI-based and modern traffic management systems. To speed up the construction, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) divided the project into two packages and the work was given to PNC Infratech. The first package consisted of an elevated section of approximately 18 km connecting to Amausi and Shaheed Road areas of Lucknow.

“Despite challenges like dense population, traffic and land acquisition, engineers have successfully completed this complex section using modern technology. The second package consisted of around 45 km of greenfield section developed on new land. The route passes through 11 villages in Lucknow and 31 villages in Unnao,” Mr. Gadkari said.

A notable aspect of the Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway is its advanced technology. Automatic Machine Guidance construction systems were widely used in the road construction process; Machines operated by computer and satellite technology increased the precision, strength and durability of construction; significantly improved quality while greatly reducing the risk of human error. Another notable feature is the Multi-Lane Free Flow (MLFF) tolling system without traditional toll plazas; vehicles can travel at speeds of up to 120 km per hour without stopping and toll charges are automatically deducted through advanced FASTag and Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology.

In terms of safety, the highway is among the most modern highway corridors in the country, with more than 80 high-definition cameras, 16 Video Incident Detection Systems and speed radars installed along the 63 km line. According to the official government statement, an automatic alarm will be generated directly from the control room if a vehicle exceeds the prescribed speed limit.

UP CM Yogi Adityanath thanked the Union Defense Minister and the Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways and congratulated the people of the state.

“I express my gratitude to the Hon’ble Union Defense Minister and the Hon’ble Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways and congratulate the people of the state for attending the inauguration of National Highway projects worth more than Rs 4,850 billion in Lucknow. In line with the vision of the honorable Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji, today ‘New Uttar Pradesh’ has been established as an excellent model of good governance with excellent security and world-class infrastructure.” UP CM said.