Even as two fresh potholes emerged on the recently inaugurated Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway before repairs at the first damaged stretch were completed, PNC Infratech has attributed the recurring craters to heavy and incessant rainfall.
In a mandatory filing with the BSE on Thursday (August 6), PNC Infratech, which executed Package-2 of the project, said the damage was confined to “isolated and localised stretches” affected by recent heavy rainfall.
“As part of routine maintenance obligations, we have taken immediate action to repair the affected stretches. Maintenance work on the remaining stretches is already underway,” the company said in a clarification note shared with the media on Friday following the NHAI’s press conference on Thursday.
PNC Infratech also clarified that the cost of the ongoing repairs is covered under its routine maintenance obligations during the 15-year post-construction period.
The company further said the issue would have no impact on its ability to continue as a going concern or on the execution of other projects. It added that it remains eligible to participate in bidding for new projects.
Awadh Expressway Private Limited, a subsidiary of PNC Infratech and the concessionaire for the project, was granted the final completion certificate on February 2, 2026. The project involves the construction of a six-lane, upgradable to eight-lane Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway under the Hybrid Annuity Mode.
{{/usCountry}}Awadh Expressway Private Limited, a subsidiary of PNC Infratech and the concessionaire for the project, was granted the final completion certificate on February 2, 2026. The project involves the construction of a six-lane, upgradable to eight-lane Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway under the Hybrid Annuity Mode.
{{/usCountry}}“The company has, over the years, built and operated highway and infrastructure assets across the country, and delivering them to the required standards has been integral to its record,” PNC Infratech said.
Meanwhile, the fresh damage has forced authorities to begin reconstruction of another 200-metre stretch of the expressway, even as the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) withdrew traffic diversions after repairs to the earlier 350-metre damaged stretch were completed on Friday evening.
However, toll collection will remain suspended until the Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway becomes fully operational, NHAI chief general manager and regional officer (UP) Gautam Vishal said.
Officials said the newly formed potholes, nearly eight feet deep, have developed at two separate locations. Around 100 metres of pavement at each site will have to be dismantled and rebuilt. The latest failures have once again raised serious questions over the construction quality of the ₹42,000-crore expressway.
IIT-Kharagpur team begins forensic engineering probe
An expert team from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur, led by KS Reddy, reached the expressway on Thursday and has begun a forensic engineering investigation to determine why the pavement continues to collapse despite the highway being newly built.
Speaking to Hindustan Times, Gautam Vishal said the team would collect samples on Saturday for laboratory testing and carry out a scientific failure analysis.
The experts are examining every layer of the pavement—from the bituminous surface to the granular base, sub-base and embankment—to establish whether the distress has been caused by poor-quality construction material, inadequate compaction of earthwork, weak foundation layers, faulty pavement design, drainage failure or lapses during construction.
The team will also study soil samples, pavement cores, moisture content and drainage systems to determine whether water seepage weakened the embankment or whether structural deficiencies existed from the outset. Advanced forensic techniques, including laser-based pavement profiling and laboratory testing of construction material, are expected to form part of the investigation.
The findings are likely to determine responsibility for the repeated failures and could become the basis for further action against the concessionaire, consultants and officials.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has already acknowledged deficiencies in earthwork, drainage arrangements and quality control during construction. Despite these shortcomings, officials allowed the project to progress until repeated pavement failures triggered public outrage.
Following the collapse, NHAI suspended toll collection on the expressway, issued a Non-Performer Notice to PNC Infratech proposing to debar it from future NHAI projects, and initiated disciplinary proceedings against officials and the independent engineer associated with the project.
Spotlight on PNC Infratech’s record
The latest controversy has once again brought PNC Infratech’s past projects under scrutiny.
In 2024, the company came under the scanner in the alleged Jhansi-Khajuraho highway bribery case, where CBI alleged that NHAI officials were bribed to overlook deficiencies in construction quality. The company faced blacklisting proceedings before securing relief from the high court.
Earlier, in 2020, two people lost their lives when a massive concrete girder collapsed from an under-construction flyover on NH-91 in Etah.
In 2018, the service lane of the Agra-Lucknow Expressway caved in, causing a newly purchased car to plunge nearly 50 feet into a large crater.