Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath jointly opened the 63-kilometre Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway on Monday. The new route is expected to reduce travel time between the cities from more than two hours to about 40 minutes.
Singh noted that the long-standing request for a direct highway had finally been met, easing chronic traffic jams. He credited Gadkari for quick approval after receiving the proposal and recalled that the foundation stone was laid in March 2019.
The inaugurated works cover the six-lane Kanpur-Lucknow Expressway and the four-laning of the Hardoi-Lucknow National Highway package four. A foundation stone was also laid for a four-lane flyover at Engineering College Chauraha.
Gadkari said a detailed project report costing roughly 4,500 crore rupees was prepared because of rising traffic and frequent three-hour delays. The Union government later designated the corridor as National Expressway-6, the first in India to feature full artificial-intelligence traffic systems. The National Highways Authority split the project into two packages awarded to PNC Infratech. One package includes an 18-kilometre elevated section near Amausi and Shaheed Path; the other covers a 45-kilometre greenfield alignment crossing 42 villages.
Construction used automated machine guidance for greater accuracy and durability. The expressway also employs a multi-lane free-flow toll system that allows vehicles to pass at up to 120 kilometres per hour while charges are collected automatically via FASTag and number-plate recognition.
Safety features include more than 80 high-definition cameras, 16 video-incident detection systems and speed radars. Over-speeding triggers automatic challans from a central control room.
Adityanath thanked the central ministers and said the projects worth over 4,850 crore rupees reflect the state’s push for modern infrastructure under the prime minister’s vision.
