Fans deployed to dry damaged Lucknow-Kanpur expressway

What do you do when an expressway starts falling apart just days after a grand inauguration? Put fans to work.

PNC Infratech, the contractor responsible for the Rs 4,200 crore Lucknow-Kanpur expressway, deployed pedestal fans at a damaged stretch of the newly opened corridor after parts of the country’s first e-way equipped with AI-based traffic management systems caved in.

Pictures of around a dozen fans lined up at the repair site, near the damaged Unnao-Lucknow-bound carriageway, surfaced on social media and quickly drew criticism and jibes.


The stretch under restoration needs its sub-base course to be filled with binding material before bitumen and asphalt can be laid on the surface. However, persistent wet conditions have slowed the repair work, with fresh cracks also reportedly appearing around the repaired portion.

As intermittent rain continued to hamper construction, staff engaged by PNC Infratech brought in the fans on Wednesday morning to accelerate the drying of the stretch.

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The damage has disrupted traffic on the high-speed corridor, which was opened to the public on July 13. Diversions in place during the repair have forced traffic travelling in both directions to use the same carriageway for around 6 km, resulting in greater congestion and slower movement during peak hours.

The contractor is working against a Friday morning deadline set by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to restore the affected stretch, officials said.

NHAI has instructed PNC Infratech to undertake the repairs entirely at its own cost and has waived toll charges for expressway users during the disruption. The authority had earlier initiated proceedings to declare PNC Infratech a non-performing company and imposed a penalty.

According to sources, the fans were first brought to the site to help dry the construction material before being placed along the damaged stretch.

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Tarpaulin sheets, air-drying machines and high-intensity pavement cleaning equipment have also been deployed at the site and have remained there for the past five to six days, officials said.