Unnao (UP) | The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has ordered a probe after a fresh instance of road surface damage was reported on the Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway within a month of it being opened to traffic, and has debarred three engineers pending investigation.

The nearly Rs 4,200-crore expressway was inaugurated on July 13 by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari in presence of Uttar Pradesh Chief Miniter Yogi Adityanath and opened to traffic the following day.

NHAI Project Director Nakul Prakash Verma told PTI that the latest technical issue was detected near Korari in Unnao district at the approach embankment of a bridge and not in the bridge structure itself.

He said damage had reappeared near a previously repaired 20-metre stretch, prompting the authority to undertake repairs along the entire 220-metre approach section.

Traffic has been diverted near the Korari toll plaza, and the repair work is expected to be completed within two days, after which normal traffic movement will resume, Verma said.

He said it would be incorrect to describe the incidents as five separate cases of road subsidence, maintaining that most of the damage was confined to the same approach stretch.

Verma said an inquiry committee was examining the matter and further action would be taken after its report. As a preliminary measure, NHAI has debarred two independent engineers and one maintenance engineer of the construction agency.

He added that technologies such as Automated Intelligence Machine Guided Construction (AIMGC) were used during construction to ensure compaction and quality, but they were not meant to predict future road damage.