Footbridge and Service Lane Work Begins at Asha Kheda on Kanpur-Lucknow Highway

In a major infrastructure push to dismantle chronic accident black spots and resolve prolonged traffic snarls along the busy Kanpur-Lucknow highway corridor, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has officially launched construction work for a 300-meter foot overbridge alongside one-kilometer service lanes on both flanks at Asha Kheda in Unnao. To facilitate road widening and foundation laying, the state Forest Department has commenced the removal of 118 trees obstructing the right-of-way, with Forest Inspector Jitendra Pandey confirming that 84 trees along the Kanpur-to-Lucknow carriage and 34 trees along the Lucknow-to-Kanpur stretch have been marked for felling following mandatory administrative clearances between NHAI and environmental regulators.Eliminating Dangerous Black Spots: Over 6 Lakh Rural Commuters to BenefitThe infrastructure overhaul at Asha Kheda is strategically engineered to neutralize a notoriously hazardous two-kilometer accident black spot that has historically endangered motorists, highway pedestrians, and local cyclists traversing the arterial route. Executed by concessionaire GS Express under NHAI's Lucknow regional office, the project will directly benefit approximately 600,000 residents residing across 100 adjoining rural habitations and regional villages who depend on the highway for routine connectivity to Lucknow and Kanpur. Construction agency manager R.K. Singh stated that heavy civil construction will ramp up immediately as tree-clearing operations wrap up, with strict structural timelines established to deliver the completed infrastructure well ahead of 2027.₹140-Crore Multi-Bridge Highway Upgrade: Five Flyovers to Overhaul Unnao BeltThe Asha Kheda footbridge forms a core component of a broader ₹140-crore (₹1.40 billion) comprehensive transit modernization package that encompasses five elevated structures along the critical Kanpur-Lucknow expressway stretch. Detail Project Reports (DPR) originally finalized in early 2026 had faced procedural pauses due to forest department no-objection clearances and pending power-line relocation by the state electricity department, both of which are now being actively resolved. Outlining the project financial matrix, NHAI Lucknow Regional Project Officer Navratan detailed that the 800-meter Nawabganj flyover accounts for ₹60 crore, the half-kilometer bridge at Dahi Tiraha requires ₹45 crore, the Asha Kheda bridge and service lane infrastructure stands at ₹20 crore, while two dedicated 400-meter pedestrian foot overbridges at Chamrauli and Tribhuvan Kheda will be completed at an investment of ₹15 crore.