The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is set to take strict measures to address issues like road cave-ins, potholes, and artificial flooding that have been occurring immediately after the inauguration of newly built national highways and expressways.
Keeping in mind the deterioration of road quality even before the scheduled time, the government has now prepared a far-reaching plan to conduct a 2 to 3-month ‘road test’ or trial run for any new highway before its formal opening. During this trial period, no toll will be collected from pedestrians or vehicles.
Recently, several flaws were observed in major projects like the Lucknow-Kanpur and Dehradun Expressways soon after their opening. Considering it inappropriate to collect toll from the public without ensuring safe travel, the Centre has introduced this system to ensure accountability from contractors and consultant agencies.
If any section of the road caves in, water gets logged, or potholes appear during the trial run, the contractor will have to immediately repair those defects at their own cost.
Toll will not be collected on any new highway until it is proven fully successful in the testing. Government sources said that this long trial run will be especially helpful in testing water drainage and the durability of roads during the monsoon season.
The Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway has already had toll collection completely suspended due to construction defects and road cave-ins. This suspension will remain in place until the road is made fully safe and repaired.