NHAI Annual Toll Pass Can Cut Trip Cost To Kanpur Via E-way

Lucknow: A car owner would have to shell out Rs 275 to cover the 63 km-long distance via the Lucknow-Kanpur expressway once it opens for vehicular traffic. A fee of Rs 415 will be applicable in case of a return journey within 24 hours. To make the ride affordable for those who need to visit the two cities on a regular basis, the option to avail the annual pass service (Rs 3,075) would be provided by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).Two-wheelers and three-wheelers won’t be allowed on this expressway.With the help of an annual pass, a vehicle owner would be able to make 100 round trips via the access-controlled expressway. NHAI officials said that through the annual pass, a vehicle is authorised to make 200 trips via a toll plaza within a year from the time it is issued. “Many are questioning the affordability of the expressway and feel that the charges are on the higher side. I want to clarify that the annual pass would work over the expressway as well as other national highways in the region and would allow them to pass a toll 200 times in one year or make 100 round trips through the same plaza. The cost of a ride for regular commuters would come down to Rs 15.30 in that case, instead of Rs 275,” said a senior officer from Kanpur regional office of the highways authority.The expressway is ready to handle traffic and officials are waiting for directions from ministry of road transport and highways to fix the date for the opening of the six-lane-wide speed corridor that has been designed to maintain a speed of up to 120km in an hour. The project cost is estimated to be in the range of Rs 3,700 crore, out of which Rs 3,000 crore was spent on civil construction works and the remaining for acquiring the private land.The expressway would originate from Miranpur Pinvat village in Sarojininagar and terminate at Kader Patari village in Unnao over the existing Lucknow-Kanpur national highway at a site that is 5.5km ahead of the Jajmau Ganga bridge. Regional officer from NHAI ‘sUP west office, Gautam Vishal said, “We have already fast-tracked work on Kanpur ring road. It will join the Lucknow-Kanpur expressway at Kader Patari, which would provide an additional option to vehicle owners to reach their destinations without having to negotiate the city traffic at all.” Completion of the Kanpur ring road would take about two years.