LUCKNOW, July 7 -- The much-awaited 63-km Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway will be dedicated to the public on July 13. This flagship road project is set to reduce travel time between the two cities from nearly two hours to 35-45 minutes while easing congestion on the busy Lucknow-Kanpur highway, officials said on Monday. The inauguration ceremony is expected to be attended by defence minister Rajnath Singh, Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari and CM Yogi Adityanath. Developed by the NHAI at an estimated cost of around Rs.4,700 crore, the six-lane access-controlled Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway began construction in 2020. Officials said that the forest department proposes planting around 46,000 trees along the expressway. NHAI regional head Gautam Vishal said the expressway would offer faster, safer and more reliable connectivity between U.P's political capital and its industrial hub. The project includes nearly 45 km of greenfield alignment and an 18-km elevated section. The corridor is equipped with Intelligent Traffic Management Systems (ITMS), including PTZ (pan-tilt-zoom) cameras, speed radars, emergency call boxes, variable message signs and incident detection systems. Passing through Lucknow, Unnao and Kanpur, the expressway is expected to ease traffic pressure on the existing national highway while improving freight movement. It is also connected to the upcoming Ganga Expressway through an interchange at Unnao....