Lucknow: Authorities will maintain extra vigil at toll plazas on Uttar Pradesh expressways on Saturday and Sunday as a surge of post-Diwali return traffic is expected from motorists heading back to workplaces.Officials estimate vehicle volumes on the Lucknow–Agra Expressway could rise by nearly 2.5 times, with traffic projected to touch around 65,000 vehicles a day compared with the usual 25,000.The Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) said additional arrangements are being made to prevent a repeat of the congestion witnessed on Nov 5, 6 and 7 at toll plazas on routes connecting Lucknow to the National Capital Region. During that period, long queues formed and commuters reported waits of 30 to 45 minutes to clear toll points.UPEIDA officials also issued an advisory to commuters regarding toll payments, clarifying that the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) annual pass will not be valid on state-operated expressways in Uttar Pradesh. The clarification applies to operational corridors managed by state govt units, including Yamuna Expressway, Lucknow–Agra Expressway and Ganga Expressway network.“We want to clarify before all the commuters that the annual pass provided by National Highways Authority of India will not work over the state operated expressways,” said Rajesh Kumar Pandey, chief security officer of the expressways at UPEIDA.To manage payment-related delays, officials said motorists will not be charged any additional penalty if their FASTag accounts do not have sufficient balance. In such cases, users will be allowed to pay the regular toll amount through cash or Unified Payments Interface (UPI).Point-of-sale card swiping machines have also been deployed at main toll plazas located on the primary carriageways. However, officials cautioned that card machines may not function consistently at some locations due to poor internet bandwidth. Such connectivity problems are more common at certain intermediate towns along the Lucknow–Agra corridor, an official said.UPEIDA is also considering introducing an annual pass system for state-operated expressways on the lines of NHAI. In addition, local passes for residents of neighbouring towns near toll plazas are being examined, similar to the NHAI provision that allows unlimited access to verified residents living within a 20-km radius of a toll plaza.
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