Rs 12,000 crore Delhi-Dehradun expressway develops potholes after rainfall in just 3 months

3 min readNew DelhiJul 2, 2026 01:48 PM IST

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated the six-lane expressway on April 14.

For many Indians, the arrival of the monsoon often brings with it another familiar sight – potholes appearing on roads. Over the years, social media has been flooded with videos of rain-damaged streets across the country. Now, a similar issue has surfaced on one of India’s most ambitious infrastructure projects.

Just three months after its inauguration, large potholes have been spotted on stretches of the Rs 12,000-crore Delhi-Dehradun Expressway following the recent heavy rainfall across parts of the Delhi-NCR region.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated the six-lane expressway on April 14. Designed to cut travel time between Delhi and Dehradun from nearly six hours to around two to two-and-a-half hours, the highway was projected as a major boost to regional connectivity.

A video shared on X showed the damaged section of the expressway, with the user writing, “Take a look at the world-class Delhi-Dehradun Expressway, built at a cost of 12 thousand crore rupees. As soon as the rainy season started, potholes have formed. Vehicles are getting damaged.”

Watch the video:

12 हजार करोड़ रुपए से बने वर्ल्ड क्लास दिल्ली–देहरादून एक्सप्रेस वे को देख लीजिए। बरसाती सीजन शुरू होते ही गड्ढे बन गए हैं। गाड़ियों को नुकसान पहुंच रहा है। इसी 14 अप्रैल को PM नरेंद्र मोदी ने उदघाटन किया था। pic.twitter.com/dTM9fc7cYI

— Sachin Gupta (@Sachingupta) July 2, 2026

In the clip, the person recording the video points out multiple potholes on the road and claims he witnessed four to five accidents caused by them. The footage also shows people attempting to divert approaching vehicles to safer lanes in an effort to prevent further mishaps.

The video quickly gained traction online, triggering criticism from social media users.

“The way news keeps coming every other day about some road or culvert collapsing, it feels like these days, while building highways and expressways, they’re not mixing water with the cement but rather ethanol,” one user wrote.

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Another commented, “On these highways, a speed of 100 is normal, imagine if someone comes at 100 speed and these potholes aren’t visible, then what will happen, and who will be held responsible?”

The expressway was also in the news last week after a fatal accident claimed the lives of four members of a family, while three others were injured. The crash took place in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur district when a speeding SUV rammed into a car from behind.

According to preliminary findings and CCTV footage, the victims’ car had crossed the Halgoya cut and was reversing after the driver apparently missed the exit. The speeding SUV then crashed into the vehicle.