NH25 Kanpur-Lucknow in a mess

[sgiitk]

Just an update (@phamilyman please note). This is as per the Dainik Jagaran of yesterday and today

Day before yesterday: Three hours between Jajmau & Lalbangla. Not due to NH25 directly but some procession.
Yesterday: Five hours in the evening (1700 to 2200) on the bridge due to some vehicles coming in on the bridge the wrong way which is still functioning as a single lane.

The case rests!

Remember people from Kanpur normally catch their flights from Lucknow. It should only take 1:45 to 2:00 from Kanpur City to the Airport.

[issigonis]

SG,

On a lighter note, won't it be better to take a bullock cart instead, from Kanpur to Jajmau and then hop onto a UPSRTC bus to reach Amausi?
Bullocks have an unerring sense of direction and they can go faster than cars and buses in such situations.

Five hours! Unbelievable.

I did Kanpur Central to Krishna Nagar on Kanpur Road ( way back in 1991 of course) on a puny LML Vespa NV in 80 minutes, and only a rash DCM Toyota LCV was able to overtake me.

Regards

[sgiitk]

@issigonis: Yes except that Bullock Carts are not allowed on the Jajmau Bridge. As for the old bridge the passageway under the railway track has rotted through and fallen. So pedestrian traffic only. I guess a bullock cart MAY not qualify! What I forgot to repeat was that this is NH25 (part of the GQ - EW corridor to be precise) and was the first bit of the NHDP taken up!

[doomsday]

Sheesh this has put me in a fix now. I'm supposed to board a flight from Amausi which departs at 3.30 PM. I've booked a cab from Kanpur which will drop me there. So how much time should I ideally leave for the Kanpur-Amausi jaunt? I was planning to leave by 12 noon but reading newspapers these days is making me sweat already.

[sgiitk]

@doomsday: I would say ad another half hour, i.e. leave by 11:30. Let me calculate; 1-1/2 hours from Jajmau to Amausi + minimum 30 minutes (keep 45-60 so that you have time to go back to the old bridge if not stuck in a jam) for Jajmau + time from your place to Jajmau. Flight check in is 60-75 minutes. Also, I hear that the Haj rush has started/ is starting so Amausi may be overloaded.

I hear things have now become worse. Gammon have located a large crane on the bridge for placing girders on the parallel bridge under construction.

I will seriously plan on about 45 minutes extra and use the Old Ganga Bridge. I was planning on 11am for 14:15 flight. Now I will probably make it 10:00 am! If I make it to Unnao fast I may stop for a bite at Ajgain.

[doomsday]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

@doomsday: I would say ad another half hour, i.e. leave by 11:30. Let me calculate; 1-1/2 hours from Jajmau to Amausi + minimum 30 minutes (keep 45-60 so that you have time to go back to the old bridge if not stuck in a jam) for Jajmau + time from your place to Jajmau. Flight check in is 60-75 minutes. Also, I hear that the Haj rush has started/ is starting so Amausi may be overloaded.

I hear things have now become worse. Gammon have located a large crane on the bridge for placing girders on the parallel bridge under construction.

I will seriously plan on about 45 minutes extra and use the Old Ganga Bridge. I was planning on 11am for 14:15 flight. Now I will probably make it 10:00 am! If I make it to Unnao fast I may stop for a bite at Ajgain.

This is seriously going back to the stone ages. I'm have become used to covering 300-odd kilometers in 3-3.5 hrs and now this. The city has gone to dogs (and werewolves et al) as well in the past two years.

Should I tell the cab guy to use the old Ganga bridge? Or should I risk it for the jam. I don't mind reaching the airport early and waiting. Would you know if they have high-speed wireless internet access?? The last time I went to Amausi was some 7-8 yrs ago. It'll at least make the wait less painful.

[sgiitk]

A friend was going to Amausi about four days ago and was stuck at Jajmau for about half an hour. I quite agree with your comments about Kanpur, but language I may use will very likely invite censor.

Thnigs are bad. When I got married in 1976 it used to take 5 hours to Gwalior on Kanpur-Etawah (3 hours) - Gwalior (2 hours). It now takes 5-1/2. Kanpur - Etawah (2:15 thanks to NH2), Etawah-Gwalior (3:15-3:30, then a State Highway now a National Highway)

[sparkguy]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

A friend was going to Amausi about four days ago and was stuck at Jajmau for about half an hour. I quite agree with your comments about Kanpur, ----

Dear SG;

I am also from kanpur although staying in Noida fow work reason. I visited lucknow as late as last week (during diwali).

I totally agree with you on the state of road between kanpur and unnao. Its just pathetic. On my second lucknow trip last week only I took old ganges bridges to reach shuklaganj. Just after shuklaganj ends a new road has been developed which connects to main kanpur lucknow road. Through this way you will be spared with jajmau crossing/ramadevi crossing but need to bear the narrow ganges bridge.
I find this route marginally better although bit longer.

[sgiitk]

@doomsday: I endorse skarkguy. I was talking to a couple of people last night and they also suggested the old bridge and then use the link road (apparently right turn immediately after Magarwara) to get back to the GQ! One chap did Tilaknagar to Amausi in 1:40 and 1:20 back. On the way out he went through Unnao, on the way back used the link road..

[Akadian]

I'm surprised to hear this, to say the least. I spent quite some time in Lucknow during 2003-04 and I was a regular on those mini buses that took you from either side in about 2 hours flat. I wonder if those buses still ply but the point is that the highway was good enough to allow for decent speeds. When you say that it takes 4 hours these days, I feel a bit shocked. On the other hand, what phamilyman says is more in line with my past experience.

[sgiitk]

@Akadian: He is welcome to his views. He will not be missing his flights from Amausi, we will. Even June 2009 is history, so forget 2003-04!

[phamilyman]

I am honestly appalled at the sort of discussion going on here.

a. The sarcasm of " 11:00pm well you can go at Mach1. 1:00am may be Mach 1.5." is unbecoming and uncalled for. As is " I must say you were lucky, and must have put the engine from the 'Concorde' in your car."
b. Whatever disagrees is swiftly dealt with "He is welcome to his views. He will not be missing his flights from Amausi, we will. Even June 2009 is history, so forget 2003-04!"

I will be doing this route next weekend, hopefully around the times discussed in the previous post. I will post the GPS track here for good reference. You are free to dismiss it as in point b above.

I still believe what I said holds: "I frankly fail to see the point, atleast on weekends. Yes, maybe on weekdays it may be bad - but not on weekends!".

[doomsday]

Live update here!

I left Kanpur (Birhana Road) by 11 or so, and took the regular route (Cantt, Jajmau, New Ganges bridge). The roads were in a pathetic state till Unnao with two-way traffic occasionally running on the same lane. The cab was a Indica- the driver took it easy (never exceeding 70-75kmph) but we still managed to reach by 12:45. I'm typing this sitting in the waiting lounge at Amausi and its a long wait- boarding time is 15:00 hrs.

I guess I (in fact my dad) was being a tad too overcautious- or maybe we were just plain lucky. In fact in the morning he was insisting on leaving by 10 and I just about managed to convince him to delay it by an hour.

Maybe the time of the day also played a role in this- early mornings and late evenings may see heavier traffic (especially HMVs) on that section warranting a longer buffer. All in all better early than sorry.

[sgiitk]

we can argue till the cows go home. The basic point is Jajmau Bridge. If you get stuck there then it is difficult to even backtrack. A lot of mess of wither end reflects this.

For me, I will be sticking to the old bridge, and then the link road to the NH25 till I get some positive news about the bridge mess. This way by adding about 20 minutes I am sure of my travel time! I do not fancy missing my flights, or being late for an appointment.

This is my last post on this topic.