Travelogue: Bangalore to Kolkata

[hvkumar]

As Abhi mentioned, you have 2 routes, the first via Baripada, turning off NH5 at Bangariposha (Orissa-Jharkhand border) and take the direct road to Jamshedpur. From Jamshedpur, Ranchi is a great road, uncless conditions have deteriorated sharply in recent times.

The second route would be to go through Kharagpur, link up to NH2, and go via Durgapur and Dhanbad, but this is a longer route, although the NH2 (Kolkata-Durgapur expressway) is a fantastic drive, plus Dhanbad-Ranchi is also a decent road.

Have been to Ranchi on the Durgapur-Dhanbad route (not been through Jamshedpur), but am told that the Bangariposha-Jamshedpur-Ranchi roads is good.

[hvkumar]

Have the distances in my old log books, hang on, will revert late tonight (am travelling).

Keep in mind that you have to stick to NH5 after Balasore (via Baripada), instead of taking the GQ route via Jaleshwar to Kharagpur.

[dr.abhijeet]

my hometown is near ramgarh, the ramgarh ranchi road is in bad shape , both in terms of surface and traffic, and jamshedpur ranchi is slightly better.

govindpur dhanbad ranchi is ok but do not travel thru this road in the night.
govindpur is the place where u leave NH2. though this route is longer but is much better road wise.

[sreenidhibr]

I was looking for bangalore-tirupati route info when I found this thread. I know this is an old post, but still wanted to congratulate akroy on a terrific drive and good information.

[Captdey]

I did the stretch from Gopalpur to calcutta on my santro in April 2007,
route was Gopalpur-on-sea , berhampore , puri , kolkata .
there is a exit before khurda junction towards puri , dont have to
come till Bhbaneswar to go Puri . road condition between this exit
puri was okay . NH60 between Baleswar and Laxmannath was under
construction and I had to take a diversion , which was a nightmarish
experience. could any body update on Road condition on NH 60
between this stretch. is it completed or work still on ?

[9tMax]

Hi captdey,
Can we have a road condition update about the GQ in between berhampore and kolkata? U have mentioned about a bad stretch between baleswar and laxmanath. What abt the other bad / incomplete stretches of GQ that akroy faced during his trip? Are they completed?
Asking bcoz i am planning for a hyderabad - kolkata trip soon.
thanx.

[Captdey]

Hi
Except that stretch between Jaleshwar and Laxmannath where there was a bypass flyover on NH 60 under construction , rest of raod was good to average, there were
lot of diversion between bhadrak and baleswar . after laxmannath road was like
runway. if any BHPian can update on NH 60 present status , then you will have
smooth ride all over.

Chao.

[akroy]

Originally Posted by 9tMax

Hi captdey,
Can we have a road condition update about the GQ in between berhampore and kolkata? U have mentioned about a bad stretch between baleswar and laxmanath. What abt the other bad / incomplete stretches of GQ that akroy faced during his trip? Are they completed?
Asking bcoz i am planning for a hyderabad - kolkata trip soon.
thanx.

As per the NHAI site, Kharagpur - Balasore is 4 laned. Hence I dont see you facing any problem till Balasore. It should be a breeze.
All the nightmare I faced was between Laxmannath - Balasore (like Basta, Jaleshwar etc)

Abhi

[9tMax]

Thanx captain dey & abhi.
Looks like finally we can have a more or less smooth drive thru orissa. I have been waiting for years for the Cal - Chennai GQ to turn completely red on the NHAI website's map. But surprisingly even now, the current map shows two green (incomplete) stretches between Ichapuram & sunakhala and bhadrak & baleshwar. But anyway, the road seems to be in managable condition.
So waiting eagerly for my son's summer holidays .

[rex_varghese]

akroy,

Though I've done many road trips to Cochin (mere 500 kms) still I feel little nervous before each trip. I can imagine your thought process and 'apprehensions'.

Great trip and wonderful inspiration to others !

Regards
Rex

[akroy]

Originally Posted by 9tMax

But surprisingly even now, the current map shows two green (incomplete) stretches between Ichapuram & sunakhala and bhadrak & baleshwar. But anyway, the road seems to be in managable condition.

Yes and it will take some more time as well. Ichchapuram - Sunakhala work was stopped and was scheduled to start on Dec2006. hardly any work happened in Ganjam - Ichchapuram stretch there when I passed except an incompleter flyover at Berhampur BP. But Sunakhala - Chilka - Ganjam was on.

Now Bhadrak - Balasore section is more or less complete (4 laning) except for the bridges section and ofcourse the lane marking and stuffs. Bridges sections were the majot bottlenecks. If work carries on smooth pace it should not take more than 6months to complete but unfortunately it is still incomplete.

Abhi

[vnabhi]

My cousin drove down to Bhubaneswar from Vizag on his WagonR on Feb 9th for a wedding . His feedback was that the roads from Vizag to Berhampur were pretty good---to be precise, till Ichapuram. From Berhampur to Tangi, there were several diversions and the GQ work is still not completed on that stretch. From Tangi onwards, the 4-laned 80 km drive to Bhubaneswar is as good as the rest of the GQ roads. The distance from Berhampur to Tangi is about 95 kms.
So please be prepared for this bad stretch.

[akroy]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

The distance from Berhampur to Tangi is about 95 kms. So please be prepared for this bad stretch.

Not Tangi but till Sunakhala, The complete GQ was already till Sunakhala which is further from Tangi.

Ichchapuram - Sunakhala is not a bad stretch. it is a slow stretch with normal 2 lane traffic unlike GQ where we average out 90-100km in an hour.

I did Bhubaneshwar - Vizag in 6 hours during my return journey.

Abhi

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by akroy

Not Tangi but till Sunakhala, The complete GQ was already till Sunakhala which is further from Tangi.

Ichchapuram - Sunakhala is not a bad stretch. it is a slow stretch with normal 2 lane traffic unlike GQ where we average out 90-100km in an hour.

I did Bhubaneshwar - Vizag in 6 hours during my return journey.

Abhi

Thanks for the update. But my cousin took nearly 9 hours for the trip,owing to heavy rains and traffic coming to a standstill near Balugaon for half an hour.

[akroy]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

Thanks for the update. But my cousin took nearly 9 hours for the trip,owing to heavy rains and traffic coming to a standstill near Balugaon for half an hour.

My return journey timings are in this post
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/487441-post31.html (Travelogue: Bangalore to Kolkata)

Mine was a nonstop drive from bhubaneshwar, I stopped only at Reliance petrol pump at Ichchapuram for fuel and then at A1 Plaza, 30km before entering Vizag for lunch. My total driving time was 6 hours.

Abhi