[Captdey]

OMG ! you crossed Kalichowk ! the most dreadful place on earth .
for atleast next 5 years I am not thinking about NH 34 ,
I did it in last month " Mainak " (Siliguri) to Burdwan in about
11 hours , though I am a slow and lazy driver , was through
Bhagalpur .

[gearhead_mait]

Originally Posted by Captdey

OMG ! you crossed Kalichowk ! the most dreadful place on earth .
for atleast next 5 years I am not thinking about NH 34 ,
I did it in last month " Mainak " (Siliguri) to Burdwan in about
11 hours , though I am a slow and lazy driver , was through
Bhagalpur .

Yes! I agree.

Next time it will be Bhagalpur. Having said that, I heard that the Hansdiha-Bhagalpur stretch is also in disarray.

Overall it's still a pain to reach Siliguri.

[gmhossain]

We went to Birbhum for a family trip in this weekend. Overall, NH-2B seems to be in excellent shape between Burdwan and Bolpur. Although Bhedia railway underpass remains in bad shape. The approach road to new Bailley bridge that has been setup in place of the broken irrigation canal bridge near Orgram, requires a bit of careful driving to avoid a underbelly hit specially for hatchbacks.

For going to Ahmadpur, generally I drive towards Visva-Bharati from Sriniketan More and then cross railway line near Prantik station to reach NH2B-extension. However, recently a small canal bridge near Prantik has caved in. So to take NH-2B extension from Bolpur one now needs to take either Lal Pool or the (worst in terms of congestion) bridge near Bolpur station.

Finally, I gather at a tea-time discussion that due to the recent multiple political clashes at Parui/Panrui area, general caution is advised for travel during odd hour between Purandarpur and Sriniketan More (in Bolpur-Suri section). Parui lies just in the middle of this section.

Best,

[gearhead_mait]

18 hours traffic snarl on Monday last week in and around Vikramshila Setu, followed by average 10 hours traffic jam till this Saturday.

It may be worth mentioning that city areas including the exit and entry points of the Bhagalpur district headquarters was choked for more than 18-hours last Monday to late afternoon on Tuesday followed by blockades for more than 10 hours on subsequent days till Saturday.

I sincerely hope none of us were traveling during this period.

Report:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...w/45405898.cms

No route till Siliguri is worthwhile now. It is purely based on luck factor nowadays.

[Sheel]

Yes, I did forget to update, Bhagalpur city is in a mess. My nephew yesterday night had to walk all across the Vikramshila Setu to come over this side.

I must say, Bhagalpur has become a gamble, more dreaded than Kaliachak or Dalkola. Because of the bridge, there are no other detours/routes. There are plenty of others once you cross the bridge (both sides)

[DriveTrain]

Just saw this is today's edition of TT

http://www.telegraphindia.com/114122...sp#.VJ0MGf8AJA

Burdwan, Dec. 25: Santiniketan-bound vehicles from Calcutta have been forced to make a 12km detour through a rural dirt road since this morning as a Bailey bridge has developed cracks in the middle of Pous Mela.

Three of the beams of the 30ft bridge have got dislocated, causing plates that make up the surface of the bridge to sag at three points.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) had constructed the bridge in April after a 25ft culvert on the Burdwan town-Bolpur stretch of NH2B collapsed thrice last year. NH2B cuts the distance between Santiniketan and Burdwan by 45km. The Bailey bridge runs parallel to this road.

[amyth78]

I had done several rounds between Kolkata and Siliguri (actually Bagdogra) between 2012 and 2014 by road in my Zen Estillo and Dzire.

I used to start at 4 am in the morning and reach Bagdogra around 6/ 7 pm. Everytime, I travelled with my wife and twin sons, who are now 7 years old.

My last trip was in the month of May 2014 and then I relocated to Pune. The route I always taken was Kolkata - Krishnanagar - Bahrampur - Malda - Raiganj - Dalkhola - Islampur - Bagdogra and same route for returning. Total 550 km one side. Details are as follows:

1. Kolkata (Narendrapur) start early at 4 am. Stopped at Krishnanagar, Pantatirtha, around 6 - 6:30 for refreshment. Different road condition during different time of year. Last time during May 2014, some patch work was done, hence road was free from any potholes. Single road for two way traffic so be cautious of some local rough ambassadors and other vehicles plying between Krishnagar and Kolkata / Barasat.

2. 7 am - start from Krishnanagar. Reach Bahrampur WBTDC Guest House and Restaurant (on the left hand in NH34 in Bahrampur) around 9:30 am for breakfast. Four Lane road work on progress. On several stretches, four lane work is completed so you can easily cruise around 100 KMH. Bottleneck at Palashi village, it will eat up your considerable time.

3. Around 10:15 a.m. - start from Bahrampur, cross Malda around 12:30. You may have a short and quick tea break at roadside dhaba at Farakka or Malda. Again four lane road work is completed in some patches between Baharmapur to Farakka so comfortable ride. Between Farakka to Malada, 30 km drive is horrible as road condition is very bad. Kaliachak is major bottleneck and ready for some criss-cross driving if you want to save time. In Umarpur, four lane work is completed so you can now cross Umarpur at 80 KMH speed.

4. Stop at Raiganj for Lunch around 2:30 pm. Road condition between Malda to Raiganj is not good and you cannot cross 80 KMH due to two way traffic. Certain patches are very bad due to pot holes and rough road;

5. Around 4:30 - reach Dalkhola. Horrible road condition between Raiganj and Dalkhola. Two way traffic and pot holes, one need to very careful while managing potholes as well as incoming traffic. You can have a short tea break.

6. From Dalkhola - Toll road till Bagdogra is excellent and one can cover 120 km easily within 1.5 hours. By 7 pm, you are in Bagdogra and by 7:30 - 8 enter Siliguri.

Total stops - 4. Total time taken - 15 hours. Total fuel around 40 litres considering 15 km of average millage.

Same route for return. Return journey will stretch for another 2 - 3 hours as during evening traffic at Krishnagar, Barasat and Kolkata outer is too bad. Crossing Barasat and entering Kolkata will only take around 1.5 to 2 hours.

West Bengal roads are not as much good as we have in North, South or in Western India. Plus public events such as political rallies, Weekly Bazars, marriage possession or religious possessions are common issues in West Bengal Highways, so one need to take all this in mind while going out for a long drive in West Bengal. You will get good food in most of the Dhabas and restaurants all along the highway so food is not an issue. Careful with local three wheelers, ambassador cars and buses. They drive as they own the road. Most of the route are two way traffic so be careful. Any route query in the road, please ask a truck driver, they are quite cooperative compare to other people in road.

Language not a problem on WB roads. Non-bengali's can manage in Hindi. Due to two way traffic in single lane, lots of accidents can be seen in route generally caused due to reckless driving.

Driving during rainy season in this route is not advisable till four lane road work is completed. Road condition deteriorates at its best during rains and there is no proper maintenance of roads. State Government claims maintenance of highways are Central Government's responsibility and Central Government replies NHA already in job, but NHA is only doing four lanning work. Four Lane road work will take minimum next 7 - 8 years to complete as in many parts land acquisition is still an issue. Thanks for WB politics!

Amyth

[gmhossain]

Originally Posted by DriveTrain

Just saw this is today's edition of TT

http://www.telegraphindia.com/114122...sp#.VJ0MGf8AJA

Burdwan, Dec. 25: Santiniketan-bound vehicles from Calcutta have been forced to make a 12km detour through a rural dirt road since this morning as a Bailey bridge has developed cracks in the middle of Pous Mela.

We returned from Ahmedpur using NH-2B on yesterday (Dec 29, 2014). The road is still closed around the bridge. Couple of notice boards with instructions for taking the diversion have been posted. The total diversion is around 5 km (Google Maps shows correctly!). From Bolpur side, it's a regular road for around 2.5 km up to the crossing point over the canal. In Burdwan side, it's another 2.5 km of canal embankment dirt track to reach NH-2B. Basically I had to drive our Estilo in 1st gear for last 2.5 km and frankly it's pure nightmare for hatchbacks. Some potholes were large enough to swallow the entire wheel.

Here is a pic of the non-road section of the diversion.

[BlackPearl]

Went to Kurseong and Ghoom for a very short trip. We took NH34 while going and there was no traffic jam but had to drive around 275 kms in fog. Bolpur to Siliguri took us around 10 hours and 40 minutes with zero stops.
While returning we took the Bhagalpur route. There has been some improvements in the road conditions around Bhagalpur and no jam on the Bikramshila Setu as mentioned by Sheel over the phone the day before. So total of about 60 kms of bad road in this route between Siliguri and Kolkata. An i20 joined us at Siliguri and it had a real tough time in those bad sections. The underbelly scraped numerous times and the i20 had just 2 people on board.
Overall, the Bhagalpur route is preffered over NH34 though the condition of NH34 has improved from the last time we took that route.

[Sheel]

Well, section 144 has been imposed in the vicinity of the bridge, so traffic on bridge flows smoothly. No parking in the vicinity of the bridge.

Bhagalpur city is pain as usual.

[Redeemer8]

Originally Posted by Sheel

Well, section 144 has been imposed in the vicinity of the bridge, so traffic on bridge flows smoothly. No parking in the vicinity of the bridge. Bhagalpur city is pain as usual.

Hi, I have couple of questions :-

• Any specific or preferred time to cross Bhagalpur city under the present conditions?

• Have they repaired the internal roads within the city limits?

• Is there any bypass to avoid city to reach the bridge?

Thanks & Regards,

[Thumping Soul]

Bhagalpur happens to be my hometown and I was there in early December.

This week actually there was a Dharna happening infront of the Commisoner Office and that was the cause of the choking of the city. The Dharna was in response to the increasing no. of accidents happening in the city due to increased movement of commercial vehicles through the city.

As for the best timings to cross through Bhagalpur, I would strongly advice to do it between 9am and 8pm. Beyond these timings, there's very heavy truck traffic through the city.

The root cause of the problem is that, currently this is the only bridge which allows trucks to cross over from South Bihar to North. If a truck misses the bridge around Mughal Sarai (some 400kms from BGP, in UP and on UP-Bihar border), the only next option is to cross the river at Bhagalpur. The other two bridges - Gandhi Setu (in Patna) and Mokama bridge (approx 150kms from BGP) are out of bounds for heavy vehicles due to their age and are under repairs.

As for cutting through the Bhagalpur town and giving the major traffic areas a miss and also the much talked 'Hansdiah - Baunsi Road - Bhagalpur' section, here is an advice.
1. Step 1 - Option 1: Exit the NH2 at Kulti towards Jamtara - Deoghar and from there on through Banka you can enter Bhagalpur.
2. Step 2 - Option 2: From Dumka, take SH114A through Jarmundi to Deoghar and from there on through Banka to Bhagalpur

The Deoghar - Banka - Bhagalpur road, though a 2 lane, has a superb surface and devoid of any commercial / truck traffic. So its a plane 1hr 15-30mins drive to Bhagalpur.

Now comes the 2nd part, how to bypass Bhagalpur. The normal route through Hansdiah - Bounsi Road you would enter right at the center of the town once you come down the flyover and this place is a pain (understatement).

While you take the Banka route, just ask anyone for Muslim High School. That's where you need to enter Bhagalpur.


Below is an expanded view of the BGP entry point.


Now all the turns required to steer through BGP town.


The only bad patch of road (in terms of surface quality) is from Tatarpur Chowk to the 1st right bend and then from Kotwali Chowk to Nayabazar Chowk. From Nayabazar its a straight road to Vikramsheela Setu, through Tilkamanjhi Chowk.

This entire route allows you to steer away from the bus & trucks parked or travelling on Baunsi road, bad road section before the flyover, the humongues ocean of humanity immediately after the flyover and then beyond it until Tilkamanjhi Chowk.

Here's a link to the google map as well.

https://www.google.co.in/maps/dir/Du...319707!1m0!3e0

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by Redeemer8

Hi, I have couple of questions :-

• Any specific or preferred time to cross Bhagalpur city under the present conditions?

• Have they repaired the internal roads within the city limits?

• Is there any bypass to avoid city to reach the bridge?

Thanks & Regards,

Not very early morning. Because of the ban on HCV crossing between daytime, so just when the ban lifts or is about to be enforced, there would be a jam.

Thumping Soul has provided the insights, plus I have done that route, has good curves & the top is decently surfaced compared to Dumka.

Originally Posted by Thumping Soul

Bhagalpur happens to be my hometown and I was there in early December.

As for the best timings to cross through Bhagalpur, I would strongly advice to do it between 9am and 8pm. Beyond these timings, there's very heavy truck traffic through the city.

What about the byepass which was supposed to be constructed? The road goes to the left from where the airport was to be built and where there is a BP outlet.

Any information on the byepass as DN Singh road and the route beyond that too stays crowded.

[Thumping Soul]

Originally Posted by Sheel

What about the byepass which was supposed to be constructed? The road goes to the left from where the airport was to be built and where there is a BP outlet.

Any information on the byepass as DN Singh road and the route beyond that too stays crowded.

The Bhagalpur Byepass is still on paper only. The entire project is stuck due to land acquisition problems and some financial irregularity which has surfaced. So its not happening anytime soon.

I agree the DN Singh route that i suggested is crowded, but none the less better than passing through the main town. Main town remains literally clogged at multiple points. Where as the DN Singh stretch primarily has residential areas around, so not much of a hassale.

[megazoid]

I passed through Bhaglpur twice during my sikkim trip and took the following route.

https://goo.gl/maps/FKzu7

Was in touch with Sheel as the worry of getting stuck on the sethu was playing on my mind. The sethu was a breeze and though bhagalpur town was congested, it was not too bad. What really got me tired was the dumka - bhagalpur stretch which was in extremely bad shape and takes a lot of time and energy to cross.