[joybhowmik]

Originally Posted by joybhowmik

I am planning a trip to Lucknow.

Friends - having completed the Delhi - Lucknow round trip, happy to report the following:
1) The toll gates at either end of the Agra Lucknow Expressway are decently wide (did not have any trouble navigating these on my Scorpio)
2) Condition of road - excellent. The road surface does not add much to overall NVH levels - probably due to tar surface. One can easily reach and hold speeds in excess of 140 kmph, note however that all of the expressway is a 100kmph zone.
3) Watch out for road-kill in various shapes and sizes. When travelling at expressway speeds these can come up suddenly , especially on blind curves.
4) None of the rest areas are functional. For bio-breaks there is a rest area with a functional facilities approximately 100 km from the Agra side.
5) The interchange with NH2/AH1 is functional only in the following directions
a) Southeast bound ALE (Agra->Lucknow) exit to NorthWest Bound NH2/AH1 (Kolkata-> Delhi)
b) Southeast bound NH2/AH1 (Delhi->Kolkata) entry to Southeast bound ALE (Agra->Lucknow)

The other entry/exit ramps are in various stages of construction. If you plan to get on the Northwest bound ALE (coming from Kolkata) , you may want to take b , and then look for a break in the median on Southeast bound ALE for a U turn. Might mean a few extra km of driving the wrong direction, but it will certainly save you at least 1.5 hours on the Shikhohabad to Tundla stretch.

Overall time taken door-to-door , with a 45 minute food/bio-break at YEW was 6 hours. Total distance 512 km.

Thanks all for keeping this thread updated, and therefore a fabulous drive was made possible.

[no1lives4ever]

Originally Posted by joybhowmik

5) The interchange with NH2/AH1 is functional only in the following directions
a) Southeast bound ALE (Agra->Lucknow) exit to NorthWest Bound NH2/AH1 (Kolkata-> Delhi)
b) Southeast bound NH2/AH1 (Delhi->Kolkata) entry to Southeast bound ALE (Agra->Lucknow)

The other entry/exit ramps are in various stages of construction. If you plan to get on the Northwest bound ALE (coming from Kolkata) , you may want to take b , and then look for a break in the median on Southeast bound ALE for a U turn. Might mean a few extra km of driving the wrong direction, but it will certainly save you at least 1.5 hours on the Shikhohabad to Tundla stretch.

I will be travelling from Kolkata to Delhi and am planning to take the Agra Lucknow expressway at some point in the journey. As per your reports and the latest available satellite imagery on google maps, the interchange between NH2/AH1 and the expressway is yet to be completed.Google maps is suggesting that i use the mainpuri exit and connect to the expressway there.

Is this the best possible route, or are there other suggested routes for connecting to the ALE when coming from Varanasi/Allahabad side?

The route, as suggested by google is this:

Attachment 1676832 (cross posting from the Delhi-Kolkata route thread)

This is how it looks like on the satellite view on google maps. It does appear that the exit ramp is complete and functional (the lower right exit in this pic):




-- no1lives4ever

[sgiitk]

The ALE is good, but unless someone pulls up his socks, it is having two wheelers and arbitrary users starting to infest it.

[joybhowmik]

Originally Posted by no1lives4ever

I will be travelling from Kolkata to Delhi and am planning to take the Agra Lucknow expressway at some point in the journey. As per your reports and the latest available satellite imagery on google maps, the interchange between NH2/AH1 and the expressway is yet to be completed.Google maps is suggesting that i use the mainpuri exit and connect to the expressway there.

Is this the best possible route, or are there other suggested routes for connecting to the ALE when coming from Varanasi/Allahabad side?

The route, as suggested by google is this:

Attachment 1676832 (cross posting from the Delhi-Kolkata route thread)

This is how it looks like on the satellite view on google maps. It does appear that the exit ramp is complete and functional (the lower right exit in this pic):

Attachment 1676837


-- no1lives4ever

The state of the entry and exit ramps are in flux due to constant construction updates.

IMHO, and having done Delhi-Kolkata-Delhi several times, your best bet might be to stop at a petrol bunk on NH2 (IIRC - Reliance), just as it crosses the ALE, and ask for the best way to get on it for Agra bound.

Hopefully you may have a better update than GMaps , when you do. Please share. GMaps is always a bit dated - due to delays in capturing and processing the information. So please don't rely on it's recommendations , in this instance.

[no1lives4ever]

Originally Posted by joybhowmik

The state of the entry and exit ramps are in flux due to constant construction updates.

This is interesting. Normally once constructed and opened, the ramps on most indian highways remain in place. But I have noticed with the Yamuna Expressway around BIC that they seem to randomly open/close some ramps. It seems like they may be doing the same with the ramp in question.

Originally Posted by joybhowmik

IMHO, and having done Delhi-Kolkata-Delhi several times, your best bet might be to stop at a petrol bunk on NH2 (IIRC - Reliance), just as it crosses the ALE, and ask for the best way to get on it for Agra bound.

Only issue is that the ramp i am considering is on the Etawah Mainpuri highway and not on the main NH2. The NH2 interchange is after the turnoff I need to take for this exit.

Given that this exit is around Mulayam Singh's home area, I would hope that one of the 2 ramps is functional. As per the GMaps satellite view, i should be able to take a u turn within 2-3kms if I take the ramp on the opp side of the highway.

Given that you have been on this many times in recent past, can you comment if they they close the u turns or are they open?

Originally Posted by joybhowmik

Hopefully you may have a better update than GMaps , when you do. Please share. GMaps is always a bit dated - due to delays in capturing and processing the information. So please don't rely on it's recommendations , in this instance.

I will surely update with my experience.

Now if only someone who has been around this area can give more current update on this route. I think I will stop at a petrol pump before etawah on the main NH2 and ask if this interchange is operational or not.

-- no1lives4ever

[joybhowmik]

Originally Posted by no1lives4ever

This is interesting. Normally once constructed and opened, the ramps on most indian highways remain in place. But I have noticed with the Yamuna Expressway around BIC that they seem to randomly open/close some ramps. It seems like they may be doing the same with the ramp in question.



Only issue is that the ramp i am considering is on the Etawah Mainpuri highway and not on the main NH2. The NH2 interchange is after the turnoff I need to take for this exit.

Given that this exit is around Mulayam Singh's home area, I would hope that one of the 2 ramps is functional. As per the GMaps satellite view, i should be able to take a u turn within 2-3kms if I take the ramp on the opp side of the highway.

Given that you have been on this many times in recent past, can you comment if they they close the u turns or are they open?



I will surely update with my experience.

Now if only someone who has been around this area can give more current update on this route. I think I will stop at a petrol pump before etawah on the main NH2 and ask if this interchange is operational or not.

-- no1lives4ever

I would suggest that you not take the diversion towards Mainpuri and get on the ALE that way. Instead stay on NH2/AH1 and stop by the Reliance PP which comes on the left.

Couple reasons:
a) The interchange at Etawah involves getting off Ah1 on a service road, negotiating unruly UP traffic and taking a right on the Etawah-Mainpuri road
b) The Etawah Mainpuri road is likely to have far higher traffic density than the AH1.

Hope this helps.

[sgiitk]

I hear one toilet is there close to the Kanpur turn off. Some more are being constructed, so it is not totally devoid. I am not sure how is the toilet (neat Kannauj turn off). Also, whether they keep it clean, and whether it is western or Indian. A person who has an artificial knee cannot use the latter.

[no1lives4ever]

Originally Posted by joybhowmik

I would suggest that you not take the diversion towards Mainpuri and get on the ALE that way. Instead stay on NH2/AH1 and stop by the Reliance PP which comes on the left.

Couple reasons:
a) The interchange at Etawah involves getting off Ah1 on a service road, negotiating unruly UP traffic and taking a right on the Etawah-Mainpuri road
b) The Etawah Mainpuri road is likely to have far higher traffic density than the AH1.

Hope this helps.

I took this route from around 5pm today evening.

I actually ended up taking this route and it was a good idea. I got to enjoy 10-15 more kms of the ALE and the on ramp on this section did not require me to go against traffic flow or the intended direction of the ramp.

I had stopped at the turnoff for the etawah mainpuri road at etawah and asked 2 cops posted at that crossing about the road before I did enter this road. The cops told us to go ahead and use this route.

I could not maintain as high speeds on this route as I could on the nh2, but this is a nice 4 laned road with not too much traffic.

This road passes Mulayam Singh Yadav's village saifai and that could explain why it was in such a good condition. I kinda expected this after i found out the areas served by this road

Around karhal, there is no signage that you need to take a left for the bypass (when coming from etawah). Also there is a road that goes to agra, which comes before the main exit for ALE. As per gmaps, this will take you through a small road onto NH2 around sirsaganj.

I dont know if this route was overall faster or slower, but I did get to see a slightly different part of UP by going through this road.

On the expressway, there were some diversions, but I dont know why they exist.

Toll is not being collected as of today. The toll gates do seem to be a bit narrower than regular toll booths, but I did not see any issue for vehicles as wide as a current gen honda city at the toll booths. I also saw a bus pass through the toll plaza in opp direction, but that bus seemed to take tons of time to go through the toll plaza.

There are some gutka/cigarette shops along the expressway near some exits. These seem to be just setting up and there are not many of them. I did see a few of them with many trucks stopped around the shops. I did not see signs of any petrol pumps along the section I covered, nor any rest stops.

Overall awesome road on which one can do silly speeds if one has the car capable of doing that, but be careful of doing such speeds.

I did see some stray dogs on the expressway and some dead dogs. I also saw one nasty accident near the interchange where I joined the expressway. Did not stop to look and enquire further. I even saw bikes and a car/pickup and a truck or two coming in opposite direction on this expressway. All this on a sunday evening.

-- no1lives4ever

[vikasshu]

I am planning to take the expressway mid November for a trip to Lucknow and beyond. Is the expressway is connected with Yamuna expressway or do I need to take NH 2 and then I'll get Agra-Lucknow expressway?

Also, need clarity around entry point of this expressway in Lucknow. I need to travel towards Faizabad and would like to reach Shaheed path for by-passing Lucknow city.

We'll start early morning from Delhi so should reach Agra-Lucknow expressway around 9-10 AM. We prefer to carry our food with us so it is not a concern.

Look forward to any guidance.

[Stratosphere]

The YE and the ALE are directly connected and your journey will be non stop from Delhi to Lucknow, save for any breaks for rest etc.
The entry of the expressway in Lucknow will allow you to move towards Awadh Chauraha, after which you can take a right and join the Shaheed Path for your convenience.
Be prepared for a very smooth ride!

[BoneCollector]

Just saw this Tweet. People planning to undertake a journey on 24th October should plan accordingly. Since it's near Agra, I guess it would be on YEW. Or do we have a runway on ALE near Agra?

[sgiitk]

@BoneCollector; It is on the ALE. It will be closed for the duration of the Exercise. Agra is a major Airforce base, hence near to Agra. See my post on the YE thread. When they inaugurated the YE they had a touch-go demo planned. But after a dog was spotted racing on the ALE stretch the 'touch' was abandoned.

[BoneCollector]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

@BoneCollector; It is on the ALE. It will be closed for the duration of the Exercise. Agra is a major Airforce base, hence near to Agra. See my post on the YE thread. When they inaugurated the YE they had a touch-go demo planned. But after a dog was spotted racing on the ALE stretch the 'touch' was abandoned.

But the runway that I saw on ALE is not close to Agra. ALE has 2 runways or only one?


Edit- Just checked it. It's near Raya village that's near Agra.

[Majumdarda]

Seems that the said expressway would be off limits from October 20 to October 24.

[BoneCollector]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

@BoneCollector; It is on the ALE. It will be closed for the duration of the Exercise. Agra is a major Airforce base, hence near to Agra. See my post on the YE thread. When they inaugurated the YE they had a touch-go demo planned. But after a dog was spotted racing on the ALE stretch the 'touch' was abandoned.

Originally Posted by BoneCollector

But the runway that I saw on ALE is not close to Agra. ALE has 2 runways or only one?


Edit- Just checked it. It's near Raya village that's near Agra.

I went through my DashCam footage and checked with the co-ordinates. The runway is nearer to Lucknow than Agra.

Dropped pin

https://goo.gl/maps/tg74kTFD2eF2

The details of alternative route is here. Traffic movement on Agra-Lucknow will be diverted from October 20-24 for IAF exercise
http://toi.in/U4eq5Y/a19li