[1100D]

Originally Posted by rahul4640

Yes, I had taken that road as well, although only when on my return journey. I feel that the benefit of taking the straight road is that it lets you avoid two huge speed breakers, on either side of the railway level crossing.

Nothing of that sort on the route, I had mentioned in the opening post. Though the Entry point suggested by Sommos is much better (if you dont hit the truck jam by that time).

Besides, I just took the detour for the sake of taking it, as it turned out, the slower car kept on the NH60 and still won over the faster car on the detour.

[Sommos]

Originally Posted by 1100D

Anyway to place a picture within your post, click at the location within the text, you want your pic to appear, click on the "paperclip" icon above the text box, select the pic you want to post. That pic will appear at the location within the text where you had clicked first. Hope this helps.

Thanks for the information Anirban, but that is the problem I'm facing.
When I click the "paperclip" and the "Manage Attachments" in Additional options, I get the same popup screen and they result in bunching of pictures at the bottom. I hope the two popup screens should be different from one another.

Originally Posted by Zappo

I may drive down to Kolkata somewhere down the line (may be in a couple of months). I guess this thread should be helpful. I hope I manage to locate the Jaleshwar town entry! By the way, how do you cross over to the other side when encountered with that truck jam? If I remember correctly in between the two sides/shoulders of the highway there is a pit kind of thing which remains somewhat water logged also at times.

When you are coming from the Orissa side, there is no reason to pass through Jaleshwar. You should continue on the NH60 and rarely would you face any jam at the border on the Orissa side. You may face the jam when you return from Kolkata on this route. In any case I would prefer to continue on the NH and in case you spot the line of trucks in front, you can always take the diversion to Jaleshwar.

[1100D]

Originally Posted by Sommos

Thanks for the information Anirban, but that is the problem I'm facing.
When I click the "paperclip" and the "Manage Attachments" in Additional options, I get the same popup screen and they result in bunching of pictures at the bottom. I hope the two popup screens should be different from one another.


.

Once you have uploaded the pic using "Manage Attachment" (A subsequent pop up appears, you browse-select pics to upload, then close the pop-up with the "close this window" on the top right corner of the popup).

Then you click on the paperclip again, you will see a drop down showing "Manage Attachment" and the pics that you have recently uploaded (refer the screenshot I attached, "Pic 7.jpg" appears in the drop down). Click on the appropriate pic that you want at the previously selected point in the text box. That pic will be placed at the location in the text box.

Hope this helps.

[Sommos]

Wow, many thanks for the tutorial.
Now I know how to do it.

[julupani]

Originally Posted by 1100D

Bhubaneshwar-Pipli Avoidance

Another irritant on the route to Puri is the thickening traffic and drive through the city of Bhubaneshwar. Usually for folks driving from Kolkata, Bhubaneshwar comes up a little past mid-day. Slow-moving traffic, Bike-riders ( that over estimate the width of their bikes) and the usual chaos leads to a dampener and a lot of unnecessary stress.

.......


Feel free to add alternatives to bottlenecks that might be required over time.

Well, good effort by 1100D. The route to Puri via Phulnakhra - Chari Chakka - Gop - Konark is definitely a good alternative for people coming from the north to go to Puri.

I can understand the frustrations of having to navigate traffic through Cuttack and Bhubaneswar after having driven peacefully for so long. And the increased traffic in and around these two cities, coupled with the widening of the NH has made even Bhubaneswar to Cuttack drive a nightmare, which can take more than an hour at peak times. The 4 lane road between Bhubaneswar and Cuttack is close to 15 years old now, and when it was new I remember you could drive between the two cities in about 20mins.

As of now there really is no good way of bypassing Cuttack city, but fortunately Cuttack is not very wide and one get get in and out of Cuttack on NH5 without much issue. The issue is getting through Bhubaneswar. Even Pipili is not an issue nowadays after the opening of the bypass towards Konark.

As a person who has lived three fourths of his life in Bhubaneswar and has probably driven close to 2lakh kms on its roads, and having got to compare driving here to that in quite a few other cities, I can say driving here is much more of a breeze and organised than in most cities. Mostly thanks to the superbly wide roads.



Unfortunately for Kolkatans, they get to experience(as shown above) the one road that falls under the exception criteria. The existing NH203 inside Bhubaneswar city is a complete nightmare. The road is a major marketplace of Bhubaneswar town, but is nowhere near wide enough to accomodate the traffic it handles. Driving a car on this road is a nightmare, as you have to stick to the right lane along with buses and be at the mercy of two wheelers and autos who come in and out of the right lane at will. Personally, I avoid having to take this road as if its the plague.

But other than that, roads in the city a very wide and a pleasure to drive on. Here are some links to give an idea.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgWtBQ_p7hk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btvz0qwyf-I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNmD4sfTeU4

If I had to travel through Bhubaneswar, coming from Kolkata towards Puri, I would be taking the Janpath, which is now an 8-lane wide road which is very easy and comfortable to navigate. Janpath does not go all the way, thus shown below are a few alternate routes incorporating the Janpath through Bhubaneswar.

Alternate 1: Take Janpath and rejoin at Kalpana Square.



Alternate 2: Take Janpath, Mausima Flyover and Vivekanand Marg and rejoin at Ravi Talkies junction



Alternate 3: Take Janpath, Mausima Flyover and Bada Danda to rejoin at Garage Chakka



As mentioned earlier there is a bypass coming up for people coming from the north of Bhubaneswar to go towards Puri. It will be a 300ft wide 6lane road, which should be ready in about 12 to 18 months time. Here is the alignment of this future road.

[sugato_basu]

Originally Posted by julupani

Well, good effort by 1100D. The route to Puri via Phulnakhra - Chari Chakka - Gop - Konark is definitely a good alternative for people coming from the north to go to Puri.

I can understand the frustrations of having to navigate traffic through Cuttack and Bhubaneswar after having driven peacefully for so long. And the increased traffic in and around these two cities, coupled with the widening of the NH has made even Bhubaneswar to Cuttack drive a nightmare, which can take more than an hour at peak times. The 4 lane road between Bhubaneswar and Cuttack is close to 15 years old now, and when it was new I remember you could drive between the two cities in about 20mins.

As of now there really is no good way of bypassing Cuttack city, but fortunately Cuttack is not very wide and one get get in and out of Cuttack on NH5 without much issue. The issue is getting through Bhubaneswar. Even Pipili is not an issue nowadays after the opening of the bypass towards Konark.

As a person who has lived three fourths of his life in Bhubaneswar and has probably driven close to 2lakh kms on its roads, and having got to compare driving here to that in quite a few other cities, I can say driving here is much more of a breeze and organised than in most cities. Mostly thanks to the superbly wide roads.

Attachment 1072178

Unfortunately for Kolkatans, they get to experience(as shown above) the one road that falls under the exception criteria. The existing NH203 inside Bhubaneswar city is a complete nightmare. The road is a major marketplace of Bhubaneswar town, but is nowhere near wide enough to accomodate the traffic it handles. Driving a car on this road is a nightmare, as you have to stick to the right lane along with buses and be at the mercy of two wheelers and autos who come in and out of the right lane at will. Personally, I avoid having to take this road as if its the plague.

But other than that, roads in the city a very wide and a pleasure to drive on. Here are some links to give an idea.
http://www.Youtube.com/watch?v=rgWtBQ_p7hk
http://www.Youtube.com/watch?v=btvz0qwyf-I
http://www.Youtube.com/watch?v=mNmD4sfTeU4

If I had to travel through Bhubaneswar, coming from Kolkata towards Puri, I would be taking the Janpath, which is now an 8-lane wide road which is very easy and comfortable to navigate. Janpath does not go all the way, thus shown below are a few alternate routes incorporating the Janpath through Bhubaneswar.

Alternate 1: Take Janpath and rejoin at Kalpana Square.

Attachment 1072179

Alternate 2: Take Janpath, Mausima Flyover and Vivekanand Marg and rejoin at Ravi Talkies junction

Attachment 1072180

Alternate 3: Take Janpath, Mausima Flyover and Bada Danda to rejoin at Garage Chakka

Attachment 1072181

As mentioned earlier there is a bypass coming up for people coming from the north of Bhubaneswar to go towards Puri. It will be a 300ft wide 6lane road, which should be ready in about 12 to 18 months time. Here is the alignment of this future road.
Attachment 1072182

Thanks a lot for the advice. While coming from Angul we took the route Phulnakra - Chari CHakka - Gop - Konark and found the road to be very good. The road is narrow with few bends & curves, there are quite a few unmarked bumps towards Gop and at junctions the road is a bit crowded so one has to be careful .... 200 kms we made in 4 hours, which otherwise would have taken 5 hours, bypassed Bhubaneswar traffic and enjoyed Odisha's beautiful country side.... definitely very good alternative to all coming from North towards Konark & Puri and want to bypass Bhubaneswar.

[julupani]

Originally Posted by sugato_basu

Thanks a lot for the advice. While coming from Angul we took the route Phulnakra - Chari CHakka - Gop - Konark and found the road to be very good. The road is narrow with few bends & curves, there are quite a few unmarked bumps towards Gop and at junctions the road is a bit crowded so one has to be careful .... 200 kms we made in 4 hours, which otherwise would have taken 5 hours, bypassed Bhubaneswar traffic and enjoyed Odisha's beautiful country side.... definitely very good alternative to all coming from North towards Konark & Puri and want to bypass Bhubaneswar.

Well, it will only be about 5-6 months before all these alternatives become moot. The Bhubaneswar-Puri 4-laning work is likely to be completed by year end, and will also be providing a by-pass for Bhubaneswar. After completion of 4-laning work you can expect to do the Bhubaneswar to Puri stretch in about 60-70mins. In low traffic times you could probably do it in about 45-50mins.

[julupani]

Bhubaneswar Bypass



The bypass road from Bhubaneswar as shown above has been partially opened. One side of the 4/6 lane road has been thrown open, though some work like lane markings etc is still to be completed.

On request from the Bhubaneswar Police and other govt sections, the contractor has thrown open one side, considering the high volume of traffic towards Puri on account of the Rath Yatra and other associated occasions. I am not yet sure whether this is a temporary fixture or not.

But as per reports, the entire Bhubaneswar bypass should be complete by September or October, while the entire 4 lane road from NH5 to the outskirts of Puri is likely to be complete by December.

[rahul4640]

Originally Posted by julupani

Bhubaneswar Bypass

On request from the Bhubaneswar Police and other govt sections, the contractor has thrown open one side, considering the high volume of traffic towards Puri on account of the Rath Yatra and other associated occasions. I am not yet sure whether this is a temporary fixture or not.

I think this is not a temporary measure. I read about this road in some other forum too, in the discussions in this thread. And even Google Map is showing this road, marking this as Bypass Road. I also see that Pipli is at last getting a bypass road.

[julupani]

Originally Posted by rahul4640

I think this is not a temporary measure. I read about this road in some other forum too, in the discussions in this thread. And even Google Map is showing this road, marking this as Bypass Road. I also see that Pipli is at last getting a bypass road.

It was a temporary measure, since the bypass section of the road was actually not complete, ie only one side of the road was complete. A small little bit of work is still left. And as this is a virgin stretch of road, the operator would have normally liked to complete the entire work before throwing it open to traffic. The road was opened just before this year's Rath Yatra on request.

Even now, this bypass section is not fully complete, though most of the bypass is now 4-lane . But after the bypass, the road is complete till about Sakhigopal, inculding Pipili bypass. After Sakhigopal, you return to 2-lane road primarily. After Sakhigopal, a large part of the road takes off on a new alignment to avoid some villages and small towns, thus you continue on the old road. As of now, the entire 4-lane road is expected to be complete by March 2014, ie about 3 months after the scheduled completion of Dec 2013.

The 6-laning work between Chandikhol and Bhubaneswar is also delayed a bit. But most of the section should be 6-laned by Jun-2014. But the bridges over the 4-rivers and the elevated bypass of Bhubaneswar city are not going to be complete before Mar-2015.

[dj78]

Lot of useful info folks - Thanks. I'm planning to do the Kolkata-Puri drive (Dzire) next week. If anyone knows of anything that has changed since these posts pls do share especially on the truck mess around Jaleswar.

[dj78]

Originally Posted by dj78

Lot of useful info folks - Thanks. I'm planning to do the Kolkata-Puri drive (Dzire) next week. If anyone knows of anything that has changed since these posts pls do share especially on the truck mess around Jaleswar.

So I did the trip. Road improvement/construction work going on all along the route - a million diversions & speed breakers will increase your drive time and reduce the ride quality. Did not experience any delay at the Jaleswar truck crossing. If anyone needs any specific info PM me.

[ultimatechamp]

Any updates on road conditions from Kolkata to Puri ?

Any inputs from Anybody/HVK would be of much help. I did this route last year in March,June and July. But since July 2013, I am unaware of any new developements.

dj78,can you be more specific here,rather than on pm,as it would benefit all our readers,as how are the road conditions on Panskura-Belda route, then Belda-Jaleshwar section,then Jaleshwar-Balasore section. These are the three most horrible sections on the route with countless diversions ans heavy truck-traffic. Previously these portions were concreted,smooth highways with less truck-traffic,but now mostly its the construction vehicles which takes up road space and reduce your speed. Also what about Chandikhol-Cuttack section and since I have used the BBSR Bypass,I hope to find out it even better this time.

Please,one more thing,I need this information in 2-3 days time,as I would be travelling on 7th February.

[Babuda]

Returned from Puri yesterday. Kolkata to just before reaching Balasore (NH 6 & NH 60) have numerous diversions which slow you down. Then there are the speed breakers at the entry and exit of every junction. It took us around 5 hours to reach Balasore. NH 5 up to Cuttack is great. Cuttack to Rasulgarh (where you have to take a left turn on to the Bhubaneshwar By pass) is once again slow because of the on going construction of flyovers. The by pass up to Puri is not entirely complete and there are some diversions on the latter half with the final stretch via the old road. The Balasore to Puri sector took us 4 hours - in total 9 hours in all with two breaks - a half an hour breakfast break before Jaleswar and a 15 minute refreshment (coconut water) break just prior to reaching Cuttack.

[shomshree]

I'm planning to visit Puri next week. With the help of all members here, I wanted to clear a few queries.

Originally Posted by ultimatechamp

Since I have traversed this mess at Jaleshwar more than 10 times, my opinion would be to stick with GQ. Always the same method -> switch on to other side, fairly early -> put on your blinkers and keep honking -> at one point of time you would be right in the middle of the epicentre -> when there will be huge monolithic trucks all around you ( mostly either container trucks or vehicle transporters of Hyundai/Maurti ) carrying their wares from ports of Odisha -> keep to the middle and keep honking as much as you can -> they usually let go, if they aren't themselves stuck at the narrowest possible toll gate -> road is concrete with big potholes in the middle and the soft mud on both sides whereon one should never venture -> keep honking more -> finally trucks give way -> surrounding trucks thin-out and one suddenly breaks free from the mess and drives on.

If I'm not wrong, you are suggesting to switch to the opposite lane of the highway. If so, would it be possible to cross the toll plaza without a hitch? I am unsure whether any toll plaza would allow crossing from the wrong lane and direction.

You mentioned taking a diversion. Would one have any prior indication or marker to identify the point from where the diversion is to be taken?

Originally Posted by Arkesh

Being a local i know its a unsafe road after sunset and i was just suggesting for safety. I work at NIRTAR hospital which is in that route. And i didnt know that all vehicles coming from WB cross this part around noon only. Its just an advise and it is upto you whether or not to take it. You were probably lucky both times that you could drive without hassles on that road. It is quite frequently blocked for anti posco demonstrations. And iron ore is transported by trucks through that route to astaranga port.

I am planning to start from Kolkata around 6 a.m. By my estimate, I should be reaching this point around 1 o'clock in the afternoon. Would it be safe to cross this stretch around this time?

Originally Posted by dj78

So I did the trip. Road improvement/construction work going on all along the route - a million diversions & speed breakers will increase your drive time and reduce the ride quality. Did not experience any delay at the Jaleswar truck crossing. If anyone needs any specific info PM me.

Would you have a clue as to the current state of road / route condition, especially with regard to Jaleshwar crossing and Bhubaneshwar bypass?

Originally Posted by julupani

It was a temporary measure, since the bypass section of the road was actually not complete, ie only one side of the road was complete. A small little bit of work is still left. And as this is a virgin stretch of road, the operator would have normally liked to complete the entire work before throwing it open to traffic. The road was opened just before this year's Rath Yatra on request.

Any update on the current status of this bypass.

Originally Posted by Babuda

Returned from Puri yesterday. Kolkata to just before reaching Balasore (NH 6 & NH 60) have numerous diversions which slow you down. Then there are the speed breakers at the entry and exit of every junction. It took us around 5 hours to reach Balasore. NH 5 up to Cuttack is great. Cuttack to Rasulgarh (where you have to take a left turn on to the Bhubaneshwar By pass) is once again slow because of the on going construction of flyovers. The by pass up to Puri is not entirely complete and there are some diversions on the latter half with the final stretch via the old road. The Balasore to Puri sector took us 4 hours - in total 9 hours in all with two breaks - a half an hour breakfast break before Jaleswar and a 15 minute refreshment (coconut water) break just prior to reaching Cuttack.

Is it true that extra money is charged from travelers at the check post?

Can you comment on the stretch between Balasore and Puri?

How long did it take for you to traverse the distance from Kolkata, and how did you find the Jaleshwar crossing?

Did you start from Kolkata in the early hours of the morning?