[Soumyajit9]

Folks travelling to Puri for the Rath Yatra, please be careful with your personal hygiene.

Received these images on Facebook.

A 30 min rain on 11th July 2015 caused this scene at Hospital Square on Grand Road (Bada Danda).

[Babuda]

A quick route update: did the Kolkata - Bhubaneshwar run last Friday, i.e 17/07 to attend the Rathyatra at Puri the next day. Due to traffic restrictions in and around Puri as well as failing to secure a hotel reservation in the Temple Town, we decided to put up in the state capital.

Home (in Central Kolkata) to Bhubaneshwar Club (Rajpath): door to door - 440 km was dispatched in 6 hours 53 minutes flat. We left home at 9:30 AM and reached our destination at 4:23 PM. This included a 30 minute breakfast break near Kharagpur; and my speed rarely crosses 100. We experienced intermittent heavy showers after Cuttack, which led us to further reduce speed. This same stretch had taken us 9 hours in January.

The decrease in time elapsed can be attributed to the drastically reduced number of diversions as well as several new flyovers that are now in operation - expect the time to come down even further in the next six months when more flyovers are expected to be commissioned.

[raghuvir]

A bunch of us planning a road trip on bikes from Pune - Kolkatta. A couple of days back a friend of mine reported an incident near Jaleswar when they were returning from Puri-Kolkatta. A couple of superbikes and cars were travelling together and the superbikes were shot at near Jaleswar of course with the intention to rob the bikes. I have personally not verified this incident, but am shocked. Can someone shed some light whether this route should be avoided?

[KALINGA]

Originally Posted by raghuvir

A bunch of us planning a road trip on bikes from Pune - Kolkatta. A couple of days back a friend of mine reported an incident near Jaleswar when they were returning from Puri-Kolkatta. A couple of superbikes and cars were travelling together and the superbikes were shot at near Jaleswar of course with the intention to rob the bikes. I have personally not verified this incident, but am shocked. Can someone shed some light whether this route should be avoided?

Yes that incident happened few days back. That is totally unfortunate.
But the route is as safe as before it used to be. No issue at all.

Now a days not a single highway safe at night. So avoid night drive.

But those areas are very safe, this type of incident never happened before.

So forget about that matter, enjoy your ride.
Try to ride in group and do not ride at night for your safety.

[ultimatechamp]

As Kalinga has said above,the route in question is extremely safe and should be ok. Travel in groups,and avoid night drives.
I have done the Kolkata Puri route in August 2015 and then again between 4rth and 8th November,2015. The new flyovers are mostly ready and driving is a breeze.Total drive time has been grossly shortened,but the flip side is tolls have gone up and so have their prices. The costliest toll plaza between Kolkata and Puri is the Dhulagarh toll plaza which charges Rs90/car,one side. Others are roughly between Rs65 and Rs75.
Even the newly done Jagannath Sadak has a toll plaza now,nearing exit from Pipli.

Few extra points from my side - The mile long truck traffic is still there,whereas the infamous toll at Jaleshwar interstate border is long gone.
Towards Puri from Kolkata,beyond Chandikhol,still a lot of highway remains to be built and on any given day can be a cause for hold up in traffic. God only knows why this particular stretch isn't built quickly.Also nearing the Utkal Signature building ( which has a huge Audi showroom), the flyover seems to take eternity to build.
Initially I was of the opinion that construction is delayed in West Bengal due to land logjam etc,but work is quicker in Odisha. Sadly,its the other way round.Almost all flyovers and roads have been either built or nearing completion in West Bengal. Rather in Odisha , the road-works is delayed like never before. Even the famed Navakalebar is over for months now,but unfinished road works will meet you at every nook and corner after Chandikhol,nearing Cuttack,some stretches of Jagannath Sadak,etc. Even the toll plazas in West Bengal look neat and swiftly operated,whereas toll plazas in Odisha are manually operated and utterly shabby and have huge bumps on either side.

[vnabhi]

Hi folks

Any recent updates on the road between Vizag and Kolkata? My cousin plans to drive on his Vento on March 2nd. He did a recent road trip to Rourkela from Vizag and said the roads were very good all the way till the junction beyond Chodwar where he had to turn left to go to Rourkela via Dhenkanal.

We'd like to specifically know about the stretch between Cuttack and Kolkata. And what is the driving time like?
Thanks in advance.

[Samba]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

Hi folks

Any recent updates on the road between Vizag and Kolkata? My cousin plans to drive on his Vento on March 2nd. He did a recent road trip to Rourkela from Vizag and said the roads were very good all the way till the junction beyond Chodwar where he had to turn left to go to Rourkela via Dhenkanal.

We'd like to specifically know about the stretch between Cuttack and Kolkata. And what is the driving time like?
Thanks in advance.

The whole stretch from Kolkata to Vizag is in excellent shape.

Cuttack to Kolkata is now doable in 6 hours. The only bad stretch was between Kharagpur to Balasore but now its excellent. So basically Vizag - Kolkata can be done in 12 hours in a Vento.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by Samba

The whole stretch from Kolkata to Vizag is in excellent shape.

Cuttack to Kolkata is now doable in 6 hours. The only bad stretch was between Kharagpur to Balasore but now its excellent. So basically Vizag - Kolkata can be done in 12 hours in a Vento.

Sounds good. Thanks for the immediate response. Are there any turnings one needs to be aware of, between Balasore and Kolkata? As far as I remember, one needs to exit from NH5 and go on some other road to Kolkata.

[Samba]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

Sounds good. Thanks for the immediate response. Are there any turnings one needs to be aware of, between Balasore and Kolkata? As far as I remember, one needs to exit from NH5 and go on some other road to Kolkata.

My pleasure Sir.

Just after Balasore there is a board stating Kolkata on right. From that juncture you connect to sh60 from Nh5. You will be driving on sh60 till Kharagpur. At Kharagpur sh60 will meet Nh6. Take right and Nh6 will take you to Kolkata.

Now there are more than one exits for entering Kolkata. So that will entirely depend on which part of Kolkata you will be visiting. If you are going to South Kolkata or Park Street/New-market/Behala side take 2nd Hooghly bride, if North Kolkata or near Airport take the Nivedita setu.

In case of any confusion inside Kolkata, if you want i can PM you my number so you can call me any time.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by Samba

My pleasure Sir.

Now there are more than one exits for entering Kolkata. So that will entirely depend on which part of Kolkata you will be visiting. If you are going to South Kolkata or Park Street/New-market/Behala side take 2nd Hooghly bride, if North Kolkata or near Airport take the Nivedita setu.

In case of any confusion inside Kolkata, if you want i can PM you my number so you can call me any time.

Thanks for your kind gesture. My cousin is visiting Jodhpur Park, so will be taking the Vidyasagar Setu. He knows his way from there. That apart, my brother stays in Salt Lake and is available for ready guidance.

By the way, I wasn't aware of Nivedita Setu. I know of a bridge north of Howrah Bridge, close to Dakshineshwar, that connects to the Dum Dum airport. Is that the same one?

[Samba]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

By the way, I wasn't aware of Nivedita Setu. I know of a bridge north of Howrah Bridge, close to Dakshineshwar, that connects to the Dum Dum airport. Is that the same one?

Welcome sir.

Yes, you are right but close to Dakhineshwar there are two adjacent bridges. One is the old Bally bridge and the new one is tolled, its the Nivedita Setu. Both leads to airport but if coming from the highway Nh6/Nh2 the Nivedita setu is the best bet as its a direct road towards airport.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by Samba

The whole stretch from Kolkata to Vizag is in excellent shape.

Cuttack to Kolkata is now doable in 6 hours. The only bad stretch was between Kharagpur to Balasore but now its excellent. So basically Vizag - Kolkata can be done in 12 hours in a Vento.

+1 to your clarifications. I got feedback today that the driving time was around 11 hours, but 15 toll gates and 2 border crossings, apart from food and bio-breaks added 2 hours and 15 minutes to that figure.

The roads were excellent all the way, but border crossings were very crowded. They had to drive on the opposite lane at times to get across fast.

[subhrajitdr]

Can anybody help me regarding recent updates on the road condition from Kolkata to Vizag? I am planned for Kolkata-Puri on 24th Dec and Puri-Vizag on 26th Dec. What is the suggestion to avoid truck congestion at Jaleswar - going through the town or driving on the other lane? Are there any other bypasses that I should take (e.g. Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, etc.) or just follow Google map?

Thanks in advance.

[asitkde]

Hi guys,

This thread seems deserted. Still let me ask.

My wife and I are planning a drive to Puri from Kolkata and back in the middle of April. I have two queries:

• Any road advisories from anyone?
• Any recommended places for refreshment breaks?

Last time I drove on this route was in 2004. The divided highways were under construction then. It typically took us 12 hours each way then. I believe the roads are much improved these days. Still are there any road concerns anywhere?

[subhrajitdr]

As mentioned in the post just above, i went to Puri last December (and then went on to Vizag too). The road is absolutely fabulous other than some well managed diversions due to flyover construction between Panipuri toll plaza and Cuttack.

I started at 5:30 am from near Birati (my home), had an early breakfast at Uluberia Azad Hind, negotiated a blanket of dense fog till Kolaghat, took a short tea break at Bhadrak, a shorter Banana break at Cuttack and reached Puri at around 2 pm. Please see the attachment too.