[pgginish]

Originally Posted by sandsun7

Suggest anyone doing Bangalore-Kannur to take the Mysore-HDKote-Bavali-Mananthavady route till the bridge is repaired. Note, this route is open only during day (6AM to 6PM, between HDkote and Bavali).

I will be driving to Thalassery this Saturday. How is the Bavali road condition? I will be driving first time on this route. If I start at 5 AM from Bangalore, what time I will be able to reach Thalassery? What are the food/refreshment options available on this route?

[sandsun7]

Originally Posted by pgginish

I will be driving to Thalassery this Saturday. How is the Bavali road condition? I will be driving first time on this route. If I start at 5 AM from Bangalore, what time I will be able to reach Thalassery? What are the food/refreshment options available on this route?

Road is decent enough. As per friends who traveled couple of weeks ago, there are few rough patches around Mananthavady. Also, there are many speed breakers inside the forest stretch between Antharasanthe and Bavali which will slow you down. Since your destination is Thalassery, Mananthavady-Periya-Nidumpoil-Kuthuparamba may be the better option over the Palchuram route.
No half decent food refreshment options between Mysore and Kattikulam. There is a restaurant just before Kattikulam bus stand on the right side, but no personal experience. Mananthavady has hotels for light eats and meals, Century Grand being one. There is an Indian coffee house too if you are ok with that kind of food.
With a 5 AM start, you could take around 60-90 minutes over the usual time on the regular route.

EDIT: Since you have 5 days before you start, I suggest you wait and take a call on Friday. The temporary bridge near Thithimathi may be readied by then for LMVs.

[rajblr]

Originally Posted by pgginish

How is the Bavali road condition?

I drove to Mahe couple of weeks back through the same route, road condition is decent but many trucks were getting stuck near the narrow stretch before Bavali Bridge. (just before Kerala border) I lost more than 45 mins. As the road is too narrow one has come out of the road to give way to other side traffic and heavy load vehicle tyres were getting stuck in loose soil causing grid lock. I wouldn't suggest this road if it is heavily raining.
On the way back i took Bathery- Gundalpet route as i didn't want to get stuck in this area in the evening.

I plan to travel to Kannur this mid week as well, i will keep you posted on my experience. On the way I plan to try Virajpet option unless the road is fully blocked.

[rajblr]

Heard the palchuram road was closed yesterday, I dropped my plan to drive down. No sure if it is restored today.

[balenoed_]

The usual Hunsur - Gonikoppal - Makkootta - Iritty road is open for small vehicles as of yesterday.

[sandsun7]

The new bridge near Thithimathi on the Hunsur-Virajpet road (Bangalore-Kannur route) is open for LMV traffic. The makeshift bridge had collapsed once again last week. So now this looks like is a permanent solution.
Source:
link below https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...&theater&ifg=1

[sandsun7]

Latest update on Kannur-Bangalore Road conditions:
Drove Kannur- Bangalore today morning. Detailed Road conditions are as follows:
Kannur-Mattannur: Excellent tarmac all through. No issues at all.

Mattannur-Kalrod - Decent roads, not much KSTP road work seem to be happening on this stretch.

Kalrod-Iritty- Excellent roads, almost like a runway now with many curves now straightened. There are a couple of small diversions but nothing much to worry about.

Iritty bridge- Vallithode: lot of completed stretches where tarmac is excellent. In between many work in progress stretches. Overall manageable
Vallithode-Kootupuzha bridge: Lot of work in progress stretches with very few completed stretches. Again, very much manageable.

Kootupuzha-Perumpady (Makkutta ghats)- I expected bad stretches but surprisingly the entire stretch remains good! There are around 4 places where there are barricades making the stretch one way but only for a couple of meters at each place. No work was happening. There are many many places where the sides seems to have eroded off and trees standing precariously. But the road remains good. overall, the stretch left me pleasantly surprised because I was expecting a lot worse.

Perumpady-Gonikoppal-Hunsur-Mysore- Bangalore : Same as it has been since last two three years or so- Excellent for most of the part. There are a lot of potholes between Gonikoppal and Thithimathi. Need to be careful there especially if you are driving past dusk. Rest is all in great condition.

The WIP stretch near Kootupuzha


One of the areas in the ghats which was damaged


Another landslide area

[MSAneesh]

Originally Posted by sandsun7

Latest update on Kannur-Bangalore Road conditions:
Drove Kannur- Bangalore today morning. Detailed Road conditions are as follows:

Is the Thithimati bridge fully functional?
Is this road now open for buses? Or, do they still go via Kutta, Mananthavady?

[sandsun7]

Originally Posted by MSAneesh

Is the Thithimati bridge fully functional?
Is this road now open for buses? Or, do they still go via Kutta, Mananthavady?

It is open for all kind of vehicles including buses. The overnight buses are going via Hunsur-Gonikoppal-Kutta-Mananthavady-Palchuram/Periya. They are not permitted to take the Makutta ghats yet

[balenoed_]

Buses between Bangalore and Kannur are all re-routed. The road is blocked due to landslide and tree falls last night and this morning. Last night buses are reaching Bangalore only tonight. People were stranded in buses for super long hours at those impacted areas. Some of the buses from Kannur returned back. It is a chaos at the moment for bus travellers. Not sure what would be fate of Makkuta route for cars. So far no issues.

[Jaggu]

Drove from Bangalore to Kannur today morning. Route is open for lmv no issues. Minor land slides here and there, but road is clear. Minor deviations for road widening inside Kerala, otherwise good roads through out. Rains also seems to have eased out, got some moderate shower at iritty, otherwise just drizzle.

[balenoed_]

Heard from unverified sources that the Makkutam churam will be closed for repairs for 6 months after Onam.

Anyways, I would not be surprised if it happens. Such is the amount of work to be done to get it back to motorable for all vehicles.

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Drove from Bangalore to Kannur today morning. Route is open for lmv no issues. Minor land slides here and there, but road is clear. Minor deviations for road widening inside Kerala, otherwise good roads through out. Rains also seems to have eased out, got some moderate shower at iritty, otherwise just drizzle.

Some images from dash cam on how it really is. This if from yesterday.

[Thunderbird]

What is the current state of roads from Bangalore to Kannur? Is the Virajpet - Iritty road operational now? Please let me know if you have any updates.

[Latheesh]

How about bus services between Kannur and Bangalore. Is it normal?