[narayankumar]

thanks sunil, abhijit and faustus. i've reached ahmedabad in about 9 hours, including wasting an hour within the city to find the address. faustus, looks like i took the route you mentioned in bharuch even though i didn't see your post in time.

some observations:

1. there was tremendous fog all the way to Vapi, starting from somewhere on the dahisar-ghodbunder road. real thick fog that kept coming in waves, more like a hill station thing than anything i've seen near bombay. it blocked visibility quite a bit and people were driving with their hazard lights on. short of seeing a seventies hindi movie actress in a white saree singing ghost songs, it was quite spooky.

2. after about 40 km from vapi, the traffic just stopped! loads of trucks and cars just lay this way and that, even including those that went across the divider and got stuck. at some point, many cars (but not trucks) came from the opposite direction and somehow wended their way on our left shoulder of the road. in 30 minutes the stuck cars from our side got moving and that was that. there was no explanation for this. and the ride was smooth enough after that. wonder if this sort of thing is normal for these parts...

3. from mumbai to surat (even with an early start of 5 am) the going did not average more than 60-65 km per hour. this was not because of bad roads or diversions, but simply the traffic - 80 percent trucks. it slows one down.

4. from surat to vadadora it was all good. and the home stretch from vadodara to ahmedabad was fantastic. did the 90 km or so in about 50 minutes without too much fuss.

thanks for all the help received. much appreciated. my colleague kept a log of the timings, so can post them when i return to bombay on saturday. it may help others, if only because it's a recent experience.

[suniladhiya]

Originally Posted by narayankumar

1. there was tremendous fog all the way to Vapi, starting from somewhere on the dahisar-ghodbunder road. real thick fog that kept coming in waves, more like a hill station thing than anything i've seen near bombay. it blocked visibility quite a bit and people were driving with their hazard lights on. short of seeing a seventies hindi movie actress in a white saree singing ghost songs, it was quite spooky.

2. after about 40 km from vapi, the traffic just stopped! loads of trucks and cars just lay this way and that, even including those that went across the divider and got stuck. at some point, many cars (but not trucks) came from the opposite direction and somehow wended their way on our left shoulder of the road. in 30 minutes the stuck cars from our side got moving and that was that. there was no explanation for this. and the ride was smooth enough after that. wonder if this sort of thing is normal for these parts....

Both the above seem to be unususal occurences - have not encountered either fog or traffic jams before Vapi

Originally Posted by narayankumar

3. from mumbai to surat (even with an early start of 5 am) the going did not average more than 60-65 km per hour. this was not because of bad roads or diversions, but simply the traffic - 80 percent trucks. it slows one down.

4. from surat to vadadora it was all good. and the home stretch from vadodara to ahmedabad was fantastic. did the 90 km or so in about 50 minutes without too much fuss

This is normal, however to avoid the truck traffic, better time to cross Ghodbunder Road is around 7 a.m. by which time truck traffic usually thins out

Look forward to your logs.

[narayankumar]

Start: 5.07 am from Wadala, Mumbai

-----

Virar Khaniwade toll 6.33 am
79 km

-----
Charoti toll 7.18 am
129 km

-------
Vapi McD 8.08 am
191 km
Good time being made here, I should think. As noted earlier, there was spooky fog throughout the way from Ghodbunder road and a decent amount of lorry traffic. All things considered, sat down for a satisfied breakfast at an empty McD at Vapi.

---------
Departure from McD 8.36 am
Bad jam 9.11 am
229 km
As noted, this jam apparently had no cause - no accident, no construction/diversion, no check naka, etc. Yet all came to a standstill for half an hour and as mysteriously, cleared up. Relieved, but puzzled.
Started moving from jam 9.41 am

--------
Navsari toll 9.58 am
254 km

--------
McD surat bypass 10.24 am
292 km

---------
Tapi river bridge 10.35 am
305 km

---------
Passing Hotel Sun Plaza, Ankleshwar 11.03 am
344 km
Thanks to this thread, took the route into Ankleshwar and Bharuch as advised. All good and smooth. The diversion off NH 8 was plain to see with a sign board just before the flyover as informed. Back on track in about 20 minutes or so.

-----------
Detour ends. Join NH8 11.27 am
359 km

-----------
L and T. IDPL toll 11.49 am
393 km

---------
Start of mahatma gandhi expressway 12.28 pm
443 km
This is seriously a pleasure drive, as many have remarked. My first time and I enjoyed it very much. Reached the Sardar Patel ring road around Ahmedabad in about 50 minutes.

-------
Entering SP ring road 1.22 pm
532 km

-------
Novotel hotel 2.18 pm
567 km
Generally got lost and went here and there, before finally homing in. This is on Sarkhej-Gandhinagar Highway (SG Highway, as it is known there), sort of an easy location to continue our onward journey to Kalol (N.G) tomorrow for our meeting in that industrial neighbourhood - besides being a nice hotel, of course. Incidentally, there is another Kalol in Gujarat which is why "N.G" is added to this one - stands for "North Gujarat" - to distinguish it from the other one. You learn something new every day.

-------

Journey to Kalol (N.G)

A trip of about 50 minutes from the hotel to the industrial suburb, uneventful barring the occasional camel, to cover about 30 km. You just cross over from the SG Highway on to the Mehsana Highway at the Adalaj crossing where there is a fancy clover leaf junction.

-------
Notes on Surat
Since we left in the afternoon from Ahmedabad after our meeting in Kalol, we decided to break journey at Surat for the night. Although we reached the outskirts in 4 hours, we got stuck in one place for an hour because a Tata Indica ahead had combusted! The fire people were there and when we were let through, we saw the unfortunate vehicle being doused and white smoke billowing.

Surat incidentally is a busy, prosperous city on the banks of Tapi river. There are malls everywhere and some serious construction work going on everywhere too. We stayed the night at the swank Taj Gateway right on the bank of the river in rooms with a river view. The Tapi is not as grand as its sister Narmada, but it's impressive in its own right.

After leisurely breakfast the next morning, we left Surat at 11.20 am. Took 5 hours. All smooth sailing till Virar on the outskirts of modern Mumbai. And then we got stuck for 40 minutes because of work on the Vasai Creek bridge. They were allowing traffic one way in turns and the pile-up of cars and trucks on both sides was plainly ridiculous. We didn't face this on our earlier journey because of our early 5 am start. Coming back late afternoon into Mumbai has its hazards.

Leave early if you want to avoid trouble. Here's a big yes to that.

[narayankumar]

Some photos from the trip

Stopped at Vapi McD and had the place to ourselves



Wild life in front of Vapi McD



NH 8 all good - just expect a lot of lorries



Surat on the banks of Tapi River



A lot of construction work at Surat




The fabulous Vadodara-Ahmedabad Expressway NE 1







Tamed life at Ahmedabad




Stay on the return leg at Surat Gateway




Breakfast at the Gateway



Note from Team-bhp Support: Please take a look at this thread to understand how to insert images in line with captions.

[Gannu_1]

Went to Ahmedabad yesterday morn and returned back (to Surat) by evening. Some stretches in the expressway are being blocked and repaired by IRB. An entire bridge was being reconstructed so that road was completely blocked and the traffic was rerouted through the other road using a diversion. No major congestion however and the vehicles were plying smoothly.

There was however an accident just before the Sardar Bridge at the Ankleshwar-Bharuch by-pass and a truck carrying some white chemical powder in blue barrels had broken down bang in the center of the road. The barrels were all over spilling this white powder and the traffic was moving at a very slow pace. Wasted some 15-20 minutes here thus.

Had it not been for that useless traffic cop who pulled us over for not having the yellow sticker on the driver-side headlamp, this trip could have been a lot better!

[sandeep joshi]

Originally Posted by narayankumar

Start: 5.07 am from Wadala, Mumbai


Passing Hotel Sun Plaza, Ankleshwar 11.03 am
344 km
Thanks to this thread, took the route into Ankleshwar and Bharuch as advised. All good and smooth. The diversion off NH 8 was plain to see with a sign board just before the flyover as informed. Back on track in about 20 minutes or so.

I heard this jam at bridge near Ankleshwar and Bharuch is from 2010 , so from last 4 years , we have got same status that need to drive via Golden bridge within bharuch city , is there any progress on this bridge ? why it takes so long to construct a bridge , what is actual cause of this jam? is construction is standstill and no progress from last 2-3 years ? and one more question , while coming from vadodara to Mumbai , then also one has to drive from inside cities (Ankleshwar and Bharuch) and came via Golden bridge ?

[suniladhiya]

Originally Posted by sandeep joshi

I heard this jam at bridge near Ankleshwar and Bharuch is from 2010 , so from last 4 years , we have got same status that need to drive via Golden bridge within bharuch city , is there any progress on this bridge ? why it takes so long to construct a bridge , what is actual cause of this jam? is construction is standstill and no progress from last 2-3 years ? and one more question , while coming from vadodara to Mumbai , then also one has to drive from inside cities (Ankleshwar and Bharuch) and came via Golden bridge ?

Sandeep, the repair work on the new bridge is now over and both lanes of the bridge are officially open to traffic. You need not go into Ankleshwar and Bharuch towns and cross the old Golden Bridge.

I travelled Pune-Vadodara-Pune in last week of March, and there was absolutely no problem on the new bridge in both the directions. You can also read HV Kumar's confirmation on this in the Mumbai-Vadodara thread.

However, now another problem is the Ghodbunder Road bridge which is under repair. Traffic is allowed only on the north-bound lane of the bridge and the police are allowing only uni-directional flow by turns, so expect delay of 15-20 mins in both directions.

When are you travelling? Do post your trip report on your return. I am likely to do this trip again in the first week of May.

Have a good trip !

[sandeep joshi]

Originally Posted by suniladhiya

However, now another problem is the Ghodbunder Road bridge which is under repair. Traffic is allowed only on the north-bound lane of the bridge and the police are allowing only uni-directional flow by turns, so expect delay of 15-20 mins in both directions.

I am leaving from Pune may be on this weekend
AS Google maps suggest, i will travel via Pune-express way--Exit at Kalamboli Junction--Right turn for Shil phata---Mumbra bypass--take new Nasik express way for 5-6 kms -- take left for Anjur phata--chinchoti anjur phata road--NH8--Vadodara

so we can totally bypass Thane-Ghodbundar road and bypass Thane , please guide if this is best road to reach Ahemadbad-vadodara NH8 for people traveling from Pune expressway ?

[suniladhiya]

Originally Posted by sandeep joshi

I am leaving from Pune may be on this weekend
AS Google maps suggest, i will travel via Pune-express way--Exit at Kalamboli Junction--Right turn for Shil phata---Mumbra bypass--take new Nasik express way for 5-6 kms -- take left for Anjur phata--chinchoti anjur phata road--NH8--Vadodara

so we can totally bypass Thane-Ghodbundar road and bypass Thane , please guide if this is best road to reach Ahemadbad-vadodara NH8 for people traveling from Pune expressway ?

Sandeep,

I just returned yesterday from my trip to Vadodara. Roads are excellent all through. As I mentioned in my earlier post, expect a holdup of about 20 minutes at the Ghodbunder Road-NH 8 Junction due to the bridge repair work. Bypassing Thane is also now very easy, since the flyovers at Kapurbawdi Junction (in northbound direction), Manpada (both ways) and Patlipada (both ways) are all fully operational. The new bridge over the Narmada river connecting Bharuch and Ankleshwar is also fully operational.

I am not aware of the alternative route suggested by you, others (especially our inhouse travel guru Dr.HV Kumar) who know can comment better, but I doubt very much whether it would be worthwhile in terms of time and driving comfort.

Have a good trip and do post your experience after your return.

[Gannu_1]

Any idea, what is the state of the expressway from Baroda to Ahmedabad? Has anyone recently been on this route say over the last week or so? Please do update! Will greatly help us in planning our departure. We have to reach there around 9 AM so we intend to leave from Navsari around 4 AM.

Wife’s bank has called for a meeting at the 11th hour; no tatkal tickets available so we decided to drive down.

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

Any idea, what is the state of the expressway from Baroda to Ahmedabad?

I drove on this stretch on 18 Sep 2014 and 17 Sep 2013. On both these occasions, I found the NE1 in excellent condition as ever before.

[Raosaheb Desai]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

Any idea, what is the state of the expressway from Baroda to Ahmedabad?

Last week visited Ahmedabad, Expressway is in excellent condition. Some repair/paint work was going before Nadiad exit but no issue.
Please avoid overtaking from left side as Expressway shoulderline is too narrow and many times stationary vehicles can be seen specially on Ahmedabad-Vadodara rout.

[Gannu_1]

Originally Posted by Raosaheb Desai

Please avoid overtaking from left side as Expressway shoulderline is too narrow and many times stationary vehicles can be seen specially on Ahmedabad-Vadodara rout.

Will keep this in mind. I usually do that when my co-driver gives me the green signal and the lane ahead is clear. Shall update the status upon my return. We will be leaving within another hour or so.

[Gannu_1]

Well guys, we had a terrible time last Saturday. I felt really unfortunate but alas, we had no other way.

We departed from Navsari at 4 AM, reached the NH-8 bypass at Bharuch around 5:15 AM (no breaks in between) and crossed this bypass (a stretch of 17 km) at 7:20 AM.



We spent 2 LONG hours at this horrible stretch amidst trucks! The most horrible time I’ve ever had so far getting stuck in traffic. It felt really deplorable by the time we got past this stretch and I was in no mood to drive ahead. But we had no other go. I felt like calling up my wife’s HR department and giving them a piece of my mind for informing her about this meeting at the last moment! To make matters worse, there was a long queue at the L&T IDPL toll booth and we lost 40 minutes there. Even worse, there is a flyover construction underway just before the expressway start at Baroda, vehicles were being diverted through a bad stretch and we lost another 30 minutes there. We reached Ahmedabad around 10:30 AM and wife reached her circle office located near Nehru Bridge around 11:15 AM. What would have been ideally a 4 hour journey was a 7+ hour nightmare!

The return journey was much better in comparison. No blocks at any of the above mentioned locations. We took a chance and came via the Golden Bridge instead and we breezed through. Left Ahmedabad around 3 PM and reached Navsari around 8 PM including a 20 minute stopover at the Reliance food court in the expressway.

For those who are planning a trip to Ahmedabad and beyond from Pune, Mumbai, Surat, make it a point to go via the Golden Bridge at Bharuch instead of the NH-8 bypass. Do not take the NH-8 bypass and get stuck in the mess.

[ak916]

We did Ahmedabad - Daman 4 days ago. Vadodara towards Mumbai is the worst 6 lane road on the planet. The road itself is good but what heavy traffic!!!! And you cannot help but overtake on the left most lane as the other two are inevitable occupied by slower trucks. We were lucky to cross the golden bridge in 40 minutes only. We approached the flyover and saw traffic on top of it. So took the service road and that was free till almost the median after the flyover. Around 4:15 pm we entered the traffic mess and exited it at 4:50 PM. Extremely lucky, I must say. They had closed one lane on the bridge for repairs.