[nishantbhatia84]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

As you know Mumbai's truck rule, beat the mess by leabing at 0600 from Dadar. This way, you can break for Breakfast near Manor and cross Navasari-Surat by 1000 by when Peak traffic would be little thinner and that also will give you advantage to do Ankleshwar Bharucheck around 1200 and 1300 without getting into the city route.

If night driving is not a problem then I would always suggest covering NH8 from Mumbai to Ahmedabad at that time - why? - because NH8 during daytime is a pain to drive till Vapi - loads of unruly bikers/autos and small goods carriers keep the left lane occupied - resulting in truckers driving on the middle and fast lanes - blocking the faster traffic. Also, leaving during daytime poses a definite risk at Bharuch - that section is mostly in a mess.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by nishantbhatia84

If night driving is not a problem then I would always suggest covering NH8 from Mumbai to Ahmedabad at that time - why? - because NH8 during daytime is a pain to drive till Vapi - loads of unruly bikers/autos and small goods carriers keep the left lane occupied - resulting in truckers driving on the middle and fast lanes - blocking the faster traffic. Also, leaving during daytime poses a definite risk at Bharuch - that section is mostly in a mess.

There is absolutely no disagreement there. Most of my drives from Bangalore to Ahmedabad have happened in a way that Mumbai Ahmedabad leg is covered under artificial lights

At night, the miscellaneous traffic on most of the urban areas is very less, truckers are mostly minding their business and most importantly, the leftmost lane is actually "utlized" by moving vehicles than stationary Auto or a group of 2 wheelers.

Beyond this, at night it also immensely helps to overtake switching between lanes (well that's exactly how this is done here) and your flashing of light is more acknowledged than during the day to give way by then trucks.

In fact, you don't even need to make this an all might drive. Whenever I have started from Bangalore, I have passed Ghodbunder before 0530PM and with a break around Navasari (Sugar n Spice) , I have had a neat run all the way beyond here as the day ends and reach Ahmedabad on tbe same day I started from Bangalore.Not a bad idea to start at 5PM with only major irk is the traffic out of Bombay till Nalasopara/Virar.

Bharuch cam always be managed, I have always done.

[ruzbehxyz]

Hi friends
Any idea /news of the opening of Narmada bridge from Ankleshwar to Bharuch ?
It looks like majority of the work is complete.

[ragh_bhushan]

Originally Posted by ruzbehxyz

Hi friends
Any idea /news of the opening of Narmada bridge from Ankleshwar to Bharuch ?
It looks like majority of the work is complete.

You are correct. The work is almost complete. I did not face any issue / delays. Crossed it twice last month - at 6AM and 11AM.

[pcpranav]

for ref, some food options I wrote in another thread

hopefully the NH8's new bridge over Narmada river is operational soon, few months back saw the works in full swing, and glad to see some finishing pics in this thread. however passing through the legendary Golden Bridge will always have a charm and nostalgic.

picked earlier pic posted by @paragsachania & edited a bit:
just in case, there is a "connecting" road too, via Andada village, but quite a rough one. I took that once, last year, after confirming from locals that other side would be relatively less traffic!



regards,

[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by ruzbehxyz

Hi friends
Any idea /news of the opening of Narmada bridge from Ankleshwar to Bharuch ?

I traveled through this route last week. Yes, the bridge is almost done, we saw side railing work getting done. There was a truck and crane on the bridge carrying the railing, so the surface of the bridge is done. While on our return, in night saw that even lights are done.

However, approach road work is still not done. They are just leveling earth there. I guess it will take about a month for the work to be done.

Regarding the traffic, during drive to north direction checked the traffic (~07:00 AM, Sunday)status in Google maps before Ankleshwar turn off and made sure there was no block. Took the newer of the two operational bridge (not the new under construction one) and crossed over without any issues.

On way back, again checked the traffic before reaching Baruch turn (~9:00 PM Friday), there was only slight block hence decided to take NH itself instead of Golden bridge. However, there was an accident involving truck and due to that at entry to the bridge there was block. Wasted some 30 mins in block, past that took left to join the older NH bridge on which trucks are not allowed and crossed without any issues.

Do note that the smaller old bridge (the one on your right when driving north from Mumbai side) is open for cars, other smaller vehicles and buses in both direction. Do try to get on to this to avoid the block.

[paragsachania]

Thanks for the update Suhas. I am sure you had a wonderful drive and we must all wait for a lovely travelogue soon

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

Regarding the traffic, during drive to north direction checked the traffic (~07:00 AM, Sunday)status in Google maps before Ankleshwar turn off and made sure there was no block. Took the newer of the two operational bridge (not the new under construction one) and crossed over without any issues.

That is exactly what I have been doing - Assess traffic from both sides on Googlemaps and then take a call whether to head inside town via Old (Golden) bridge or take the usual NH8 Bypass.

past that took left to join the older NH bridge on which trucks are not allowed and crossed without any issues.

Bottlenecks when driving south, if any is only because of the section before this bridge begins. Post this bridge, its easy all the way. Hence you will mostly get stuck when driving up rather than driving down.

Do note that the smaller old bridge (the one on your right when driving north from Mumbai side) is open for cars, other smaller vehicles and buses in both direction. Do try to get on to this to avoid the block.

Here's the old "narrow" bridge that is open for cars in both directions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uagEWqPAI50

[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Thanks for the update Suhas. I am sure you had a wonderful drive and we must all wait for a lovely travelogue soon

Thanks to your input, had a great trip. Will update route thread in detail and travelogue once I fix my laptop.

That is exactly what I have been doing - Assess traffic from both sides on Googlemaps and then take a call whether to head inside town via Old (Golden) bridge or take the usual NH8 Bypass.

From where did I get that idea, you think


One thing I forgot to mention in earlier post -

Truck traffic is heavy, especially between Vapi & Vadodara. Due to which, all toll booths once you cross Vapi toll towards Vadodara is blocked. There is respite only once you get on to expressway.

I guess truckers are paying using debit cards and that is causing the extremely slow moving toll queues. I am having Fastag, however I was not even able to make out which toll lane accepts Fastag. For onward journey, I mentioned to toll attendant that I have Fastag, since I was in non Fastag lane. They noted down my number and let me through. Yet to find that amount debited from my account.

During return journey when I got stuck similar way, they didn't even bother to note down the number. Couple of trips this way and you will recover the Rs 200 tag issuing charge paid to ICICI during tag purchase

[paragsachania]

Received this on WhatsApp. The Bharuch Ankleshwar bridge on Narmada is almost ready to open:

[nishantbhatia84]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Received this on WhatsApp. The Bharuch Ankleshwar bridge on Narmada is almost ready to open:

Great news! Let's hope it's thrown open to people without having to wait for it's inauguration by some vip.
Anyone who's driven that route recently is requested to kindly confirm if it's open now / how soon is it expected to be open from.

[R-Six]

Originally Posted by nishantbhatia84

Anyone who's driven that route recently is requested to kindly confirm if it's open now / how soon is it expected to be open from.

Just drove back from Pune and I can confirm that the new bridge is not open for public (as of Monday, Feb 27). From what I heard, it will be inaugurated by our Hon'ble PM in the first week of March. I don't remember the exact date even though I heard it too.

I did Ahmedabad - Pune on Friday (24/2) and return leg on Monday (27/2) and was able to drive through the bridge without any fuss. For LMVs, the traffic is managed quite easily and you can drive through without any delay. But the trucks were diverted to the second bridge and they had some waiting but I wouldn't call it an ever ending wait like we normally see there.

Cheers,
R-Six

[bigwheelz]

Bridge will be inaugurated on 7th Mar. Here is the news clip. The news article correctly mentions "6 years of agony"

[GTO]

Big shoutout to Tirth Pandya for sharing - thank you!

Our Honourable Prime Minister will be in Bharuch on 7th March 2017 to inaugurate the Cable-Stayed Bridge on the Narmada River near Bharuch. This will be a part of NHAI.

For some facts, http://deshgujarat.com/2016/10/04/ne...rly-next-year/

The New Bridge is interconnected to Rajpipla Chowkdi Flyover at the Ankleshwar end & also to the Zadeshwar Chowkdi Flyover at the Bharuch end.

L&T will be supposedly making a Toll Booth after the bridge ends (at the Ankleshwar end) and the expected toll could be Rs. 160.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31lSR8T5Kng

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlxfASOX8Vk

[paragsachania]

Few more pictures, via Whatsapp and PMO India FB Page:

The one below is certainly before inauguration as you can see no traffic on the new bridge while the primary bridge meant for trucks is clogged at entry points on both ends.









Interestingly, since the bridge was thrown opened as per media reports (on 7th March), Google maps show no jams or even amber in this region

[suniladhiya]

Good news for people travelling from Mumbai side to Gujarat - NHAI has awarded the contract for construction of a brand new bridge over the Varsova Creek at Ghodbunder - refer Item No.34 in the chart at the link http://www.nhai.org/phaseVui.asp

Although this of course would take another year or two to complete, finally the pains of the recurring repairs and closure of the old bridge over the creek should be a thing of the past. Also, the NHAI item reads "with interchanges" so hopefully we should see the end of the traffic signal at this junction.

Happy Driving !!!!