[ankan.m.blr]

Hi All, I am planning a vacation at Covelong Beach on the last weekend of this month. Bangalore to Covelong as per gmaps is this route :



How is the road condition from Sriperumbudur to Covelong? I am planning to start around 5.00 AM on Saturday and return on Sunday evening. For the return journey, do you think Ranipet - Chittoor- Palamner- Mulbagal route will be better considering the traffic on the Krishnagiri route?

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by ankan.m.blr

Hi All, I am planning a vacation at Covelong Beach on the last weekend of this month. Bangalore to Covelong as per gmaps is this route : Route

Attachment 1771023

How is the road condition from Sriperumbudur to Covelong? I am planning to start around 5.00 AM on Saturday and return on Sunday evening. For the return journey, do you think Ranipet - Chittoor- Palamner- Mulbagal route will be better considering the traffic on the Krishnagiri route?

For the return journey as you plan to leave in the evening, I would suggest you to stick to the Hosur route itself. Overtaking trailer lorries on the Chittoor route will be a pain. Also road widening of the Old Madras Road is in progress.

[arun_josie]

Originally Posted by ankan.m.blr

How is the road condition from Sriperumbudur to Covelong?

I took this route two weeks back and its good except occasional potholes.

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by ankan.m.blr

How is the road condition from Sriperumbudur to Covelong?

I'd suggest the route binand took here. His drive was from Thiruporur. From Thiruporur you have to drive towards Madras and take the ECR link road at Kelambakkam to reach Kovalam.

[Yieldway17]

Originally Posted by ankan.m.blr

How is the road condition from Sriperumbudur to Covelong?

Sriperumbudur to Mudichur road is fine but not great, it should be okay on a Saturday though. Beyond that Perungalathur - Vandalur - Kelambakkam - Kovalam roads are quite good except for the Kelambakkam town traffic for barely a KM.

I would suggest Sriperumbudur - Oragadam - Vandalur - Kelambakkam - Kovalam instead. It might be 10km longer but the roads are much better except for a small stretch near Vandalur before joining the GST road but that's also because they just started widening that portion which was stuck on 2 lanes for a while due to land acquisition. And Kelambakkam town traffic I mentioned above.

I regularly commute between Vandalur and Kelambakkam and the roads are good and traffic is sparse even on weekdays.

Also, do consider Kanchipuram - Chengalpattu - Tiruporur route as well as others suggested but I generally avoid driving into small towns and hence suggested the above one. Also, 90% of the above suggested route is 4-laned.

[binand]

Originally Posted by ankan.m.blr

Attachment 1771023

How is the road condition from Sriperumbudur to Covelong?

Instead of the route suggested by the map - Sriperumbudur-Manimangalam-Mudichur-Vandalur, take the Sriperumbudur-Oragadam-Vandalur, for these reasons:

1. It is a pain getting on to the Manimangalam road at Sriperumbudur (take U-turn at the ever-crowded junction in front of Rajiv Gandhi Memorial, take service road, avoid TNSTC buses that stop haphazardly etc.). It is a quick right-turn to get to the Oragadam road.

2. The Mudichur road is a two-lane road with significant small-town traffic (bikes, small pickups etc.). The Oragadam road is a wide 6-lane dual carriageway road till Vandalur (maybe it goes down to 4 lanes for short stretches, not sure).

3. It is slightly longer but you can proceed much faster.

Once you are at Vandalur you have a bit of a problem; there is a flyover being constructed on the GST road there. Basically endeavour to cross the zoo and take a left towards Kelambakkam without losing too much time. This is another 4-lane, dual carriageway that is about 20 km.

At Kelambakkam you have to go through the town for about half a km; it is a chaotic town that often can't handle the traffic that goes through it. Take a right on to OMR and a left towards the link road to ECR at Kovalam. This is a two-lane road with not much traffic; it proceeds right through the middle of the Muttukkadu lake and is quite a nice drive.

Once you hit ECR (which is another 4-lane dual carriageway here) most resorts are towards your right. Fisherman's Cove is to the left though.

[arun_josie]

Originally Posted by binand

Instead of the route suggested by the map - Sriperumbudur-Manimangalam-Mudichur-Vandalur, take the Sriperumbudur-Oragadam-Vandalur, for these reasons:

Once while coming from Siruseri, I wanted to take this route but GPS took me straight from Oragadam and we ended up on a different route which connected us to the highway some 30kms from Sriperumbudur. I will try the above route next time.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by arun_josie

Once while coming from Siruseri, I wanted to take this route but GPS took me straight from Oragadam and we ended up on a different route which connected us to the highway some 30kms from Sriperumbudur. I will try the above route next time.

I use the Manimangalam option quite regularly as my entry route to Chennai. But yes it has its own perils in terms of 2-lanes and local traffic. But it still gets me a deterministic 1 hour from Sriperumbudur to Velachery and nearby locations.

But if you need to hit locations like Kelambakam locations beyond Vandalur, Oragadam 6-lane is a perfect option.

Again when if some one takes the Mudichur road, based on destination one should chose to either take the flyover at Tambaram and head toward Medavakkam or take Gandhi road and hit GST beyond the bus stand (This helps a lot to avoid the traffic near the bus stand).

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by binand

Once you are at Vandalur you have a bit of a problem; there is a flyover being constructed on the GST road there. Basically endeavour to cross the zoo and take a left towards Kelambakkam without losing too much time. This is another 4-lane, dual carriageway that is about 20 km.

Its for this bridge construction and unpredictable GST road traffic, I avoided suggesting Vandalur. Google Maps isn't updated with the construction and will suggest you to take a right that doesn't exist. Vandalur-Perungulathur is a perennial mess.

Resurfacing work is going in parts of Kelambakkam-Mambakkam-Vandalur road, so one can expect 1 or 2 diversions here.

[ankan.m.blr]

Originally Posted by binand

Instead of the route suggested by the map - Sriperumbudur-Manimangalam-Mudichur-Vandalur, take the Sriperumbudur-Oragadam-Vandalur, for these reasons:

1. It is a pain getting on to the Manimangalam road at Sriperumbudur (take U-turn at the ever-crowded junction in front of Rajiv Gandhi Memorial, take service road, avoid TNSTC buses that stop haphazardly etc.). It is a quick right-turn to get to the Oragadam road.

2. The Mudichur road is a two-lane road with significant small-town traffic (bikes, small pickups etc.). The Oragadam road is a wide 6-lane dual carriageway road till Vandalur (maybe it goes down to 4 lanes for short stretches, not sure).

3. It is slightly longer but you can proceed much faster.

Once you are at Vandalur you have a bit of a problem; there is a flyover being constructed on the GST road there. Basically endeavour to cross the zoo and take a left towards Kelambakkam without losing too much time. This is another 4-lane, dual carriageway that is about 20 km.

At Kelambakkam you have to go through the town for about half a km; it is a chaotic town that often can't handle the traffic that goes through it. Take a right on to OMR and a left towards the link road to ECR at Kovalam. This is a two-lane road with not much traffic; it proceeds right through the middle of the Muttukkadu lake and is quite a nice drive.

Once you hit ECR (which is another 4-lane dual carriageway here) most resorts are towards your right. Fisherman's Cove is to the left though.

Originally Posted by narayans80

I'd suggest the route binand took here. His drive was from Thiruporur. From Thiruporur you have to drive towards Madras and take the ECR link road at Kelambakkam to reach Kovalam.

So is it better to go via Wazalabad - Chengalpettu - Thiruporur ? Or via Orgadam - Vandalur - Kelambakkm ? I am confused :( . Please help with a gmap route.

[binand]

Originally Posted by ankan.m.blr

So is it better to go via Wazalabad - Chengalpettu - Thiruporur ? Or via Orgadam - Vandalur - Kelambakkm ? I am confused :( . Please help with a gmap route.

Onwards - Sriperumbudur-Oragadam-Vandalur-Kelambakkam-Kovalam is the best route, despite its problems (flyover construction at Vandalur etc.). This is dual carriageway till your turn off at Kelambakkam and that in TN is a big thing due to the bikes and other kind of local traffic.

[svaid]

Hi Folks
I plan to start for Mahabalipuram tomorrow 8AM from Bangalore (Sarjapur Road). Is the route indicated here the best option?

[procrj]

Originally Posted by svaid

Mahabalipuram tomorrow 8AM from Bangalore (Sarjapur Road).

From Kanchipuram its an SH and last year when I drove this stretch in the afternoon, it did have quiet a bit of truck traffic and overtaking was a pain.

The alternative could be Sriperumbudur - Perungalathur - Kelambakam - Kovalam - Mahabs. I personally prefer this route as its a 4L till Sriperumbudur and the roads are decent now. Even after the turn off from AH, the roads are good with manageable traffic till Perungalathur. Post that its a divided 2L till Kelambakam. On the whole I think this is less on the stress quotient when compared to Kanchi - Chengalpattu route.

[svaid]

Originally Posted by procrj

The alternative could be Sriperumbudur - Perungalathur - Kelambakam - Kovalam - Mahabs.

Thanks - Will this add to more time wrt the Kanchipuram route? In case I need to take lunch, do you recommend any place around?

[Yieldway17]

Originally Posted by narayans80

Its for this bridge construction and unpredictable GST road traffic, I avoided suggesting Vandalur. Google Maps isn't updated with the construction and will suggest you to take a right that doesn't exist. Vandalur-Perungulathur is a perennial mess.

But that's not a problem when you come from Oragadam. When you come from Oragadam, the road joins GST Road near Vandalur railway station with a flyover. You can join GST without pain, drive south for about 1.5km and take left towards Kelambakkam. There is no need to take right into Kelambakkam road when using this route as the Oragadam road joins north of this junction.

Resurfacing work is going in parts of Kelambakkam-Mambakkam-Vandalur road, so one can expect 1 or 2 diversions here.

Resurfacing work was done only for like 6-7km top until Kolapakkam from Vandalur and there is no work being done currently in the stretch. Roads are acceptable beyond that with few rough surfaces.