[ninjatalli]

So we took the Kolar (Old Madras highway) route for an early Saturday morning drive from Bangalore to Chennai. The first half till Ranipet was blissful without any constraints; low-medium traffic at most and only a few diversions seen on the Mulbagal - Chittoor stretch.

The second half would have been okay (even with the diversions and bad sections) but we got stuck up in a massive jam; of all unexpected places, after reaching Adyar signal; just before the Adyar bridge (we were heading towards Mandaveli and just 5 mins of driving left).

All traffic (heading across the bridge) was being rerouted towards Kotturpuram instead and this created a massive traffic jam. We lost about an hour just navigating back from Adyar - Kotturpuram - Alwarpet section; with chocked up traffic all along the way.

[arvind71181]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

The second half would have been okay (even with the diversions and bad sections) but we got stuck up in a massive jam; of all unexpected places, after reaching Adyar signal; just before the Adyar bridge (we were heading towards Mandaveli and just 5 mins of driving left).

All traffic (heading across the bridge) was being rerouted towards Kotturpuram instead and this created a massive traffic jam. We lost about an hour just navigating back from Adyar - Kotturpuram - Alwarpet section; with chocked up traffic all along the way.

This most probably was done because I heard reports that a section of the road had caved in near the HP bunk which operates out of the corner there. I also had to take that route on Saturday but a watsapp message saved me and I took an alternate route.

[hamster]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

All traffic (heading across the bridge) was being rerouted towards Kotturpuram instead and this created a massive traffic jam. We lost about an hour just navigating back from Adyar - Kotturpuram - Alwarpet section; with chocked up traffic all along the way.

Believe, this was due to portion of the road near the Sathya Studio caving in. We heard this through the parents Whatsapp group of my son's School where lot of parents who were to attend the PTM got stuck in the road and had to take a long detour through Kotturpuram.

Chennai seem to have been notorious over last weekend with multiple traffic jams.
The above, the ARR concert on ECR and we had our own share in GST Road and in Velachery.
We were driving from Bangalore to Chennai on Saturday and unfortunately due to a delayed start from Bangalore ended up in Chennai at 05:45 PM, with the Perungalathur Flyover welcoming us with a traffic. THere was only a respite after Perungalathur till Tambaram MEPZ and from there to reach the Pallavaram Flyover towards Radial Ring Road took us a good one hour. THe next one awaiting us was after the left turn in Kamakshi Hospital all the way till Velachery - Vijayanagar Bus Terminus. Reached home at 08:15 after a 2.5 hrs ordeal.
This whole thing negated the execellent drive we had from Bengaluru to Chennai through Chittoor + my Baleno CVT recording a 22.5 kmpl.

[sleepyhead148]

Route update here.

I drove from Chennai to Bangalore on Saturday. Started from Thoraipakkam around 10:15 AM and reached JP Nagar around 5:45-6 PM in the evening. The reason for this is fairly liberal rest stops and slow moving traffic at these places:

1. Pallavaram Radial Road bridge to Sriperumbudur via Thiruneermalai and Thirumudivakkam. The roads are okay but sees quite some truck traffic - with the water tankers lining radial road and good trucks on the Kundrathur - Sriperumbudur link road

2. Slow moving sections all across Sriperumbudur - Chennasamudram section. Work has almost stopped in some sections and one has no clue when it'll end. Top surface asphalt on bypasses and deviations in Kanchi are already giving way so expect a spectacularly bumpy section

3. Hosur ESI Hospital/RTO junction saw major traffic around 4 pm on Saturday. In our direction traffic had already backed up to the bus stand and an area called Mookoondapalli (Chennai Silks) and on the other direction it stretched all the way up to the Karnataka arch. We were stuck here for 25 minutes but the other side was worse

The total drive time on the MID was 06:13 hours but the rest stops were where there was a lot of time taken. Tried the Kailash Parbat at Vellore. One hour for lunch (because the slow section before was tiring) but there was hot food served in under 10 minutes.

Overall, I'd suggest to start journey from either side at crack of dawn or plan it in such a way that you cover the entire Ranipet to Chennai section at daylight. This is based on two return journeys in last quarter + this one.

We also witnessed an accident after Vellore. A Venue had hit a Bolero pickup truck and the Venue's axle had cut. Didn't look like any casualties but it looked like there will be significant bills to the sub-compact SUV (which the insurance might cover). The culprit are the barriers that are placed haphazardly around Vellore town - with one of them at the descent of the bridge near Konavattam.

Please drive carefully. And if your intra-city travel at Bangalore or Chennai is sorted from a personal perspective (family/friends letting you use their cars) ideally avoid the highway till it's complete and get to either place in one of the numerous train or bus options. The roads are broken, even the good sections are now under construction and the food options - except the ones around Krishnagiri toll (Mangalam/Sree Saravana/KFC) and the three biriyani outlets around Ambur - are extremely tepid.

[ampere]

The only way Chennai - Bangalore road trip is time honoured is when you start very early from both these cities. Else it's just not there at all. Chennai-Sriperumbudur and Hosur-Bangalore are just kill the fun of driving.

[pypkmsrikanth]

With now Vande Bharath also available, on most days tickets between Chennai and Bangalore is available even the previous evening of the journey date, except for long weekends so I have stopped driving between Chennai and Bangalore. Saves me the stress not only on the highways but also the travels within Bangalore. A decade or so back I would start around 4 AM from Chennai do multiple appointments in Bangalore and reach back home by around midnight. Not worth the trouble any more.

[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by pypkmsrikanth

With now Vande Bharath also available, on most days tickets between Chennai and Bangalore is available even the previous evening of the journey date

My only grouse with that is to get down at Bangalore Central and commute back from there (same with reaching Bangalore Central for onward journey).

How I wish either Vande Bharath or Shatabdi have stop at KR Puram, would have made it much easier for those in these parts to take the trains and also avoid the almost consistent delay atleast Shatabdi has past Whitefield to Central.

[pypkmsrikanth]

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

My only grouse with that is to get down at Bangalore Central and commute back from there (same with reaching Bangalore Central for onward journey).

How I wish either Vande Bharath or Shatabdi have stop at KR Puram, would have made it much easier for those in these parts to take the trains and also avoid the almost consistent delay atleast Shatabdi has past Whitefield to Central.

Yes. With KR Puram - Baiyappanahalli Metro connection almost ready it makes sense for these trains to stop at KR Puram, opens up a lot of options for people through the metro network. Fortunately Indian Railways has corrected one silly decision, with effect from December 20th Shatabdi will run on Wednesdays and not run on Thursdays so a fast early morning connection will now be available from Chennai to Bangalore every day of the week.

[ssbiitm]

Just did the Chennai - Bangalore - Chennai drive from 15th to 18th (almost on a whim!).
Started from IIT at 12 noon on Friday, 15th.
Took the GST to Vandalur via Guindy and Tambaram - fortunately the road was not that crowded.
From Vandalur took the Padappai - Oragadam route - lovely road
After Motherson-Sumi took the right turn onto Walajabad - Uthukadu road
Its a well-topped but narrow road going through fields (kind of liked the scenic beauty)
Joined the Bangalore highway at Neervalur. Thanks to all the diversions and some traffic progress was slow. Could speed up once I crossed Arcot. The road is great till Krishnagiri, except for a small section at Ambur.
Krishnagiri to Hosur is as always scenic, but lorry traffic makes the progress difficult.
Got to Koramangala PO by about 7:30 PM. Had taken a 45 minute break at Murugan Idli for some excellent dosa and a short 15 minute toilet break later.

Return from Yelahanka New Town at about 1130 in the morning. Allowed Google to decide on my route (through Android Auto)!
Took the elevated road towards airport till Devanahalli.
Cut right onto SH 648. For the most part this road is amazingly good. 3+3 lane highway and practically no traffic. Of course, just before joining the Kolar route, you have to go through a very narrow winding section through fields - careful of free-lancing two wheelers that come suddenly.
The Kolar - Ranipettai road is great now. Just a couple of sections between Chittoor and Ranipettai where there is some roadwork going on.
Had some confusion at Ranipettai trying to get on to the Chennai highway - been facing this every time.
The usual diversions and construction work right from Kaveripakkam all the way till Sriperumbudur gets quite frustrating. To make matters worse it rained heavily making it difficult gauge the road and there are many pothole when you go off the highway onto the service lane - please take care!
Thanks to Ganesh Chaturthi didnt face much traffic on the Poonamalee - Porur stretch either.
Got back to IIT around 6:45 PM.

Quite impressed with my Baleno (2017 model). Had mistakenly reset the fuel efficiency indicator a couple of days prior. After the 780 km drive (which includes quite a bit of city driving within Bangalore and a little in Chennai), my indicator read 19.4 kmpl! Impressed with the performance. Of course, I am a driver who prefers to "keep the green fluorescent ribbon beyond the white triangle" implying maintaining the highest fuel efficiency as far a possible (even when I am driving at 110 - 120 kmph).

Hope all this information helps!
Subbu

ps. Fuel is cheaper in Bangalore when compared to Chennai - makes sense to top up there!!

[Tollfreerider83]

Hi Folks,

I'm planning a solo ride from Chennai to Murudeshwar along with some sightseeing in Udupi and Agumbe on my Thunderbird and will be stopping by at Chikmagalur on day 1 of my ride. I am an early starter (4 am) and would like to know if Hosur-NICE road is still a good option to consider or I can stick to Old Madras route and head towards Tumkur and then to Chikmagalur.

Google is giving me Hosur-NICE Road as first choice as time is less but I'm aware the lorry traffic is notorious and so is the traffic entering Bangalore, but in any case please do help me make a choice. I've done the Old Madras Route on car many years ago and not sure if it's still good enough.

The trip is planned for next month and starts on a Saturday morning from Chennai

Thanks in advance!

[asmr]

Originally Posted by Tollfreerider83

I've done the Old Madras Route on car many years ago and not sure if it's still good enough.

You are not going to be able to miss the works that are happening till Ranipet. From Ranipet to Chittoor, it is a 2 lane highway which is well maintained. And near Chittoor it spreads in to an excellent 4 lane highway.

There are 2 or 3 sections even in this route where there will be diversions due to flyover/road works. But overall, it is is excellent, with less traffic and nice scenery too. You should be breezing through until Hoskote and then until a few kilometers before KR Puram. After that, the traffic hits you.

So, to answer your question, Old Madras route is good. The only issue is the reduced number of good dining options (and by extension, rest stops, in my experience). Aaradhya Grand before Kolar is excellent but it can be crowded as well. Sri Krishna Grand, Woodlands were also indicated to as good options but I haven't tried those.

Edit: I didn't notice the part where you said you are leaving at 4pm. You should be able to reach Aaradhya Grand within 4-4.5hrs depending on a few things. On a weekend, I could do Ranipet to Aaradhya Grand in 2hr 15mins drive at 80-90s speeds, leaving from Ranipet at around 11:45AM, just for reference.

[Tollfreerider83]

Thank you ASMR.

So landing up in Hoskote the onward route would be Neelamangala - Kunigal - Channarayapatna - Hassan - Belur. Hope this route post monsoon is still in decent shape and a few bad patches are acceptable.

I'm gentle on throttle and keep speeds well below 90 on my bike and take the breaks only if necessary. That way I estimate to reach Chikmagalur by 4 pm max as I'm starting around 4 am. Hope this is a realistic estimate.

On my last trip I covered Chennai - Trichy in 5.5 hours so hope I can do the same until Bangalore traffic slows me down.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by Tollfreerider83

Thank you ASMR.

So landing up in Hoskote the onward route would be Neelamangala - Kunigal - Channarayapatna - Hassan - Belur. Hope this route post monsoon is still in decent shape and a few bad patches are acceptable.

I'm gentle on throttle and keep speeds well below 90 on my bike and take the breaks only if necessary. That way I estimate to reach Chikmagalur by 4 pm max as I'm starting around 4 am. Hope this is a realistic estimate.

On my last trip I covered Chennai - Trichy in 5.5 hours so hope I can do the same until Bangalore traffic slows me down.

Given you would probably reach Bangalore around noon; you'll probably see moderate to high traffic across all Bangalore city roads; including NICE highway and outer ring roads.

If you are opting for the Old Madras highway route (towards Hoskote), head over to this thread (On Bypassing Bangalore) for updates / info on routes to bypass Bangalore city from Hoskote to Neelamangala/Tumkur. @Parag, @ampere and others have shared recent updates on the condition of the roads on that thread. Unless you have a reason to enter the city, it's best to just bypass the city entirely even if you have to travel a few additional kms.

[asmr]

Originally Posted by Tollfreerider83

Thank you ASMR.

..
On my last trip I covered Chennai - Trichy in 5.5 hours so hope I can do the same until Bangalore traffic slows me down.

Happy to help, but I have not driven past Bangalore yet and so I can speak only for the Old Madras route only till the city limits. It took me 2 hrs from KR puram outskirts to get to Rajaji Nagar/Malleshwaram thereabouts.

Ninjatalli has given you the right threads to get guidance on skipping the city altogether.

[hamster]

Originally Posted by ampere

The quoted one. Also you dont have to go to the town center when you are coming from Chennai. There is way to join the bypass directly.

After a long time, enjoyed my Chennai- Bangalore-Chennai drive.
The journey was indeed eventful with a private bus leaving a bruise in my car.
Despite that, did thoroughly enjoy the new route I tried and also the beautiful Chittoor Stretch. Took this stretch after almost a decade and must say it is straight away impressive and thoroughly enjoyed driving the stretch.

Onward :
Took the Vandalur->Oragadam->Sunguvarchatram->Ratnagiri Alankar Hotel-> Chittoor-Bangalore road.
We had a start by 05:30am and did manage to reach Chennasamudram Toll at 08:00 AM.
Had stored the route prescribed by ampere, but somehow google and my miss, routed it through this route i:
https://goo.gl/maps/SFHRLDRJC4TWywCe8
Enjoyed this winding route though.

In Chennasamudram toll, a Private Bus driver decided to switch toll lanes and brushed against my car right bumper and Fender causing a paint loss.

My spouse and my son were getting nervous and started panicking. I had to let go and since there was no bodily harm to anyone of us and also the car was in drivable condition, decided to leave without filing any complaint, just wasting 45 of mins of time in confrontation with the bus driver and the passengers of the bus who ganged up with the bus driver against me.

Had to calm down my son and my spouse and took the rest of the journey. IN the mele of things, we missed our breakfast, which had decided to have the hotels near the toll.
Took them to Alankar in Ratnagiri for Breakfast and with a 09:30 am start from Ratnagiri, joined the Ranipet-CHittoor Route in the below route :
https://maps.app.goo.gl/ER8XACJ1eb5oyoLN7

The excitement of the road awaited after crossing CHittor with beautiful roads, with relatively less traffic (viz a viz AMbur-Krishnagiri-Hosur). Reached Hoodi at around 1:30 thanks to crawling traffic in Hope Farm.

Return we decided to take the same route and started from Hoodi at 11:40 and reached Alankar at 03:00 with 15 mins fuel break and a 10 mins stretch break.
Left Alankar towards Chennai at 03:30 , the roads arent that good like it was in the opposite direction, with a lot of diversions, unfinished/left over flyovers.
This time we took the correct route towards Oragadam suggested by ampere and thoroughly enjoyed driving in this beautiful stretch
https://maps.app.goo.gl/VAnRaohkHhVxk8A46.

Reached Perungalathur at 05:45 and reached THiruvanmiyur at 08:15 thanks to 2.30 hrs of crawling traffic at Chromepet and between Kamakshi hospital and Velachery - VIjayanagar Bus Terminus.


OVerall good drive, considering my Baleno CVT clocked 22.5 kmpl in MID during the return leg of the trip while the onward it was 17.8.
Not sure if the credit to be given to the fuel of Bangalore or the gradients which you face more towards Bangalore.