[AlphaKilo]

Originally Posted by binand

Quick couple of questions.

a. Go along the highway till Ega Theatre, turn towards Nungambakkam-Gemini flyover and then either Alwarpet-Besant Nagar-home or Kotturpuram-Madhya Kailas-IT Expressway-home. forget it! You will reach home after two days!

b. Take the Chennai bypass, Irumbuliyur-Tambaram-Medavakkam-Sholinganallur-ECR-home. will be my suggestion! take this route. pleasant drive and safe route to TVMR

Which should it be? Or is it even worth it? I expect to hit the city between 10 and 11 AM tomorrow.

My answers in bold! If its this weekend, you can take any route provided you check if there is no metro works going on. Safe bet is the last option(by-pass) where no metro no digging.

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by binand

When do the fuel pumps open along the GQ route, especially in TN (Hosur/Krishnagiri stretch)? I am traveling tomorrow morning, and I think I have about 70-80 km worth of fuel in the car. Wondering whether I should go out now for a fill at KA rates, or fill in the morning - in which case I'd wait till I enter TN (fuel price arbitraging :-). I intend to start at 5AM from home (Marathahalli).

The Shoolagiri HP (McD) and BP (A2B) are both 24-hrs. I've filled at midnight, should be open at 6 for sure. Distance is ~ 70 km

Originally Posted by binand

2. I am rather sick of the Porur-Guindy route to my destination (Kottivakkam, on the ECR few kms beyond Thiruvanmiyur) - traffic jams, metro construction etc. Last time it took me about 1.5 hours from Poonamallee to home - distance of about 25 km.

Tomorrow being a Sunday and that too a festival day, it shouldn't be bad. Traffic would be moving on. I've entered at noon and haven't been stuck. I share the same route till Little Mount.

Originally Posted by binand

Go along the highway till Ega Theatre, turn towards Nungambakkam-Gemini flyover and then either Alwarpet-Besant Nagar-home or Kotturpuram-Madhya Kailas-IT Expressway-home.

Hell No! This is the longest and has the most bottlenecks!

Originally Posted by binand

b. Take the Chennai bypass, Irumbuliyur-Tambaram-Medavakkam-Sholinganallur-ECR-home.

Don't think this route might save time for your day and time of entry.

[tj123]

Made a round trip Bangalore-Chennai-Bangalore last week end. I took the usual Bangalore>Hosur>Krishnagiri> Ambur >Vellore> Ranipet>Chennai.

Started at around 5:15 am to avoid the maddening Bangalore traffic. Stopped over at Hosur to fill up diet diesel for my Figo, it took 36 liters.

Made a breakfast stop at Mustaffa right after the Vaniyambadi toll station, the place had clean toilet facility and the breakfast was far better tasting that our usual Kamat’s which sometime I feel is not worth the money paid.

From Krishnagiri onwards the entire stretch of highway is being widened . Hence had to drive on the right side always. Closer to Chennai the road has been patched very unevenly and at lot of places the top layer of the road is eroded creating shallow potholes. Had to really watch out for such stretches. Not a very relaxing drive ,had to stop at 6 places to pay toll, over all one-way toll was around Rs225, which again I feel is little on the higher side specially when you consider all the construction going around and the road quality.

The car was pleasure to drive and it exudes confidence at high speeds. Overall my Figo returned a figure of 21.5 kmpl with sedate driving of 80 to 100 kmph speed with 100% AC on.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by tj123

From Krishnagiri onwards the entire stretch of highway is being widened . Hence had to drive on the right side always. Closer to Chennai the road has been patched very unevenly and at lot of places the top layer of the road is eroded creating shallow potholes. Had to really watch out for such stretches. Not a very relaxing drive ,had to stop at 6 places to pay toll, over all one-way toll was around Rs225, which again I feel is little on the higher side specially when you consider all the construction going around and the road quality.

This is bad. Krishnagiri-Kanchi was a pleasure to drive. Work on one of the best stretches will add to problems!
Hope they finish this fast.

[megazoid]

I too did a bangalore-chennai-mamallapuram-bangalore last weekend. Roads great as usual but the six laning has created the new problem of opposite traffic on the left lane as they have no shoulder to get on. This was very dangerous as visibilty in twilight does not even allow one to spot these vehicles and then at that speed the outcome is a foregone conclusion.

[binand]

Originally Posted by AlphaKilo

My answers in bold! If its this weekend, you can take any route provided you check if there is no metro works going on. Safe bet is the last option(by-pass) where no metro no digging.

Originally Posted by narayans80

The Shoolagiri HP (McD) and BP (A2B) are both 24-hrs. I've filled at midnight, should be open at 6 for sure. Distance is ~ 70 km

Er... folks - very old query. I did the trip back in October or November. Took the bypass-Sholinganallur route, and am a convert now (at least, till the metro work is sorted out in Guindy). Even reported my experience in this thread :-)

My next query is if there is a motorable connection Chittoor-Thiruttani-Chennai that avoids the GQ altogether. Google Maps suggests TN SH54-NH205-SH55. Doable (I want to try this if manageable, next time I'm driving Chennai-Bangalore)?

[Tempelhof]

Originally Posted by tj123

Started at around 5:15 am to avoid the maddening Bangalore traffic.

When did you reach Madras?

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by binand

My next query is if there is a motorable connection Chittoor-Thiruttani-Chennai that avoids the GQ altogether. Google Maps suggests TN SH54-NH205-SH55. Doable (I want to try this if manageable, next time I'm driving Chennai-Bangalore)?

I wouldn't bother doing NH205, traffic is much worser than NH4.

[tj123]

Originally Posted by Tempelhof

When did you reach Madras?

I reached at 11:00 am , I took couple of breaks as kids were around .

[shankar.balan]

I like driving the BLR Chennai stretch but I really cant stand the way the entry and exit to both cities is in such a terrible mess with madmen, buses, lorries, autos and whatnot crowding everyone out!

The time taken between cities is typically around 3.5 to 4 hours on a weekday.

The exit from BLR takes ages as does the entry into Madras and vice versa on the return journey. This is incredibly awful and I dislike it intensely.

However, for me, driving beats taking a train or a plane any day of the week.l

[Tempelhof]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

I like driving the BLR Chennai stretch but I really cant stand the way the entry and exit to both cities is in such a terrible mess...However, for me, driving beats taking a train or a plane any day of the week.l

Can't agree more ! I normally avoid this by leaving pretty early from Bangalore, and on a Sunday from Madras - but still it is a pain.

[Rocky_Balboa]

Originally Posted by tj123

...
From Krishnagiri onwards the entire stretch of highway is being widened . Hence had to drive on the right side always. Closer to Chennai the road has been patched very unevenly and at lot of places the top layer of the road is eroded creating shallow potholes. Had to really watch out for such stretches.

I did Chennai - Bangalore over the weekend and was peeved at the road conditions past Chennasamudram toll. I lost my patience while returning and lodged a complaint at the toll plaza's register. I was promptly given a copy of the complaint, which I will hold dearly until I take the same route.

Edit:
On the Chennai bypass, the route from vandalur towards kelambakkam (and ECR) is full of pot-holes, and is best taken at ~40kph. Had a dreaded drive returning from Kovalam past 7PM on this route, courtesy hi-beamers.

[tj123]

Originally Posted by Rocky_Balboa

I did Chennai - Bangalore over the weekend and was peeved at the road conditions past Chennasamudram toll. I lost my patience while returning and lodged a complaint at the toll plaza's register. I was promptly given a copy of the complaint, which I will hold dearly until I take the same route.

Good you complained and raised your voice I regret doing that as I was preoccupied pacifying cranky kids.

After paying a heavy toll tax we expect a decent stretch of safe road to drive.

[binand]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

I like driving the BLR Chennai stretch but I really cant stand the way the entry and exit to both cities is in such a terrible mess with madmen, buses, lorries, autos and whatnot crowding everyone out!

Fully agree. It is indicative of the utter lawlessness on the roads in these cities (particularly Bangalore). The chaos starts from Krishnagiri when approaching Bangalore, increasing to intolerable levels at Hosur (similarly, starts from Vellore towards Chennai and becomes unmanageable after Sriperumbudur). The really enjoyable stretch is Krishnagiri-Vellore which is about what, 140 km?

I prefer to leave the origin city early in the morning (5AM) and reach around mid-morning at the destination, which is manageable for me.

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

I really cant stand the way the entry and exit to both cities is in such a terrible mess with madmen, buses, lorries, autos and whatnot crowding everyone out!

My favourite timing: leave my Bangalore [Basaveswara Nagar] home by 11:30 pm and arrive my Chennai [Royapettah] home by 5:00 am. All trouble-makers, protestors, road-blockers and anti-social elements will be fast asleep and won't be on the road to trouble me.