[luvurride]

Originally Posted by narayans80

The advantage with Mount Road is there are minimal turns, and it is far easy for a newbie to follow plus there are signages here and there. I am a local and have always take the above route just that I plan my entry/exit to avoid traffic.

BTW which route you are talking about? I used to work in Ekkaduthangal, and traffic is virtually at a standstill in peak hours near Kasi Theater and Ekkaduthangal

Sorry that was a typo - I meant Koyembedu-Loyola route. I've pasted the link just a few posts above.

[shyamk]

Just drove from Bangalore to Chennai this morning via Mulbagal, Chitoor. It looks like the two toll gates, one in Hoskote and one in Mulbagal may be opened soon. They were manned this morning and there were some employees punching in vehicle numbers into their computers.

No toll was collected. I casually spoke to one of the attendants and he took a guess that the toll rates could be 30 & 70 rs for each of the tollgates, which is in line with the average of 1rs per km.

Shyam

[NPV]

Originally Posted by narayans80

The advantage with Mount Road is there are minimal turns, and it is far easy for a newbie to follow plus there are signages here and there

Yes, can't agree more since you wrote this up for me and I could easily find my destination Hotel Palmgrove, this was my first self drive trip to Chennai. Thanks again @narayans80!

Originally Posted by luvurride

Wow! that's a comprehensive detail!

On the return leg, I couldn't backtrack this route correctly so ended up taking a slightly different route (I think I drove past Koyambedu bus stand) and reached near Sriperumbudur, still don't know the exact route I took!

[ampere]

Originally Posted by NPV

On the return leg, I couldn't backtrack this route correctly so ended up taking a slightly different route (I think I drove past Koyambedu bus stand) and reached near Sriperumbudur, still don't know the exact route I took!

Near Koyambedu, you take the the NH4 which is directly the GQ. And thats how I think you should have directly driven. It helps one way that you dont go via Porur road. Hope you had no trouble going past Koyambedu itself.

[airguitar]

Originally Posted by shyamk

Just drove from Bangalore to Chennai this morning via Mulbagal, Chitoor. It looks like the two toll gates, one in Hoskote and one in Mulbagal may be opened soon. They were manned this morning and there were some employees punching in vehicle numbers into their computers.

No toll was collected. I casually spoke to one of the attendants and he took a guess that the toll rates could be 30 & 70 rs for each of the tollgates, which is in line with the average of 1rs per km.

Shyam

Yes, they have been manning it for close to a month doing mock entries etc. I've been getting consistent answers that it's going to start from July 1 ( Monday ) : I'll post back on Monday - I take the Hoskote route daily.

Also how does the Rs.30 toll work out to Re.1 per km ? The toll road starts only after KR Puram signal. And that should be about 10-11 Km to the Hoskote Toll booth. Rs.70 From Hoskote to Mulbagal sounds approximately correct ( although it'll be slightly less than that ).

I hope the tolls will bring down the traffic a little bit on this road: Sunday evening drivers pose major threats to local population and to each other honestly - you should see how folks rip Nangali onwards until Mulbagal and then on the 4 lane).


Also does anyone have the latest on the road that connects Sriperumbudur to Pallavaram/GST via Kundrathur ? Months back the first few kms were horrible post which it was good and I thought it was a good option to get to South Chennai more comfortably.


I also recently tried the Kanchipuram - Palur - Singaperumal Koil road ( just to explore ) and I swear I'll not do the Palur - Singaperumal Koil stretch again in any vehicle. I had a torrid time on the lunar-surface like roads ( it seems they have not bothered to tar it in years ). I didn't see a single car on the entire stretch : only the last 2-3 kms leading to Singaperumal Koil is good. The stretch also has a lot of brick factories etc so lots of trucks ply. But road surface apart, it's actually scenic in parts. Rolling hills, lots of birds ( I must have spotted about 8-9 treepies and a similar number of kingfishers overall within 30 mins ).

[shyamk]

I have been using the sriperumbudur kundrathur road since last four years. Except for one or two instances during monsoons, the roads have always been good.

I used this road as recent as June 28th and June 30th and found them good.

Shyam

[airguitar]

Thanks Shyam.

Also the Hoskote toll booth didn't become active today - the new proposed date is July 15.

[mjsraman]

Planning chennai venkatagirikota Bangalore through gudiyattam today. Any tips on road condition between Mulbagal and Pallikonda? Car is Etios.

[arjithin]

Originally Posted by arjithin

Friends,

I am planning for a BGLR - Pondy - Chennai - Bangalore trip in Mid July. Primary need is to go to US Consulate and adding Pondy as side trip. Current plan is to start on Sat morning, spend 2 days in Pondy, travel to Chennai on Monday early morning, finish my work at consulate and come back to Bangalore on same day.

2 questions for you

1. What is the best place/by lanes to park my car for 3 hours near US consulate? Should be around Annasalai around 7:30 AM

2. To reach US Consulate at 8:00 AM, how early should I start from Pondy and what is the best route ( in terms of surface condition and traffic)?

Finally did the BGLR-Chennai- BGLR trip y'day and today. Here a quick summary.

start :11AM from HSR Layout
end: 6 PM at Hotel Palmgrove
one lunch, one petrol & one tea break included ( had a 7 month pregnant woman as passenger)
Route: Krishnagiri - Vellore
Toll paid : Rs 315 including one return toll @ Walajahpet-Poonamalee, and excluding the electronics city elevated highway.
Comments: Crossing the RTO checkpost near Attebele is a pain, luckily I lost only 15 mts. From the KA-TN border till Krishnagiri, road works are on. Road becomes rough around Hosur. After krishnagiri, many flyover works are going on; otherwise very good 6 lane roads. After Walajahpet, roads are 4 lane; after SriPerumbatur traffic was very high.


Parked the car at Hotel Palmgrove and walked to US Consulate. I certainly recommend this hotel. Their free complimentary breakfast was unexpected. Food was very good.

Return:
Start : 11 AM
end : 5:15 PM (one lunch and one petrol break included)
Route : Chittoor - Kolar
Toll paid : Rs 30, toll booths aren't collecting tolls
Comments: Wasnt aware that the road is 2 lane highway till Mulbagal. Traffic was moderate. Once the 4 lane road starts post Mulbagal, its a breeze. Chose this route to avoid evening traffic at Krishnagiri-Attebele section and I think that decision paid of; lost around 15 mts in KR Puram taking a U turn.

Cancelled the Pondy plan as my wife wasn't feeling well.

Originally Posted by airguitar

Also the Hoskote toll booth didn't become active today - the new proposed date is July 15.

They still havent started.

[aneezan]

I am planning to take this long trip early next month in my Alto Lxi. I drive only during the day time, however plan to start early(around 0400) from Bangalore.
The drive to Chennai to Nagercoil will be a couple of days later.
Its been quite some time since I have taken this route by road. Any recent developments that I should be aware of? Have the rains caused any damage on any stretches. The last time I traveled(over 1.5 years back), there was a lot of road work happening on the Bangalore - Chennai stretch.
Any information would be helpful.

[mpksuhas]

For updated information on Bangalore - Chennai route you can follow http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...galore-81.html

[airguitar]

Originally Posted by arjithin

Finally did the BGLR-Chennai- BGLR trip y'day

Hoskote Tollbooth : They still havent started.

Thanks, yes, on July 15th, they told me "Another month".

[binand]

I read somewhere (Gearheads, I think) that the NH4 route has also suffered damages due to the monsoons? I am going to Chennai on Saturday - so would like some up to date information on road conditions between Mulbagal and Ranipet.

Also - what is the best route to hit Kelambakkam (on OMR) from the GQ? I usually take Maduravoyal-Chennai bypass-Tambaram-Medavakkam-Sholinganallur, but since I'm alone I am open to trying something new. Don't want bad roads - low GC car etc.

[ravib]

Originally Posted by binand

I read somewhere (Gearheads, I think) that the NH4 route has also suffered damages due to the monsoons? I am going to Chennai on Saturday - so would like some up to date information on road conditions between Mulbagal and Ranipet.

Also - what is the best route to hit Kelambakkam (on OMR) from the GQ? I usually take Maduravoyal-Chennai bypass-Tambaram-Medavakkam-Sholinganallur, but since I'm alone I am open to trying something new. Don't want bad roads - low GC car etc.

From my friends, i heard that due to protests and bandh in multiple parts of Andhra Pradesh, especially Chittoor Area, traffic gets blocked then & there. These are unconfirmed information but from safety aspect, may be its better for you to take GQ this saturday.

I am driving down to Madras next weekend, so in dilemma which route to take NH4/GQ. If situation improves next weekend, i'll take NH4 else will stick to GQ.

-Ravi

[binand]

Originally Posted by ravib

From my friends, i heard that due to protests and bandh in multiple parts of Andhra Pradesh, especially Chittoor Area, traffic gets blocked then & there.

You are right, though the most recent reports of trouble in Chittoor I could find are dated 31/7. Still, I'll avoid AP for the time being and go via Krishnagiri.