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Old 14th May 2019, 10:59   #3211
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Re: Bangalore - Chennai - Bangalore : Route Queries

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Originally Posted by strawhat View Post

Also spotted large gathering on service road opposite Grand Honda showroom near Hosur. It looked like an accident site. The crowd obstructed our view and we didn't slow down much either.
I travelled to Kanchipuram on Friday, May 10th and returned on May 12th. Both the ways I also spotted a large crowd, in the vicinity of the area you mentioned. It was a 300 tonne, 64 feet Kodandarama statue which was being transported from TN, for the last few months. This is for a temple coming up at Ejipura, Bangalore. Several people stop their car to worship Rama, housed on a 240 tyre trailer, and of course take selfie photos, which has become too much of an obsession.
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Old 27th May 2019, 18:43   #3212
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Re: Bangalore - Chennai - Bangalore : Route Queries

Traveled on 27 May from Tambaram to Bangalore. Took Chittoor route. From Chittoor, there is not a single diversion and it is 4 lane all the way. If you live in east or north Bangalore, you should take this route henceforth. You will save on toll until they complete the finishing work apart from time. Only issue is the tyre noise when you go faster due to the fact that it is a concrete road.
I took Ranipet Ponnai road by mistake, but that too is a nice stretch where you can drive faster than the NH option. But you need to drive inside Chittoor town.
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Old 27th May 2019, 20:10   #3213
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Re: Bangalore - Chennai - Bangalore : Route Queries

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Traveled on 27 May from Tambaram to Bangalore. Took Chittoor route. From Chittoor, there is not a single diversion and it is 4 lane all the way.
Thanks for the update. Does this mean that all the bridges and the bypass of Palamaneru and Bangarupalayam are completed ? That would be great news.

How's the TN Border to Chitoor stretch. Is it at least 75% complete ?
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Old 27th May 2019, 21:27   #3214
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Re: Bangalore - Chennai - Bangalore : Route Queries

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Thanks for the update. Does this mean that all the bridges and the bypass of Palamaneru and Bangarupalayam are completed ? That would be great news.

How's the TN Border to Chitoor stretch. Is it at least 75% complete ?
I took Ponnai route. Road has been freshly laid on the TN side and you can hit 100 as not many villages are there in this SH. In AP side road is not in great shape and you will also have humps. But still not bad and you can touch 70 many times. The problem is it goes through Chittoor. I was there in the afternoon and the traffic was less due to summer heat. Any other time would be an issue.
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Old 29th June 2019, 21:38   #3215
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Re: Bangalore - Chennai - Bangalore : Route Queries

Travelling to Chennai tomorrow from Outer ring road. This will be the first time i am travelling all the way to Chennai. I have driven till Krishnagiri on this highway previously.

What is best route? Anything that i need to be cautious about? I am starting around 5 in the morning.

Also, my destination is near the US consulate. Do i just follow google maps or any better routes.
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Old 29th June 2019, 22:27   #3216
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Re: Bangalore - Chennai - Bangalore : Route Queries

Take a left at krishnagiri following the signboard showing the slip road to Chennai

Keep going straight. Maps will show you the obvious route.

Start about half an hour earlier for less crowds at each toll.


Quote:
Originally Posted by fast_elegance View Post
Travelling to Chennai tomorrow from Outer ring road. This will be the first time i am travelling all the way to Chennai. I have driven till Krishnagiri on this highway previously.

What is best route? Anything that i need to be cautious about? I am starting around 5 in the morning.

Also, my destination is near the US consulate. Do i just follow google maps or any better routes.
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Old 7th July 2019, 20:33   #3217
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Re: Bangalore - Chennai - Bangalore : Route Queries

Completed a Bangalore-Kanchipuram-Madras-Bangalore Trip in last 3 days.

The primary agenda was to visit Kanchipuram and get once in life-time darshan of Athi Varadhar. I don't think we will have energy or health or even we will be alive to see the lord again after 40 years in 2059!

Left Bangalore on Friday 5th July 2019 at 6.30 and reached Kanchipuram at 12 noon including one hour break for breakfast. Road conditions are good as usual and traffic was not much overall till we get close to Kanchi.

After finishing Athi varadhar darshan (felt blessed enough for this life ), from Kanchipuram, on the way to Madras decided to visit Vallakottai Murugan temple, so took right turn at Sriperumbudur, finished darshan at Vallakottai murugan temple darshan and instead of returning back to Sriperumbudur, continued towards Padappai, Vandalur road to took perungalathur by-pass, porur to reach Vadapalani.

For return journey to Bangalore, started from Vadapalani at 7 am today (Sunday 7th July 2019) morning. Given that weekend, the number of vehicles and crowd heading to Kanchipuram was significantly high to see Athi Varadhar. Restaurants were full. Added to that Hyundai shift ended at that time and numerous buses were clogging the road adding big queue in Sriperumbudur Nemili toll. So got slowed till Kanchipuram and then traffic eased a bit. Did a quick darshan at Thiruppukkuzhi temple and again delayed by a big queue of vehicles in chennasamudram toll too.

Post Chennasamudram toll, as i initially planned to take Chittoor route in return journey just to check how the road conditions are, so took right turn towards Ranipet. Here is the road condition details.

TN side:
All the way till TN border after you cross Thiruvalluvar University (which comes on your right) - No change. You still have same good old 2L roads that are in excellent condition.
AP Side:
1) The moment you enter AP, immediately you will see road widening work happening on to your left side and roads are dug up. The existing 2L roads are not touched yet currently till the Bomma Samudram Railway Gate, so the road conditions are still good and drivable. No issues.
2) After you cross the railway gate. the road condition deteriorates as there are no good roads for about 6 kms which will take about 10 to 15 minutes to cross this section in 2nd gear slow driving.
3) After your cross AP RTO commercial check post, the road conditions improve and we get good 2L concrete roads as the other side 2L road is still under construction till you reach Chittoor Collector office and take left towards Bangalore.
4) There are minor deviations between Chittoor Bypass from Collector office till Bangalore-Tirupati bypass exit.
5) Post Bangalore-Tirupati Bypass, 100% completed Excellent Road 4L concrete roads all the way till you hit KA border. All bridges are completed and no deviation at all. Bangalurpalayam, Palamaner are completely bypassed.

Overall, in the 40 kms stretch between Ranipet to Chittoor, about 10 kms of road is where you see the problem which will slow you down. At all other 98% of the time, you get drivable roads either old 2L tar road or the newly laid concrete road (2L)

So What's the Summary and Recommendation in current state?
1) Should you take Bangalore-Chittoor-Ranipet-Madras route instead Hosur route ? - Mostly yes, but strictly in DAY TIME provided you are ready to manage the short distances of under construction roads for ~10 kms, plus usual NH4 truck traffic. Recommended for North and East Bangalore people, because instead of going via Ejipura-Koramangala-Madiwala Inner ring road bridge construction traffic jams, Silk board traffic jams, EC to Attibelle mad traffic followed by Attibelle toll, crazy Hosur traffic etc, you are really better off to take this small pain then the big pain and still drive 40 kms more and pay higher tolls.
2) Is Night Drive Recommended? - Strictly NO at this time, probably till end of 2019 or till the road work completes. There are NO diversion indication at all in majority of the places. Its extremely dangerous to drive in this route now after dark. Please completely avoid it if you are leaving Bangalore post 3 pm.
3) Should people heading to Tirupati from Bangalore can take this route? Definitely Yes as all the work till Chittoor bypass is completed. It saves a lot of time. However, do remember that the other side road construction in Bangalore-Tirupati by-pass is actively going on along with Puttalapattu-Tirupati road constructions. So again please avoid after dark drive even in this stretch for safety.
4) Do we have sufficient break stops now, as in the past we had complaints of not so good stop points? Many New food courts are being built and are coming up. So we do get modern and decent break points in this stretch too.

Tidbit: Those who remember the good old Nandi Food Plaza (official KSRTC stop) after Bangarupalayam town with cow shed and nice chikki sales shop, please see pictures of new avatar of Nandi Food Plaza with newly built restaurant, modern & clean toilets. Though this new construction not exactly in same location as earlier, but the transformation has happened. Old is gone and new is in.

Attaching few snaps from today's trip to get a feel of road construction work, how concrete roads are built and the new Nandi Food Plaza.

-Ravi
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Old 7th July 2019, 22:21   #3218
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Originally Posted by ravib View Post
5) Post Bangalore-Tirupati Bypass, 100% completed Excellent Road 4L concrete roads all the way till you hit KA border. All bridges are completed and no deviation at all. Bangalurpalayam, Palamaner are completely bypassed.
..
3) Should people heading to Tirupati from Bangalore can take this route? Definitely Yes as all the work till Chittoor bypass is completed. It saves a lot of time. However, do remember that the other side road construction in Bangalore-Tirupati by-pass is actively going on along with Puttalapattu-Tirupati road constructions. So again please avoid after dark drive even in this stretch for safety.

Thanks for the info. Very useful.

So from Bangalore to Chittoor the 4L road is completely done and you recommend it ? No deviations and diversions like before exists anymore.

Could you help me understand what you mean When you say other side road construction is going on.

Thanks again.

Last edited by ampere : 8th July 2019 at 00:03. Reason: compacted quoted post
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Old 8th July 2019, 08:58   #3219
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Re: Bangalore - Chennai - Bangalore : Route Queries

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Originally Posted by ravib View Post
.....
Post Chennasamudram toll, as i initially planned to take Chittoor route in return journey just to check how the road conditions are, so took right turn towards Ranipet. Here is the road condition details.
....
Ravi, thanks for the wonderful update on this route. I have a trip to Chennai coming up this week. This is just the info I wanted

I had been to Tirupati yesterday to attend a funeral. I took Tin factory-Kolar-Palamner-Bangarupalayam-Aragonda-Kanipakam-Puttalapattu-Tirupati route both onwards and return. I crossed Bangarupalayam and Palamner after dusk. Both bypasses are ready. Even road lights were on in most places, all flyovers, except for the one at Thathireddipalle.

On the whole, I feel Bangalore-Chittoor highway is now ready even for NIGHT drives. It is the Chittoor-Tirupati and Chittoor-Ranipet sections that are presently suitable for DAY trips ONLY.
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Old 8th July 2019, 11:59   #3220
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Re: Bangalore - Chennai - Bangalore : Route Queries

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So from Bangalore to Chittoor the 4L road is completely done and you recommend it ? No deviations and diversions like before exists anymore.
Yes, Bangalore to Chittoor is 100% ready for both day and night drives without deviations/diversions. No issues. Given its a new road, watch out for people driving in wrong side, crossing the roads in extremely casual way without looking at either direction.

Quote:
Originally Posted by pgupta View Post
Could you help me understand what you mean When you say other side road construction is going on.
That comment is for Bangalore-Tirupati bound commuters. When i said "other side", i meant the remaining 90 odd kms from Chittoor to Tirupati side.


One other point, i forgot to mention in my earlier post is, i don't recollect seeing proper gaps/outlets in between the medians for rain water to drain out from the concrete road. So i suspect that during heavy rains, there will be water stagnant towards the median side or towards the road slope direction. Need to watch out for that during rainy day drives.

-Ravi
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Old 8th July 2019, 12:12   #3221
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Re: Bangalore - Chennai - Bangalore : Route Queries

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Originally Posted by ravib View Post
Yes, Bangalore to Chittoor is 100% ready for both day and night drives without deviations/diversions. -Ravi
Thanks for the wonderful update, really helpful as we are also planning to visit Kanchipuram. Did you book your ticket for the Adhi Vardar darshan or was it a general admission?, planning for a week day visit.
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Old 8th July 2019, 13:02   #3222
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Re: Bangalore - Chennai - Bangalore : Route Queries

Thanks ravib for your detailed update. Work on the Chithoor- TN border stretch seems to be stalling. This was roughly the position 2-3 months ago too. Hope they finish this in 2019. Chennai drives for us North Bangaloreans will become significantly better.

The Nandi Plaza seems nice and must be brand new; missed it 2 months ago. Having been a frequenter of the old Nandi Plaza (because it was the only eatery in this section in the past), it's nice to see a more decent version coming up.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ravib View Post
i don't recollect seeing proper gaps/outlets in between the medians for rain water to drain out from the concrete road. So i suspect that during heavy rains, there will be water stagnant towards the median side or towards the road slope direction. Need to watch out for that during rainy day drives.
It had actually rained for half an hour the last time I passed this section and there were huge pools of water on the road and and fountains of spray as each truck passed. Great road , but as you observed, drainage options seem to have been missed.
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Old 13th July 2019, 11:37   #3223
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Re: Bangalore - Chennai - Bangalore : Route Queries

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The primary agenda was to visit Kanchipuram and get once in life-time darshan of Athi Varadhar. I don't think we will have energy or health or even we will be alive to see the lord again after 40 years in 2059!

-Ravi
How much time did it take to finish the Darshan of Athi Varadhar at Kanchipuram?

I am planning to go and a getting varied answers of 5-7 hours waiting in line and extremely crowded even on weekdays.

Planning to go on a weekday for the Darshan.
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Old 13th July 2019, 17:10   #3224
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Re: Bangalore - Chennai - Bangalore : Route Queries

Did the route via Chittoor today after reading Ravib's report. I was avoiding this route since I wasn't sure of the status. Going via Hosur is much longer since I reside in Bangalore east.
Did good time upto Chittoor bypass, but since roadworks are going on after that till the railway crossing, lost time there. After joining the Krishnagiri NH, both the tolls were clogged and the usual traffic upto Poonamalle whigh is annoying since all the time saved upto Walajah is lost.

On the return, I decided to go up to Vellore and then cut off to join the Chittoor road. In that way I can avoid part of the road works.
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Old 16th July 2019, 12:43   #3225
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Re: Bangalore - Chennai - Bangalore : Route Queries

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How much time did it take to finish the Darshan of Athi Varadhar at Kanchipuram?
There is no straight answer as it varies every day and depends on the day you visit. Last saturday July 13th was the highest followed by sunday July 14th. Yesterday afternoon, people got darshan within 30 to 45 minutes even in after 3.30 pm. So it depends.

Agreed, best to visit on a weekday. Avoid weekends. My recommendation is, on a weekday enter the queue around 3.30 am or 4 am, so that you can be out by 6ish or 7ish in about 2 to 3 hours. The queue generally moves fast. Carry snacks/water bottles sufficiently. Given the massive crowd and approximately 1 lac people visiting everyday, don't expect too much of cleanliness/hygiene, so set your expectations low in the queue. That said, although its not ideal, the goal to get a life time darshan matters most and superior than these inconveniences or petty things. My 2 cents

-Ravi
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