[anandhsub]

I agree with ravib. I look the chittoor route from Mahadevpura last Saturday due to the expected long weekend rush up to krishnagiri toll and since i had to start a bit late ( 6:45 AM)

The terrible roads and diversions from Chittoor till the border really suck out the pleasure of driving on the highway. The Two laned stretch from the TN border to Walajah is actually quite good to drive on compared to the under construction stretch.

Even the newly laid concrete sections from kolar to chittoor are not good compared to the butter smooth Golden Quadrilateral. At some points they seem to have used tar haphazardly to connect two concrete blocks and they give a huge bump when you are taking it at speed. Have to slow down to 60-70 each time u come across these joints.

It is hard to believe this is a newly constructed highway.

At the end didnt really save any time. Took about 5hr 45min of driving time from Mahadevpura to Valasaravakkam. One of my longer journeys off late

[motorworks]

Originally Posted by ravib

Given the current condition with heavy rains, from safety perspective, please stick to Hosur, Krishnagiri route for this trip when you return.
Chittoor to Bangalore is excellent 4L roads, but between Ranipet to Chittoor road constructions are going on and not fully ready. So i won't advise Chittoor route at this time when it is raining.

Originally Posted by anandhsub

I agree with ravib. I look the chittoor route from Mahadevpura last Saturday due to the expected long weekend rush up to krishnagiri toll and since i had to start a bit late ( 6:45 AM)

Thanks for your replies. I opted for the tried tested Krishnagiri Hosur route since it was raining quite heavily when I left ECR. Google maps showed the Chitoor route to be faster by about 15 mins, but I felt that in the kind of weather that was prevalent it did not make sense to try a completely new route. And it was probably the better thing to do. Cause the rain was quite heavy and I had to be using my wipers in the fastest speed to have any decent visibility. And plus the highway was filed with water puddles and that lead to constant aqua planing. And the rain was quite heavy until I reached Krishnagiri.

It was a rather long drive due to the rain, it took me about 2 hours to reach Kanchipuram from ECR and another 1 hour from Hosur to my home in Mahadevapura. Just 4 hours in the outskirts of both the cities. 6 hour eventful drive!

[itwasntme]

Guys, need to be in Chennai airport area by 0900 on a upcoming Sunday with return planned same day (can leave from there by 1600). Am located in the Yelahanka area.

Any suggestions on the route? I am planning to leave by 0330 but should I take Chittoor or the usual Krishnagiri one? And return?

[hserus]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Guys, need to be in Chennai airport area by 0900 on a upcoming Sunday with return planned same day (can leave from there by 1600). Am located in the Yelahanka area.

Any suggestions on the route? I am planning to leave by 0330 but should I take Chittoor or the usual Krishnagiri one? And return?

Don't do the Chittoor route at night especially in the rainy season. Just take the regular Hosur route.

Don't leave right at peak hour. Get to bed early and leave at 2 AM from Chennai, you should be in Yelahanka before the morning rush starts.

[Makin Rulesz]

Please share the latest status of Chennai - Bangalore route, if anyone has traveled recently? Have they patched up the potholes between Sriperumbudur and Chennasamudram Toll?
Any update on Attibele- Sarjapura - Vartur stretch is also appreciated. Is it advisable to take this route or go via Silkboard - ORR to reach Whitefield for 5:30 PM start from Chennai?

[NPV]

Originally Posted by Makin Rulesz

Please share the latest status of Chennai - Bangalore route, if anyone has traveled recently? Have they patched up the potholes between Sriperumbudur and Chennasamudram Toll?

@ravib had updated a month ago here (Bangalore - Chennai - Bangalore : Route Queries)

Any update on Attibele- Sarjapura - Vartur stretch is also appreciated. Is it advisable to take this route or go via Silkboard - ORR to reach Whitefield for 5:30 PM start from Chennai?

Part of this route now has 4 laned roads (not very wide though) with a median, starts after about 5-6Km from Attibele, all the way to Dommasandra where you get off the Sarjapura Road and turn right to Varthur road.

Avoid this route if it's raining or if there's any festival/fair near Varthur (check gmaps for traffic situation). On other days, I think you can give it a shot since you will be reaching Attibele around 10pm or later.

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by Makin Rulesz

Sriperumbudur and Chennasamudram Toll

Its not as bad as 2015-17 level, but you can expect to play minesweeper a little.

5:30 PM start from Chennai?

530 PM is a very bad timing to start from Madras regardless of the route you take.

[Makin Rulesz]

Originally Posted by NPV

@ravib had updated a month ago here (Bangalore - Chennai - Bangalore : Route Queries)

I wanted to know if there are any repair work done recently.

Originally Posted by NPV

Avoid this route if it's raining or if there's any festival/fair near Varthur (check gmaps for traffic situation). On other days, I think you can give it a shot since you will be reaching Attibele around 10pm or later.

Thank you. I will decide based on the traffic status.

Originally Posted by narayans80

Its not as bad as 2015-17 level, but you can expect to play minesweeper a little.

Originally Posted by narayans80

530 PM is a very bad timing to start from Madras regardless of the route you take.

I know Sir. I can only start after finishing the office for the day. Moreover, I have to start early Saturday morning for my drive to west coast.

[srvm]

I did Bangalore-Chennai-Bangalore on 26th Nov.
Here are my observations:
Onward via Chittoor-Ranipet-Sriperumbudur-Mudichur-Tambaram.
Start time from C V Raman Nagar around 8.30am. Reached Tambaram at 2.30pm. The 25km stretch between start of Chitoor bypass to Zion Hill church is the only painful stretch (no change in status from ravib's post few months ago). Otherwise roads are ok and traffic is low.


Return was Tambaram-Mudichur-Sriperumbudur-Ambur-Krishnagiri-Bangalore.
There was slight drizzle all the way from Tambaram to Krishnagiri. My first time in the Mudichur-Manimangalam route after dark. Its doable but lots of cattle on the road. Attentive and slower driving highly advised. Still a much less stressful drive compared to Poonamallee route.
Start time at Tambaram 6.45pm. Reached home at C V Raman Nagar at 1.30am. Includes a dinner break of 30 minutes at Murugan Idli shop, near Kaveripakkam.


@Makin Rulesz: Conditions wise Chennasamudram toll plaza to Sriperumbudur is in better shape compared to the other direction. Both are however doable, patchwork is decent. Nothing major to be concerned if speeds are reasonable.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by srvm

Onward via Chittoor-Ranipet-Sriperumbudur-Mudichur-Tambaram.
..
Return was Tambaram-Mudichur-Sriperumbudur-Ambur-Krishnagiri-Bangalore.

The good part about the Tambaram-Sriperumbudur option is bypassing of one toll booth. So only Walajah to conquer. Once you go past that, you feel you have arrived! When the open 6-lanes greet you
Definitely a worthy alternative option for Poonamallee.

[mpksuhas]

29 Nov. Bangalore - Chennai.

Got late and started at not so ideal time of 06.00 PM from home near HSR layout, took one hour to cross Attibelle thanks to peak hour traffic enroute and also long toll lanes inspite of having Fastag.

Past that till Walajpet toll it was smooth drive with less traffic. From Walajpet to Chennai, it was the usual high traffic case, with Sriperumbudur to Chennai (Vadapalani) taking one hour.

Surface wise, Walajpet - Chennai is much better now, however last time I had noticed that other side of carriageway (Chennai - Vellore) was having potholes, will update on that after my return journey on Monday.

Stopped at Murugan Idli on left side while traveling from Walajpet to Chennai. (Location)

Food and service was good, however restrooms were just okay. May not be stopping there in future.

[Makin Rulesz]

Update after my Chennai to Bangalore travel on 29th.
Started from Medavakkam at 5:30pm and immediately got stuck in massive traffic jam for around 45 minutes. Reached Sriperumbudur by around 7PM by taking Tambaram - Mudichur route. After that it was a breeze with very minimal traffic all throughout on road and at tollgates. I took Attibele- Sarjapura - Vartur route to reach Whitfield by 11PM.

Sriperumbudur to Chennasamudram Toll is all patched up without a single pothole. I did not feel any uneven road surface due to patch work and could maintain good speeds.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by Makin Rulesz

I took Attibele- Sarjapura - Vartur route to reach Whitfield by 11PM.

I think you did it in good time, despite the traffic inside Chennai
Curious to know how the Attibele-Varthur stretch was at that time ?

[prabhuferrari]

Have done around 6 trips in the past 45 days. All via Chitoor and the route is getting better and better. It takes me exactly 3hrs 50 min to reach Hoskote toll gate from Saligramam at a 5.30 AM start. And in return takes me 4hrs40 min with the slowness at sriperumbudur causing the additional 40 min. This is at 4 PM from hoskote toll gate. My final destination in Bangalore is Bharatiya city near Thanisandra. Overall there is 25 min slow stretch from TN border to chitoor but that is getting much better every week. People traveling to north and east bangalore can try this on a day time journey. For night drives this stretch is not advisable, yet. Food options are also not that great in the chitoor stretch. Hopefully the Woodys post mulbagal is inaugurated soon. The adigas that was there next to coffee day before Kolar seems to have been closed down.

[cool_dube]

Guys, what would be the optimal route from East Bangalore (Whitefield) to Chennai Airport on a weekday morning? I plan to leave as early as 4 am. Please share approx drive time as well, for said time of day.

Thanks in advance...