[anandhsub]

Driving down to Chennai tomorrow to attend a function in Medavakkam. This is the first time i will have to take the Mudichur-Tambaram route and hence have a couple of queries.

1) Is there a direct turn off from NH4 into the Manimangalam-Mudichur road or should one go till Rajiv Gandhi memorial for the U Turn or is that also closed and one needs to go further. The last few updates on this route on this thread are a bit confusing. Maps shows one needs to go much further till the end of Sriperumbudur to take the U turn. I dont recall vehicles taking that u turn in all my rides this year.

2) How is the above route after the rains? Would the SH48 route via Sriperumbudur-Panrutti- Mannivakkam- Vandalur route be a better option? I guess for this route there is a direct turn off from NH4. However I got caught very badly in traffic on GST road near perungaluthur when returning from Trichy in January so would like to avoid this unless the mudichur road is very bad.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by anandhsub

1) Is there a direct turn off from NH4 into the Manimangalam-Mudichur road or should one go till Rajiv Gandhi memorial for the U Turn or is that also closed and one needs to go further.

I think U turn even at the Gandhi memorial is blocked. If you go further, you will end up going all the way till the toll. Instead at the Memorial go into Sriperumbudur and take a U the to come back.

2) How is the above route after the rains? Would the SH48 route via Sriperumbudur-Panrutti- Mannivakkam- Vandalur route be a better option? I guess for this route there is a direct turn off from NH4. However I got caught very badly in traffic on GST road near perungaluthur when returning from Trichy in January so would like to avoid this unless the mudichur road is very bad.

Mudichur/Manimagalam is always a good option.


Also note I think on the Pallavaram radial road, there is a flyover construction ongoing at the Medavakkam cross. Dont know what is its status today.

[Warwithwheels]

Originally Posted by anandhsub

Driving down to Chennai tomorrow to attend a function in Medavakkam. This is the first time i will have to take the Mudichur-Tambaram route and hence have a couple of queries.

I can comment on the Mudichur - Tambaram route. The road is fairly decent and very much motorable. This would be the shortest route to reach Medavakkam.



You will have to just take the flyover at tambaram that seperates mudichur from east tambaram/ medavakkam and just head in the same direction. Medavakkam should take about 25 mins from the tambaram flyover under normal traffic conditions.

Please don't take the perungalathur route unless you wanna do a terrestrial survey of the worst roads in chennai

[arun_josie]

Originally Posted by anandhsub

Maps shows one needs to go much further till the end of Sriperumbudur to take the U turn. I dont recall vehicles taking that u turn in all my rides this year.

Yes, even during my last trip to chennai(3-4 weeks back), the map asked me to go further ahead and then take the "U" turn but actually the right was open.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by arun_josie

Yes, even during my last trip to chennai(3-4 weeks back), the map asked me to go further ahead and then take the "U" turn but actually the right was open.

Last time I went, The U turn was off at Gandhi memorial. So I thought I will go further up. Ended all the way till the toll booth. Then I thought no point turning back and continued.

Again when I went, I realized no point going till toll booth. So took left at Gandhi memorial, went into the town for some distance, took a U and came back to the Gandhi memorial junction. Then I turned back towards Tambaram/Oragadam exit junction.

[arun_josie]

Originally Posted by ampere

Last time I went, The U turn was off at Gandhi memorial. So I thought I will go further up. Ended all the way till the toll booth. Then I thought no point turning back and continued.

I did this once when I missed both the right turn and then the "U" turn . I just continued via the city route.

Again when I went, I realized no point going till toll booth. So took left at Gandhi memorial, went into the town for some distance, took a U and came back to the Gandhi memorial junction. Then turn back towards Tambaram/Oragadam exit junction.

This is a good idea, if the right is closed or if you miss the right.

[srvm]

Originally Posted by arun_josie

I did this once when I missed both the right turn and then the "U" turn . I just continued via the city route.

This is a good idea, if the right is closed or if you miss the right.

I did Bangalore-Sriperumbudur-Mudichur-Tambaram on 26th November.
U-turn at Rajiv Gandhi memorial was blocked. The U-turn was allowed at the next junction (look for Cafe Coffee Day or Madurai Kannapar on right side in Gmaps). There was no need to go all the way to Toll plaza to make the U-turn.

[anandhsub]

Thanks for all the updates. I just reached medavakkam and the u turn was allowed at Rajiv Gandhi memorial. The direct right turn wasn't though. I think you need to travel a short distance in the wrong side of a service road if you have to take this right turn and there were police right there. The mudichur road is quite good with little traffic even at peak hours. I messed up however by following gmaps which asked me to take the MIT flyover and routed via some very narrow roads which had 10x the cattle vs the human population. Should have stuck to the pallavaram flyover route.

[mpksuhas]

Kind of a late update, onward journey I had mentioned details here (Bangalore - Chennai - Bangalore : Route Queries)

Chennai - Bangalore - 02-Dec

Started from home at Vadapalani at 02.00 PM. Chennai bye-pass got some real bad sections causing long delays, that plus slight drizzle means it took 1.5 hours to reach Chennasamudaram toll.


Roads till here are in bad conditions at multiple sections. It is not that the roads are bad all around, the bad sections suddenly pops up. Also, like earlier, lanes towards Chennai are in better conditions than the lanes towards Vellore.

Video from my dashcam of the bad sections

https://youtu.be/SRtl3g-OdNI

Took another one hour to reach CCD along with HP bunk before Pallikonda petrol bunk.

Past that the road conditions are good and hence was able to reach till Hosur without any issues. However, due to rains there were few sections around Hosur were water had accumulated on road.


Water logging near Hosur on NH

https://youtu.be/AQwvPPvN-Ys

[hserus]

I just returned on Friday morning Bangalore to Chennai and took the Chittoor Kolar route. That road is near on empty these days, very little traffic and if you are driving a Scorpio why bother about bad roads near Chittoor? (I most definitely wouldn’t want to do those roads in a sedan, doable but much more uncomfortable I would say). The tolls had hardly one or two vehicles in each lane till the usual crowds started at Ranipet, and bonus - under Rs 250 in tolls.

[anandhsub]

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

Started from home at Vadapalani at 02.00 PM. Chennai bye-pass got some real bad sections causing long delays, that plus slight drizzle means it took 1.5 hours to reach Chennasamudaram toll.

Yesterday night when I was exiting Chennai the byepass was closed in the Poonamallee-Maduravoiyal direction for about 250m and the vehicles were being diverted into my side making it a single lane for a short while.

Either the opposite side is so bad that it had to be closed or they have finally started work on fixing the stretch. Hopefully the latter.

[hserus]

Originally Posted by anandhsub

Yesterday night when I was exiting Chennai the byepass was closed in the Poonamallee-Maduravoiyal direction for about 250m and the vehicles were being diverted into my side making it a single lane for a short while.

Either the opposite side is so bad that it had to be closed or they have finally started work on fixing the stretch. Hopefully the latter.

Yes. Roadwork is ongoing - I crossed it during the daytime and people were working on the other side.

[pgupta]

Given the situations with countrywide CAA protests and 144 in Bangalore which route to Vellore from Bangalore will be relatively safe ? Via Chittor or Krishnagiri ?

[tharian]

Originally Posted by hserus

I just returned on Friday morning Bangalore to Chennai and took the Chittoor Kolar route. That road is near on empty these days, very little traffic and if you are driving a Scorpio why bother about bad roads near Chittoor? (I most definitely wouldn’t want to do those roads in a sedan, doable but much more uncomfortable I would say). The tolls had hardly one or two vehicles in each lane till the usual crowds started at Ranipet, and bonus - under Rs 250 in tolls.

Yes, you save a bit on toll compared to the Krishnagiri route. I've been sticking to this route always since last year. Makes sense for me since I stay in Bangalore East.

If those WiP stretches are done, it will be a breeze. I sometimes cut off to Vellore after Chittoor to avoid some of the bad stretch and the railway gate.
One thing I noticed was, when it was a single lane road, truck traffic was quite a bit and I remember how frustrating it got. Now after it has become a laned road, I hardly see any trucks, which in other words is good.

[Warwithwheels]

Originally Posted by pgupta

Given the situations with countrywide CAA protests and 144 in Bangalore which route to Vellore from Bangalore will be relatively safe ? Via Chittor or Krishnagiri ?

The same concern exactly! Is it safe to travel to bangalore from Chennai on Sunday, the 22nd of December? Which would be the safest route?