[NPV]

Originally Posted by mah45

Thanks, anything closer to Kanchipuram is preferable since I will be starting in the morning from Chennai

Nothing can beat Sai Sangeet at Chengulikuppam near Vaniyambadi but it’s on the right side while coming from Chennai, definitely worth it.

One more option is Hotel Alankar (on your side/left) near Arcot.

[mah45]

Originally Posted by NPV

Nothing can beat Sai Sangeet at Chengulikuppam near Vaniyambadi but it’s on the right side while coming from Chennai, definitely worth it.

One more option is Hotel Alankar (on your side/left) near Arcot.

Thanks, realised I wasn't very clear in my last post.
We typically start around 6am in the morning, so in terms of time Sai Sangeet gets quite late.
Upaashana seems to be ideally placed, will try it for Breakfast this time

Couple of times we went into Kanchipuram just to have breakfast at Sai Sangeet. But we end up wasting quite sometime getting back to the Highway.

But the one at Vaniyambadi is undoubtedly very good. Food, the birds etc ..

[itwasntme]

https://www.indiatvnews.com/tamil-na...4-12-20-967216

Chennai to get new highway soon, Nitin Gadkari approves plan, travel time to Vellore to be reduced

Don’t know if this is new news or old news, but will surely help!

[Game_of_Roads]

Just did Bangalore - Chennai via Hosur - Krishnagiri - Vellore - Sriperumbudur - Chrompet - Perungudi.

Having done BLR - Chennai at least 20 times, I feel the road condition has been the worst so far, especially from Walajah/Ranipet all the way till Sriperumbudur. Even the earlier pristine road strech been Krishnagiri - Vellore now has deviations, construction and bad potholes in a few places.

The nasty potholes, bad surfaces, constant diversions, traffic backlog etc are so bad that it's really not worth driving between Bangalore and Chennai until the expressway is open or they fix the last 100+km stretch till Chennai. In fact there are bad streches now even till Krishnagiri from Hosur.

IMO, unless you have a really good reason to need to drive down, train/flight would be much better for sometime

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Chennai to get new highway soon, Nitin Gadkari approves plan, travel time to Vellore to be reduced

Bottomline is it is a Ranipet-Walajah bypass, that is all. There is no new highway here.

Most amusing part is this

Once this highway is open to public, it will massively reduce the travel time between Chennai and Vellore to just 2.5 hours. Moreover, this project will also improve the connectivity between Chennai and other major cities like Bengaluru, Tirupati, and Vellore.

Originally Posted by Game_of_Roads

I feel the road condition has been the worst so far

Worser than December 2022?

[jkrishnakj]

I had the unfortunate time of doing a Bangalore - Madras - Bangalore drive over the last weekend. Suffice it to say, it's not a highway at all. Felt like a pot hole ridden Bangalore ORR for most part of the drive. Even the Krishnagiri to Vaniambadi stretch is not spared.

I was telling my wife that the Train would have been far far better.

And oh, why are they still charging tolls for non-existent road called 'highway'? Gone are those days where one could do ecity to Porur in 5 hours.

[mah45]

Hi all
After several deliberations whether to travel by train or car, finally I ended up travelling by car from Chennai to Bangalore and return over the weekend of 21st /22nd Dec

Started at 6 from Thalambur area, took the Kelambakkam - Vandalur route which was a breeze.
Took the Manimangalam - Sriperumbudur route and this was fine as well.

Once I joined the Highway in Sriperumbudur, encountered the worst stretch of roads.
Leave away the diversions, even the so called regular sections had potholes or should I say craters.
I was really worried whether I would end up having cracks in my tyres.

Only after crossing Kanchipuram it was manageable.

Taking your recommendations I decided to drive along until Ratnagiri and stopped for breakfast at Alankar by 8:25.
Turned out to be a very good decision. Food was very good, and Service was also quick.

Ranipet - Krishnagiri section was relatively much better, but did find multiple diversions here as well.
Only saving grace is that, work seemed to be progressing in these, unlike until Kanchipuram where it feels like work has come to a standstill

Krishnagiri - Hosur was ok due to light traffic but yes there were atleast 5 diversions
After a brief stop for tea just before the Attibele toll (Srinidhi sagar) proceeded towards Nagasandra by taking the NICE road just after E. City

Nice road was very good, but ended up paying a whopping ₹285 as toll
Reached Nagasandra around 1pm

Return on Sunday was from Kanakapura road, started around 12:30pm
Got caught in traffic pileup at 2 diversions before Krishnagiri.
Almost lost more than 45 in all.
In fact the previous day I did see pileup for almost 4 kms on the opposite direction, so relatively I guess it was better on Sunday.
Again took the same route until reaching home on return and reached by 7:40pm

[Paddy19]

Drive from BLR to Chennai on Dec 22nd and consistent with previous posts, it was a terrible drive. Started from BTM at 12.30PM and reached Saligramam by 8.30PM. We ran into bad roads, constant traffic and diversions from E City to Krishnagiri. Got a brief good stretch between Krishnagiri and Vellore but same story after Vellore - bad roads and diversions.

About 20km before Poonamallee, I hit a pothole hard, and the rear left tyre went totally flat within minutes. My first time ever in this situation. I got the jack set up and was struggling to unscrew the spare tyre. I was with wife and 2 toddlers who were getting cranky. Thankfully, a couple of good samaritans stopped by to help change the tyre. Lesson learned to be better prepared.

I thought it was a puncture but upon getting it checked, turns out the tyre wall is cut. The wheel rim might have pierced the tyre on impact. The rim had a minor chip, which the puncture guy sandpapered but said the tyre cannot be salvaged.

I usually drive Hyd-Blr and was under the impression that Blr-Che is a short and sweet drive, and didn't bother to do much homework. And paid a heavy price!

[Capri89]

Just finished a Bangalore Chennai trip via Chitoor-Ranipet.

Some observations as below.

1. A new Murugan Idli outlet is opened at Kolar. Good crowd waiting in queue. As we were only two got the seats immediately. Coffee is good as is to be expected. (Previously coffee at Murugan Idli at Kanchipuram during the outbound trip was pathetic).



2. Work at Chitoor is mostly complete. The bridge is not open yet. However the diversions were smooth.

3. Work at Bommasamudram is still on. At the diversion for Vellore a man sitting on the stone barricade was encouraging motorists bound for Chennai to take the road straight through
the narrow opening. DO NOT TAKE IT. He has no business to do that. Not when the work is incomplete. At the railway crossing it was chaos, on both sides.

4. Post Ranipet on the NH 48, completed stretches are super. The diversions on the incomplete stretch is worse. I see grass growing higher and higher at every trip, which means, a solution is nowhere nearby..

[anandhsub]

Originally Posted by Capri89

2. Work at Chitoor is mostly complete. The bridge is not open yet. However the diversions were smooth.

The bridge was open today in the other direction. Had taken the Katpadi route today to come to Bangalore from Chennai, and several new signboards have been put up asking those heading towards Bengaluru to take the flyover ( it is the ramp on the opposite side though)

[Aviator_guy]

Originally Posted by Capri89

Just finished a Bangalore Chennai trip via Chitoor-Ranipet.

Some observations as below.

1. A new Murugan Idli outlet is opened at Kolar. Good crowd waiting in queue. As we were only two got the seats immediately. Coffee is good as is to be expected. (Previously coffee at Murugan Idli at Kanchipuram during the outbound trip was pathetic).

Attachment 2702584

Wow.. Me and my family are big fans of Murugan and sometimes we undertake drive to their Krishnagiri outlet from Whitefield, just for the bfast. Now this one is shorter by 45 minutes and can't wait to be there Thanks for the information!

[sbkumar]

Had to do BLR-CHN-BLR twice in the last two weeks and I wouldn’t do this again until the roads get fixed or the expressway is complete. Train seems to be best option given the road conditions and on going construction. In any developed country the government and the contractor would be sued for the dangerous road conditions between Kancheepuram and Sriperumpudur, let alone allowing them to collect toll charges. I have been doing this route since its inception and it has never been this chaotic ever since it was opened. I have experienced similar potholes earlier too, but the combination of that, along with diversions for construction in many places simultaneously make this as the worst phase in its history end to end. I ended up hitting a big pothole and luckily managed without a puncture or tyre wall cut.

[arun_josie]

Originally Posted by sbkumar

I have been doing this route since its inception and it has never been this chaotic ever since it was opened. I have experienced similar potholes earlier too, but the combination of that, along with diversions for construction in many places simultaneously make this as the worst phase in its history end to end. I ended up hitting a big pothole and luckily managed without a puncture or tyre wall cut.

I totally agree with you. I had to drive on this stretch last week and I have never seen this road like this, its at its worst.

[sbkumar]

Originally Posted by NPV

Nothing can beat Sai Sangeet at Chengulikuppam near Vaniyambadi but it’s on the right side while coming from Chennai, definitely worth it.

One more option is Hotel Alankar (on your side/left) near Arcot.

I recently tried the sai suprabatam (chennai to BLR side, Vaniyambadi ) and it turned out to be good. Though I have seen this many time, never felt taking a chance before. There was hardly any crowd, possibly due to the time of the day and the day of the journey but they had quite a few different items on the menu. Definitely worth a try.

[searacer932]

It's sad to see the poor condition of the Chennai Bangalore highway. The highway stretch between Chennai and Vellore is atrocious to say the least and it's a crime to collect toll in this stretch. Is it worth raising an issue on PG Portal grievance about this? The URL to this grievance site is : https://pgportal.gov.in/

I drove between Chennai and Vellore in May 2024 and there was no highway at many places. Had to drive in service lane for many many kilometers and it appears that things have remained the same since then. There were plenty of unfinished bridges with no sign of any construction! and the road was dug up at many many places. I suspect this situation will remain the same for the next couple of years until NHAI completes the Chennai Bangalore Expressway and post that may be they might divert funding and resources to the National Highway but there should be no toll collection between Chennai and Vellore until the time there is a road which qualifies the criteria of a 'National Highway'.