[audioholic]

Originally Posted by srvm

Big improvements. All flyovers completed in this 20km stretch. Its a breeze now. Even my return journey at dusk via same route was easy.

Looks like this stretch was completed in no time. Just last year when I visited Tirupathi the work had begun. Looking forward to taking this road in two weeks from now to go to Tirumala again. Any latest update will be very helpful.

[ravib]

Those who are heading to Tirupati from Bangalore, can now take the NH4 all the way till Tirupati. Beyond Tirupati By-pass , road constructions are still happening all the way till Tirupati. For more details a look at my detailed post and road conditions in below post: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route...ml#post4616760 (Bangalore - Chennai - Bangalore : Route Queries)

-Ravi

[damodar]

The road works from Mulbagal to Chitoor are complete with not even one section pending. The trip I did was in day and with all the new signages and reflective markers it should be a breeze to travel at night too.
The only pain point is by passing Chitoor. I took the route via Penmur and the last 12 km stretch before joining the highway was narrow with no chance of getting off the road with rocks and a sharp shoulder. It's worse than the 9km stretch before Punganur.
So it's still better to take the route via Kanipakam.

[srvm]

Originally Posted by audioholic

Looks like this stretch was completed in no time. Just last year when I visited Tirupathi the work had begun. Looking forward to taking this road in two weeks from now to go to Tirumala again. Any latest update will be very helpful.

Originally Posted by damodar

The road works from Mulbagal to Chitoor are complete with not even one section pending. The trip I did was in day and with all the new signages and reflective markers it should be a breeze to travel at night too.
The only pain point is by passing Chitoor. I took the route via Penmur and the last 12 km stretch before joining the highway was narrow with no chance of getting off the road with rocks and a sharp shoulder. It's worse than the 9km stretch before Punganur. So it's still better to take the route via Kanipakam.

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. During return journey, I crossed Bangarupalayam and Palamner bypasses after dusk. Both bypasses are ready. Even road lights were on in most places, all flyovers, except for the one at Thathireddipalle.

Bangarupalayam-Aragonda is good, wide 2-lane with only couple of bad sections. Aragonda-Kanipakam is also smooth, 2-lane.
Kanipakam-Puttalapattu is a combination of narrow single lane but smooth sections along with wide 6-laned divided carriageway (suitable at present for day drives only).
Puttalapattu-Gadanki/Panapakam is getting widened at a good pace. Quite a few diversions from one side of the carriageway to the other. Careful overtaking of buses and trucks is a must. As of now, better done during day time only. Not suitable after dark.

Edit: I took this route because Tirupati-Chittoor has too much truck traffic and it was getting tiresome to overtake so many of them. Once you deviate towards Kanipakam-Aragonda-Bangarupalayam there is next to nil traffic. Certainly LOT less trucks.

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.

Kindly check out ravib's latest post in Chennai-Bangalore thread for more details and pics.

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by srvm

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. During return journey, I crossed Bangarupalayam and Palamner bypasses after dusk. Both bypasses are ready. Even road lights were on in most places, all flyovers, except for the one at Thathireddipalle.

Originally Posted by damodar

The road works from Mulbagal to Chitoor are complete with not even one section pending. The trip I did was in day and with all the new signages and reflective markers it should be a breeze to travel at night too.

Originally Posted by ravib

Those who are heading to Tirupati from Bangalore, can now take the NH4 all the way till Tirupati. Beyond Tirupati By-pass , road constructions are still happening all the way till Tirupati.

-Ravi

Thanks for the prompt updates each one of you. There is nothing better than getting route feedback from someone who has recently done the same route. I will be heading to Tirupathi on next monday and return the same evening since I have to get back to work on Tuesday. Initially from Ravis post I see night driving wasnt recommended. But, you seem to be ok with it. Hence, is it possible to give a relative comparison? In my previous drive to Tirumala, I did the Punganur interior route at 10PM at night and did not feel worried. So in comparison to this, I see that the only threat on the Chittor route is unmarked diversions. Any other issue? From Tirupathi to Chittor route would be a horror on weekends at night, but weekdays should be fine I believe.

[ravib]

Originally Posted by audioholic

Initially from Ravis post I see night driving wasnt recommended. But, you seem to be ok with it. Hence, is it possible to give a relative comparison?

@audioholic, night/post dark drive is not an issue between Bangalore to Chittoor section. But IT IS indeed an issue and high risk between Chittoor to Tirupati due to ongoing road construction work with no diversion marking. I won't recommend at this time to take night drives to Tirupati.

Please see if you can adjust/replan your timings.

-Ravi

[srvm]

Originally Posted by audioholic

Thanks for the prompt updates each one of you. There is nothing better than getting route feedback from someone who has recently done the same route. I will be heading to Tirupathi on next monday and return the same evening since I have to get back to work on Tuesday. Initially from Ravis post I see night driving wasnt recommended. But, you seem to be ok with it. Hence, is it possible to give a relative comparison? In my previous drive to Tirumala, I did the Punganur interior route at 10PM at night and did not feel worried. So in comparison to this, I see that the only threat on the Chittor route is unmarked diversions. Any other issue? From Tirupathi to Chittor route would be a horror on weekends at night, but weekdays should be fine I believe.

@audioholic,
If you have a choice, atleast do the Tirupati-Chittoor or Tirupati-Kanipakam section before it gets dark. Most/all diversions between Tirupati and Chittoor are marked with signboards (small, red-colored ones) about 100 meters before the actual diversion. At some diversions, you also have some unmarked "Bangalore-sized"speed-breakers. Chittoor-KA border can be done easily now after dusk.

If you have no choice but to do the above sections in dark, then here is my suggestion:
You'll have to contend with lot of trucks and APSRTC/KSRTC buses to overtake in the Tirupati-Chittoor section. Bide your time and follow them (will also be easier to find diversions) till you reach Chittoor bypass. After that, you can stomp the A-pedal to glory

[srvm]

Originally Posted by audioholic

Thanks for the prompt updates each one of you. There is nothing better than getting route feedback from someone who has recently done the same route. I will be heading to Tirupathi on next monday and return the same evening since I have to get back to work on Tuesday. Initially from Ravis post I see night driving wasnt recommended. But, you seem to be ok with it. Hence, is it possible to give a relative comparison?.....

So which route did you take during onward and return journeys? Any latest updates?

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by srvm

So which route did you take during onward and return journeys? Any latest updates?

Since I was busy at work, I was not able to update and I wanted to do that in detail. To put it in short, I had the best drive to Tirupathi in all times and I must really appreciate the government for improving this road which was not touched from many years or more than a decade. The pace of work also is the fastest I have seen till date.
So the plan was to spend a night in my native in Kolar so I dont have the exact travel times. However, the route I took is as follows:
Bangalore - Kolar - Nangli - Chittoor - Penumuru - Nendragunta - Chandragiri cross - Tirupati

Bangalore - Nangli: Same existing road, but after Kolar there are some barricades where you can test your slalom driving capabilities. Had pretty much fun here. Dont try this if you are in a high GC vehicle. Only in Nangli cross there is a hump but the rest of the places have barricades only. So you can do this in good speeds except if there are people around. All tolls have working fastag lanes and well guarded.

Nangli - Bangarupalyam: Complete road with lane markings and reflectors, however, I did not like the smoothness of the surface near bridges. If your car is bouncy, then better keep speeds low for the sake of remaining in control.

From Bangalore to Nangli I could maintain speeds but with some slow downs but from Nangli to Bangarupalyam, I dont remember pressing the brake except in the cross to Palamner town

Bangarupalyam to Chittoor Bypass: Road work is done but lane markings and divider work is pending.

Chittor bypass: Dirty as usual with road work and narrow stretches

New stretch: After this is where the route was new for me. Initially I was skeptical but did a study in google maps satellite and found it to be quite remote. After we finish the bypass, its a 1.5km journey on this horrible stretch of road full of trucks, two wheelers, cars on the wrong side and what not. After that, you exit the road to a typical two lane road with rare two wheeler, auto and bus traffic. The first 16kms of this road is easily manageable with good speeds. Not much of speedbreakers also. After you reach the town Penumuru, the road becomes narrow, just enough for two cars to pass by, which means one needs to hit the kerb. This was okayish for me and I usually stayed on the road all the time while the autos etc which came had to kerb. Once this stretch is done, you enter the regular road to Tirupati, which is under the process of widening and is a hell out there with cars all over the road and buses overtaking all the way till the opposite side shoulder Thankfully, one only has to bear 28kms of this crap instead of 53kms of the regular route which is worse.

All in all, I left Empire near Narasapura at 930 in the morning, topped up fuel tank in Shell bunk in Shark food court and reached the Hotel Pai Viceroy at 1230. Three hours including fuel break is just awesome. Bangalore would be another one hour which will make BLR - TPT in just four hours.

The darshan took two hours of time using the 300 rupee ticket. The return journey was not so quick since there was continuous rain from Tirupati to Palamner and since the lane markings and reflectors were absent making it a little tricky to maintain speed. The heavy rain also led to waterlogging and the underbody guard of my SX4 was loose, which got ripped off after hitting a huge puddle. I took some time in Nandi food plaza to cut it off and then restarted the journey. From there, it was a wonderful drive all the way back to home since the road is well marked.

Next big change will be when the widening is complete till Tirupati. That will ensure we can easily do day trips from Bangalore. Compared to the earlier roads where it was a pain to manage overtaking and maintain pace, this new road is a revolution. The other positive part is that we do not pass through much of pedestrian or road crossings since most of the stretches are elevated. Makes it a lot safer. Only downside is water logging in the Chittor area and poor surface quality on bridges.

[mchandra13]

Originally Posted by audioholic

Bangarupalyam to Chittoor Bypass: Road work is done but lane markings and divider work is pending.
Chittor bypass: Dirty as usual with road work and narrow stretches

Thanks for the details. In my last 2 recent trips, I have taken Bangarupalyam - Kanipakam - puthalapattu road to merge into Chittor-Tirupati road. But with all the road works going on, the road through Penumuru is worth trying based on the road conditions you mentioned. I am planning to travel to Tirupati this wednesday and plan to drive through Chittor town instead of the by-pass just to see how much of difference it makes to journey time. Will post an update after I travel.

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by mchandra13

Chittor town instead of the by-pass just to see how much of difference it makes to journey time. Will post an update after I travel.

On a weekday, its better to choose the bypass instead of going through the town unless you are passing it in odd hours, like too early in the morning or late night. Traffic in these towns is chaotic, with all types of vehicles all over the road. In the bypass, you will get some truck traffic and on weekdays there wont be much cars coming in the opposite side so you can make way between the trucks. I somehow hate the traffic in these towns. No one cares where they drive, stop or pickup passengers. Compared to this, dealing with a few trucks and cars in the bypass is fun for a short distance in my opinion It only used to be worse when we had to do this exercise earlier for the entire stretch between AP Border and Tirupathi.

The next updates I would be eager to hear are about the widening between Chittoor and Tirupati. If someone takes this route regularly, please update. What is the icing on the cake is that, the new road has a different alignment compared to the old one in many places and bypasses towns and villages. It also begins quite close to the Chittor bypass itself. I was wondering why the widening work on the bypass is only done for the initial few kms. That is because after this, the road takes a different direction itself and meets the old road near Pakala.

[Rajesh K R]

@ audioholic. Many thanks for the updates.


The Chittoor bypass which you are referring to - is the old bypass which used to pass in front of Hotel BANS and some educational institution and rejoin the highway - right ?


that road is now 4 laned ? or have they left it like that only ?


How is the condition of the road from Chittoor bypass exit (Murukambattu circle) upto the turnoff to the Puthalpattu TPT road ?



I have a trip to Tirumala coming up in Sept 2019 - hopefully, by then things would have got even better.

[smsrini]

Originally Posted by Rajesh K R

How is the condition of the road from Chittoor bypass exit (Murukambattu circle) upto the turnoff to the Puthalpattu TPT road ?



I have a trip to Tirumala coming up in Sept 2019 - hopefully, by then things would have got even better.

The Chittoor - Putalapatu road has roadworks underway, with heavy truck traffic. The Bypass road is as is i think, but not sure.

[mchandra13]

Travelled to Tirupati from Blr last Wednesday and returned back the next day.
While going I took the Blr -> Mulbagal -> Chittoor by-pass -> Penumur -> Nendragunta ->Tirupati. I started at 2:15PM from Bannerghatta road and went through Silkboard and Tinfactory and still ended up in Tirupati by 6:45PM. This is a non-stop drive and 4.5 hrs from my home to Tpt including all the traffic in Blr and is the best I have ever done in this route. I havent even gone super fast. Just maintained a steady speed between 90-110
This was supposed to be a quick trip for walking up and darshan on 300/- ticket and then back. So the next morning, I parked the car at Alipiri free park space and took a rick to Sri Vari mettu. Walked up through the steps in 1.5 hrs and the 300/- darshan took close to 4 hours even though at the end it was worth while for the time I had in front of the God.

Started back at around 7PM from Alipiri and this time took the regular Tirupati - Chittoor road without any deviations all the way, since its night time. Reached my home back in Bannerghatta Road by 12 Midnight with a dinner break and refueling stop for 45 mins. If 4.5 hrs on my onward journey was best ever, then I bested it with 4.25 hrs in my return journey helped by slightly lower traffic in the city. Again I was doing under 100 for most part. Tin factory traffic even at 11:30 in the night was as messy as ever. Outer ring road traffic was bumper to bumper at a higher speed than day time. Silkboard signal, close to midnight, still took good 15 mins to cross

A few points from this trip.

1. Except for one flyover between Mulbagal and Palamaner, the new road till Chittoor is fully complete. Even at the flyover which is not complete, only one side of the road is closed(towards TPT) and the adjacent side road is well tarred.
2. After Nangali, towards Palamaner, I found the road to be very bumpy as the cement road is not leveled properly. After Palamaner, its all done well.
3. There are no lane markings on the road after Palamaner ghat till Chittoor. The markings indeed make a difference to the travel at night as I have realized while driving at night. But lack of markings is compensated by street lights for most part of the road wherever there are slightly bigger villages in this stretch
4. As I entered into Chittoor bye-pass, I was following a KSRTC Volvo who was not letting me overtake all the way till Murakambattu. After Murakambattu I took a right and entered the Penumuru road and when I hit the main road back at Nendragunta, I saw the same volvo just passed me. Eventually I overtook it, but the point is I did not gain much time by going through Penumuru road. But it was definitely a peaceful drive compared to the main road.
5. The Chittoor bye-pass road steadily deteriorates after the Bans hotel towards Tirupati. There are occasional pot holes all along till Murakambattu
6. Many on this thread has advised not to travel the Tirupati - Chittoor route in the night due to the road works and the diversions with unmarked breakers. But due to the delay in my darshan, I had no option but to travel after dark and found that its not as bad as I thought it to be. May be the expectations set by others let me be extra careful about all those things like unmarked breakers, diversions which helped with travel. But in the unmarked stretches of newly laid road especially around the Saptagiri hotel nearing Putalapattu junction, I was all alone with no traffic behind or on-coming and was quite unsure how the road in front of me unfurled. So I had to reduce my speed quite a bit to handle the unknowns. All in all, I would say that if you have to travel on this road in the night, pls be watchful of the unmarked speed breakers. The diversions are mostly marked and you will notice it well in advance even at night. Otherwise, even with the construction, this road is still OK to drive at night.

Originally Posted by smsrini

The Chittoor - Putalapatu road has roadworks underway, with heavy truck traffic. The Bypass road is as is i think, but not sure.

The stretch between Murakambattu - Puthalapattu has become worse now. there are lot of bad stretches on this road and overtaking is almost not possible due to continuous on-coming traffic. The only consolation is the overbridge on one of the railway crossings closer to Chittoor is complete now and that helps with saving some time.

Originally Posted by audioholic

On a weekday, its better to choose the bypass instead of going through the town unless you are passing it in odd hours, like too early in the morning or late night.

I took this piece of advise and stuck to by-pass road. I wouldnt know the time difference if I had taken the road into the town itself, but can surely tell that it would have taken longer based on the road condition towards the town in the initial parts after the bye-pass road turn off.

Originally Posted by audioholic

I was wondering why the widening work on the bypass is only done for the initial few kms. That is because after this, the road takes a different direction itself and meets the old road near Pakala.

I checked with my friends who are locals from there and understand that the bye-pass 4 lane road being laid currently goes nearer to Kanipakam and will hit the current road after Puthalapattu just before the current turn-off towards Tirupati. I believe the new road from Tpt will meet this by-pass road when completed so that people coming from Tpt can completely avoid the current stretch from Puthalapattu till Murakambattu and directly join the 4 lane road outside Chittoor. You can see the alignment on GMaps in Satellite mode.

[rajshenoy]

Going bit Off-topic.

I am planning to travel towards Chennai via the Kolar-Chittoor-Vellore route. Since the route is similar for Tirupati as well, i wanted to check the latest road conditions.

From what i understand, road is in good shape till Chittoor. I Need to take a diversion towards Vellore and then via Ranipet. Can someone update me me on this stretch? I last drove on this stretch 4-5 years ago and it was a good 2 lane stretch with bit of truck traffic. Is it also upgraded like Kolar-Mulabagil road