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They have also used interlocking pavers at Aralvaimozhi section. I traveled through this part last weekend. Finally the road from Parvatipuram to Kavalkinar is finally motorable without playing dodgeball with the potholes.

Two sections of the road near Hotel Gouri Shankar are also being done up. Now its in metalled state and the only "really bad" sections between Marthandam and Kavalkinar rest have improved a lot. Between Kaliyikavila and Marthandam its more or less the same as before, but the major potholes are done up.

Thats what they say, i've seen some junctions with heavy traffic being converted to interlocking pavers. One at Cherthala - Thannermukkom road being the latest one in my memory.

^^ As Kala mentioned about the interlocking in Ghats are holding good. Earlier this section used to be one bit pothole soon after it starts raining.

However, issue with having interlocking in a busy junction is any cable / pipe work related road digging. Once that happens the tiles tend to move one by one causing breakage. Guess only time will tell.

I came across the below video in facebook which justifies your point, lot of two wheeler accidents due to this surface when it rains.
https://www.facebook.com/V.A.Ansari/...type=2&theater

Planning to drive to Hosur from Trivandrum on 30th April. I will be travelling with my 16 month old and this will be the first time I will be taking my child for such a long drive. I would like to know a few things;

1. I will not be able to start early from Trivandrum, start time would be after 10 am. Would it be a good idea to take the Shenkotai route through Thenmala?
2. As I am travelling with my baby for the first time I am not sure how long I can travel without a hault, would appreciate I can few good places to halt from Madurai onwards.
3. Any good places to stay with family in Hosur and not overtly expensive.

TIA.

We used to do Bangalore - Nagercoil frequently with two kids. When my younger one was around 2months old till one year, we used to take a 3-4 breaks. We don't stop when he is sleeping.

And we prefer the below restaurants,
Hotel Arunachala, Karur
GRT Salem, Now its Grand Estancia
Hari's restaurant, Madurai

We avoid places like A2B as they are crowded most of the times.

Regarding stay in Hosur, Hotel Renaissance should be fine. Moreover it is located in the heart of Hosur Town.

Driven to Thuckalay, Suchindram & Kodai recently (mid April) from Bangalore.

Road conditions were good. Infact the entire stretch of NH7 is a charm. After Salem, the traffic was sparse until we reached NH47B. Kavalkinaru-Nagercoil-Thuckaly is a two line highway without a median. Need to be careful here. But the roads are in good condition.




Hotel Temple City before Madurai bypass (on the left, exactly 214KM from Salem Pillar) is a good place for a lunch break. Tasty food. "Reasonable" toilets. Lots of parking space.

Folks ,
A quick update . I took the Tenkasi - Madurai- Bangalore route yesterday . Its in good condition. I was able to maintain triple digit speeds for most part of the journey (Tenkasi - Madurai stretch) except the sections near to the towns along the way.

I am back from a Nagercoil-Kaliyakkavilai trip and here is the latest update on the road conditions,

• Madurai bypass is very bumpy.
• Kavalkinaru till Nagercoil is superb with Nil potholes. At least in 3 junctions they have used interlocking concrete pavers.

• Nagercoil to Kaliyakkavilai is also in very good condition.

Pit-Stops:

• During the onward journey, we stopped at A2B salem for breakfast, its 2 Kms away from the salem bypass. Lunch stop was at Capsi, Kayathar.
• During return journey, breakfast stop @ Hari's and Lunch @ A2B, thoppur.

Any idea if the new Sangeetha restaurant has come up in the Indial Oil bunk campus just after the A2B, Thoppur (Bharat petroleum campus) ?
The old Raja Bhojanam place was going to be replaced by a Sangeetha restaurant from what I know.
I'd traveled this stretch last weekend but missed seeing this late at night :Frustrati

Oh..Sorry, even I missed it. Anyways, I will check my dash cam later today, hopefully this file is not overridden :D.

To all who frequent this route - how long does it take with decent breaks in between? I might be hitting the roads to Trivandrum in 2 weeks. Thanks.

On an average, it takes around 8:30 mins - 10hours for me to reach Nagercoil, it depends on number/duration of breaks. Add another 2 hours from Nagercoil to Trivandrum.

Avoid crossing Salem during peak hours and same with Marthandam as well.

I am also planning for a drive down during first of week of July.
Arun,
Is this the new A2B at Salem ? Any pointers on the direction ?

I think Arun stopped at the A2B near Thoppur toll plaza (on right side when going from Salem towards Coimbatore).

The new A2B is just about 5Km or so after you get on to the NH47 at Salem.
When going from Salem towards Coimbatore it is on the left inside a Bharat Petroleum campus that also has a Polar Bear ice cream outlet.

About 10-12 Km from here, just before the next toll plaza at Vaigundam there is a Sree Saravana Bhavan/Travelers Inn in an NHAI amenity campus, this place is also good.

All the restaurants are beside the highway, no detour necessary, the Thoppur one will need a U-turn though if going from Salem towards Coimbatore.