[suresh_gs]

Hello all

Here are the toll charges from Bangalore to Coimbatore by Car as on 24.02.2014


We have one more toll booth near Avinashi but not operational yet. I suppose the L&T toll still collects Rs 31.

[coolclouds]

Originally Posted by suresh_gs

Hello all

Here are the toll charges from Bangalore to Coimbatore by Car as on 24.02.2014
Attachment 1211382

We have one more toll booth near Avinashi but not operational yet. I suppose the L&T toll still collects Rs 31.

So, there is a saving of Rs. 400 and better FE, if we take Satyamangalam route

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by coolclouds

So, there is a saving of Rs. 400 and better FE, if we take Satyamangalam route

+1. It is zero toll if you go by NH209.
To go to Palakkad once i took this route from Bangalore. Via Hosur, Rayakottai, Palacode by pass, Thoppur, Omalur, Tharamangalam, Sankagiri, Pallipalayam, Erode, Kangeyam, Palladam, Sulur and Coimbatore by pass. I had to pay toll at Thoppur only.

The other option being Via Hosur, Rayakottai, palacode by pass, Thoppur, Mettur, Ammapettai, Sathy assuming your destination is North Coimbatore.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by suresh_gs

+1. It is zero toll if you go by NH209.
To go to Palakkad once i took this route from Bangalore. Via Hosur, Rayakottai, Palacode by pass, Thoppur, Omalur, Tharamangalam, Sankagiri, Pallipalayam, Erode, Kangeyam, Palladam, Sulur and Coimbatore by pass. I had to pay toll at Thoppur only.

You can save that too.

Hosur, Rayakottai, Palacode by pass, Dharmapuri- Pennagaram-Mecheri-Bhavani, Perundurai, Kangeyam, Palladam, Sulur and Coimbatore by pass.

And instead of Palladam-Sulur-CBE Bypass I would say Palladam-Pollachi-Palakkad.

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by ampere

You can save that too.

Hosur, Rayakottai, Palacode by pass, Dharmapuri- Pennagaram-Mecheri-Bhavani, Perundurai, Kangeyam, Palladam, Sulur and Coimbatore by pass.

And instead of Palladam-Sulur-CBE Bypass I would say Palladam-Pollachi-Palakkad.

I have traveled via Mecheri and Pennagaram twice. Very scenic route and longer compared to the NH. More than the distance I would say it is time consuming.

While travelling to Valparai in 2012, I asked the Thoppur toll booth attendant as to why i should pay toll when i have come via Rayakottai. I asked him to call the Krishnagiri toll plaza to find out if my car (bearing xxxxx reg no.) had paid toll there.
His reply was whoever bumps into Thoppur toll plaza irrespective of coming via Krishnagiri or rayakottai has to pay toll here.
And this is the costliest toll out there.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by suresh_gs

I have traveled via Mecheri and Pennagaram twice. Very scenic route and longer compared to the NH. More than the distance I would say it is time consuming.

Here is one more option:
Mecheri-Nangavalli-Jalakandapuram-Iddapadi-Sankari.

Thanks to member @coolclouds.
Ref:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ml#post3356548

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by ampere

Here is one more option:
Mecheri-Nangavalli-Jalakandapuram-Iddapadi-Sankari.

Thanks to member @coolclouds.
Ref:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ml#post3356548

In Aug 2013, I had been to Kumarapalayam near Erode. I took the Thoppur, Mecheri, Mettur, Bhavani route. Some pipe laying work was in progress on the Thoppur-Mecheri Road. But the biggest surprise was the real good condition of the Mettur-Bhavani Road. It had been relaid at many places.

Will share the travelogue details soon. The option mentioned by you looks to be a good bet. I would also recommend people to try this route Via Omalur, Tharamangalam, Konganapuram. This SH86 rejoins NH47 beyond Sankagiri toll.
One can expect some traffic at Tharamangalam. Apart from this, good roads all the way.

[suresh_gs]

Visit to Jayaveera Anjaneyar temple and Sri Laksmi Narayana Temple at Kumarapalayam near Bhavani

Hello all

I had been to Kumarapalayam near Bhavani on 17.08.2013 to visit 2 temples, Anjaneyar temple and Lakshmi Narayana temple. Both the temples are adjacent to each other.
Left home at 1 PM and took the tried and trusted route via Rayakottai, Palacode by pass, Thoppur, Mecheri, Mettur and Bhavani. Very good to excellent roads all the way.

It was bliss to drive on the Hosur – Rayakottai road. Many sections that were slightly rough the last time I went on that road, were completely patched up. Infact new road was completely re-laid. If this road was very good, then the Rayakottai – Palacode by pass road was even better.Observed a lot of marigolds being grown in this stretch.

Looks like there is healthy competition between various sections of the SH as to which one is better. The road from Palacode by pass till NH7 too followed the footsteps of the Rayakottai – Palacode road. Very less traffic on these roads. Infact it is easy to cruise at 85 kmph on these roads.

Nothing to say about the stretch along the NH7 till I reached the junction that leads to Mecheri. Last time when I went to Kumily, I had mentioned about a depression on the NH7 (Landmark being Salem is 34 kms stone mark on the left side) that caused the cars to dip. This has been taken care by the NHAI I guess.

This was the first time I decided to travel on SH 20 (from Thoppur till Bhavani). Infact the alternate route was to take a diversion towards Omalur, Tharamangalam, and Sankagiri and then rejoin NH47 and proceed towards Kumarapalayam. Since I had already travelled on this stretch 3 times, I decided to proceed along SH 20.

Initially when I entered SH 20, the roads were slightly rough as some pipe laying work was in progress. After about a km or so, the road quality picked up. Very good 2L road all the way to Mettur via Mecheri. There was no problem commuting on this road as signboards were very clear.

METTUR BHAVANI ROAD UPDATES

Mettur to Bhavani is 44 kms and lot had been said about this stretch in terms of road quality as it is frequented by lorry traffic. Based on the valuable inputs given by one of our GH members, I found the road to be too good. Infact at many sections along the Mettur Bhavani stretch, road was completely re-laid with clear lane markings on the sides of the road and the middle. Throughout my journey, I was able to hit consistently 85-90 kmph. Speed breakers were there at village crossings.

For people residing in North Coimbatore, this route can be taken as an alternate to NH209 (via kollegal and chamarajangar). While proceeding towards Bhavani, you will cross a junction called Ammapettai. From here, the straight road leads to Bhavani while the road to the right takes you to Sathyamangalam via Anthiyur and Athani. For people residing in South Coimbatore, one can proceed towards bhavani, rejoin NH47 and go via Avinashi.
There are a lot of petrol bunks along the Mettur Bhavani Road. I had some difficulty in locating a good hotel to have a tiffin break. Finally reached Bhavani at 5:30 PM and located Hotel Saravana Bhavan (Not to be confused with the regular HSB). This hotel is located very close to the Bhavani bus stand.
From Bhavani, Kumarapalayam is 1.5 kms. To reach the temple, I had to pass through very narrow roads. The houses there reminded me of the ones in Madras (good old days) in areas like Mylapore.
Had a nice darshan of the presiding deity. Spent about 45 min in both the temples and departed back to Bangalore. Left Bhavani at around 7:30 PM and retraced the same route till I touched thoppur on NH7.

Here is a snapshot of Lord hanauman taken by someone.
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/p...m/36923505.jpg

From there I decided to go via Krishnagiri for dinner. Had dinner at Hotel Saravana Bhavan (about 5ms from krishnagiri). 6 lane works is about 80% complete I would say. Couple of bridges was under construction. At most of the places, lane marking was there. Fortunately there was no traffic jam at the toll booth.
Crossing Hosur was a nightmare especially near Ashok Leyland plant with vehicles bound towards hosur taking the road meant for vehicles going towards Bangalore. Fortunately before the morons could invade the road in full force, I had touched the KA TN border.
Saw a huge pile up of vehicles bound towards Hosur with the jam starting much before the attibele flyover.
Overall it was an enjoyable trip courtesy good roads especially the METTUR BHAVANI road. Hope the Krishnagiri- TV Malai road follows the same footsteps of this road.

Till then
Cheers

THOPPUR TO MECHERI ROAD




MECHERI TO METTUR ROAD



METTUR TO BHAVANI ROAD

[jkrishnakj]

Thanks Suresh. Roads look good. I must try this route sometime.

Here's an update and my view - basis my weekend drive to Coimbatore and back.

I had to leave on the 28th Evening to Coimbatore. The decision was simple - to take the 4 L highways, given that you don't want to be stuck at the ghats late in the night, especially, with family around.

Left home (JP Nagar, near Sarakki on Kanakapura Mn Rd ) at 5.30 pm. Avoided silk board by taking the Kanakapura road - Electronic city NICE road. Made good time and crossed the e-city toll booth at 6.05 pm.

Now started the most painful part for me. Roads for the next 100 KM's were full of deviations. Crossing Hosur was a pain. Just when you thought you left the pain behind, you come across several places of deviations due to ongoing road work, continuing all the way thru Krishnagiri.

It was only after Salem that i could get some speed and comfort to drive. Till then, it was really hectic and tiresome. Not to mention the truckers trying to overtake each other at speeds of 35 KM/Hr.

The average wait time at each toll booth was 90 seconds. Not just that, there was a major hold up in the line i was at Thoppur toll, due to one local politician refusing to pay the Rs. 83/ and flashing some kind of an ID card. This took a full 15 minutes there before it got sorted out.

I then reach the Avanashi stretch, and was pleasantly surprised to see that i didn't even know when i crossed the town. But the shocker here are the roads without the painting of the lanes, pitch dark roads, and no street lamps or what ever. Not just that, there were several speed breakers on top of the fly overs and i actually flew a bit on one of them.

And, with just a 5 minute break after Salem, i could reach home ( Ganapathy - CBE ) only at 11.55 pm. I was really tired.

Return - was on the 31st March. Left Ganapathy at 6.15am, reached RamaVilas hotel at 7.10 am, 15 minutes for a heavy breakfast. Could count 6 trucks broken down on the ghats.

Stopped for 3 minutes near Dhimbam to enjoy the view of two adult and two baby elephants, who had strayed quite near the highway, and i could still reach home at Bangalore at 11.30 AM.

I now know - it doesn't pay taking the 4 L highway and spending Rs. 400/. on tolls. The 209 roads are quite good, fast and a pleasure to drive with some amazing scenery.

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by jkrishnakj

Thanks Suresh. Roads look good. I must try this route sometime.

Here's an update and my view - basis my weekend drive to Coimbatore and back.

I had to leave on the 28th Evening to Coimbatore. The decision was simple - to take the 4 L highways, given that you don't want to be stuck at the ghats late in the night, especially, with family around.

Left home (JP Nagar, near Sarakki on Kanakapura Mn Rd ) at 5.30 pm. Avoided silk board by taking the Kanakapura road - Electronic city NICE road. Made good time and crossed the e-city toll booth at 6.05 pm.

Now started the most painful part for me. Roads for the next 100 KM's were full of deviations. Crossing Hosur was a pain. Just when you thought you left the pain behind, you come across several places of deviations due to ongoing road work, continuing all the way thru Krishnagiri.

It was only after Salem that i could get some speed and comfort to drive. Till then, it was really hectic and tiresome. Not to mention the truckers trying to overtake each other at speeds of 35 KM/Hr.

The average wait time at each toll booth was 90 seconds. Not just that, there was a major hold up in the line i was at Thoppur toll, due to one local politician refusing to pay the Rs. 83/ and flashing some kind of an ID card. This took a full 15 minutes there before it got sorted out.

I then reach the Avanashi stretch, and was pleasantly surprised to see that i didn't even know when i crossed the town. But the shocker here are the roads without the painting of the lanes, pitch dark roads, and no street lamps or what ever. Not just that, there were several speed breakers on top of the fly overs and i actually flew a bit on one of them.

And, with just a 5 minute break after Salem, i could reach home ( Ganapathy - CBE ) only at 11.55 pm. I was really tired.

Return - was on the 31st March. Left Ganapathy at 6.15am, reached RamaVilas hotel at 7.10 am, 15 minutes for a heavy breakfast. Could count 6 trucks broken down on the ghats.

Stopped for 3 minutes near Dhimbam to enjoy the view of two adult and two baby elephants, who had strayed quite near the highway, and i could still reach home at Bangalore at 11.30 AM.

I now know - it doesn't pay taking the 4 L highway and spending Rs. 400/. on tolls. The 209 roads are quite good, fast and a pleasure to drive with some amazing scenery.

Sometimes sticking to 4 lane roads throughout can be a pain too courtesy the waiting time at tolls. May be you can try some of these options

ROUTE 1. Via Hosur, Krishnagiri, Thoppur, Omalur, Tharamangalam, sankagiri and Avinashi. Here you avoid going through salem and the 2 tolls at Omalur and sankagiri.
ROUTE 2. Via Hosur, Rayakottai, Palacode, Thoppur, Omalur, Tharamangalam, sankagiri and Avinashi. Here in addition to what I mentioned in ROUTE 1, you avoid krishnagiri toll too. Here you also save approx 35-40 kms distance. But it is a scenic route.
ROUTE 3. Via Hosur, Krishnagiri, Thoppur, Mettur, Ammapettai, Anthiyur, Sathy and Annur.

[silversteed]

Originally Posted by jkrishnakj

...Now started the most painful part for me. Roads for the next 100 KM's were full of deviations. Crossing Hosur was a pain. Just when you thought you left the pain behind, you come across several places of deviations due to ongoing road work, continuing all the way thru Krishnagiri.

Was wondering why they all chose the same time to do the maintenance. The roads were not exactly bad, though I wouldn't call them worth the toll we pay. The 6-laning has been going on for ages, and still they are not done yet.

I then reach the Avanashi stretch, and was pleasantly surprised to see that i didn't even know when i crossed the town. But the shocker here are the roads without the painting of the lanes, pitch dark roads, and no street lamps or what ever. Not just that, there were several speed breakers on top of the fly overs and i actually flew a bit on one of them.

You should've checked the Bangalore-Kerala thread, where many of us had posted about the speed/spine/suspension-breakers on the flyovers. The trick is to keep watching the vehicles far ahead - if you see them braking, then look closer to assess the vertical movement. And start slowing down. Most of these humps have warning signs. You'll see a "30km" sign, where you have to slow down to well below 30kmph speed or else risk getting a nasty bump.

...it doesn't pay taking the 4 L highway and spending Rs. 400/. on tolls. The 209 roads are quite good, fast and a pleasure to drive with some amazing scenery.

Paying the 300+ on toll is worth it, if you start really early in the morning, or very late in the night. I'd once started from Palakkad at 3 o'clock and reached Shoolagiri at 7:15 in the morning, with one tea break in between. After a half an hour break, Shoolagiri to Silk Board took another 2 hours though, and I was in my office by 9:30am. You cannot get such timings on Sathy-Dhimbam-Chamarajnagar route

[csentil]

Originally Posted by suresh_gs

Sometimes sticking to 4 lane roads throughout can be a pain too courtesy the waiting time at tolls. May be you can try some of these options

ROUTE 1. Via Hosur, Krishnagiri, Thoppur, Omalur, Tharamangalam, sankagiri and Avinashi. Here you avoid going through salem and the 2 tolls at Omalur and sankagiri.
ROUTE 2. Via Hosur, Rayakottai, Palacode, Thoppur, Omalur, Tharamangalam, sankagiri and Avinashi. Here in addition to what I mentioned in ROUTE 1, you avoid krishnagiri toll too. Here you also save approx 35-40 kms distance. But it is a scenic route.
ROUTE 3. Via Hosur, Krishnagiri, Thoppur, Mettur, Ammapettai, Anthiyur, Sathy and Annur.

Getting to Hosur by itself is a pain right now. Took me 45 minutes from Ashok Leyland to Hosur town (Thalli junction) because of all the bridge work happening and heavy lorry traffic.

Easiest to do is take a right at Attibele towards TVS and continue down straight towards Rayakottai.

So its basically. Bangalore - Attibele - TVS - Rayakottai - Palakodu - Dharmapuri bypass and then onwards towards Thoppur. Or you can do Palakodu - Pennagaram - Mechari - Mettur - Ammapettai - Sathy - Coimbatore.

Lot of alternative routes to Coimbatore. Do as your mood, time and traffic conditions take you.

[coolclouds]

Originally Posted by jkrishnakj

Left home (JP Nagar, near Sarakki on Kanakapura Mn Rd ) at 5.30 pm. Avoided silk board by taking the Kanakapura road - Electronic city NICE road. Made good time and crossed the e-city toll booth at 6.05 pm.

Kanakpura - Satyamangalam route is anyday faster since you are put up in Kanakpura road and start time is during peak hours.

You could cross Kanakpura town much before you reach Hosur.

[goandude]

How is the road condition between Bhavani/ Erode to coimbatore. last time I had been there there was a lot of 4 laning work going on.

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by goandude

How is the road condition between Bhavani/ Erode to coimbatore. last time I had been there there was a lot of 4 laning work going on.

Are you talking about Metur Bhavani Road to Coimbatore?. I had been on this stretch to Erode in August 2013. Excellent 2 lane road after a long long time. In your case you have to deviate from a junction called Ammapettai along the Metur-Bhavani Road to Coimbatore.