Team-BHP - Bangalore to Coimbatore : Route Queries

I had taken the Thoppur-Mettur-Bhavani route, last year december, and it was a good route, with less traffic, probably due to mornings.
Mettur -Bhavani has good 2 lane roads, but has Bus traffic, which can slow you down.
The time taken for me was the same as the regular Salem route.

I drove last weekend - Coimbatore - Annur - Sathy - Anthiyur - Mettur bypass - Thoppur. Left at 3pm and reached Thoppur toll plaza just about 7pm. Roads are good. There was some festival on the road just after Mettur - that took about 15 minutes to cross and then going with slow traffic for some 10km - you get stuck behind 3-4 trucks, then it is hard to overtake. I took this route because of summer - highway is way too sunny and boring. This was nice and kept the window rolled down by half. It is a bit tiresome with turns and traffic - but worth it once a while.

If your objective is only to avoid Salem, Omalur to Sankari state highway is a much better option - I used to frequently take that during flyover construction in Salem.

This Friday night, while coming back, I came through Salem and there were hardly any delays. However, note that road works are going on between Bhavani and Avinashi - some 6km on Avinashi bypass on one direction was closed for tarring and it took 1.5 hours to cover that via service road with very bad traffic jams. Lesson learned - keep Google maps on for next 2 weeks.

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Originally Posted by vsbabu (Post 5276583)

I drove last weekend - Coimbatore - Annur - Sathy - Anthiyur - Mettur bypass - Thoppur. Left at 3pm and reached Thoppur toll plaza just about 7pm. Roads are good........

How is the Thoppur-Mecheri route?
Last September when I took it, it was horrible with numerous potholes. Also railway overbridge was under construction near Mecheri railway station. Is it completed now?

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Originally Posted by srvm (Post 5276668)

It is excellent now. I'm not sure I saw railway station, but once past Mecheri (at the junction with the road that goes to Edappadi), it great to drive.

Edit : I took the road via Pottaneri from Mettur. Also, I skipped Mettur Dam by taking the road near thermal power plant. Mecheri Railway Station is on another road - saw that on Google maps.

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Originally Posted by vsbabu (Post 5276583)

If your objective is only to avoid Salem, Omalur to Sankari state highway is a much better option - I used to frequently take that during flyover construction in Salem.

I was thinking maybe Mettur can cause delay thanks to town traffic. Instead why not Thoppur-Macherri-Eddapadi-Sankari and then the 4-lanes. Cuts of town traffic and still avoids Omalur/Salem.

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This Friday night, while coming back, I came through Salem and there were hardly any delays.

Probably because you drive at night?

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However, note that road works are going on between Bhavani and Avinashi - some 6km on Avinashi bypass on one direction was closed for tarring and it took 1.5 hours to cover that via service road with very bad traffic jams. Lesson learned - keep Google maps on for next 2 weeks.

Now this may be the other reason for your first assertion on using Sathy. But all said and done a 4-lane working holding traffic is bad news any day!

So I was crossing Thoppur Ghat few days back. Towards Salem is a downward ramp which bends sharply at a point. When approaching it, suddenly heard the voice of God - "Go Slow". I thought with all the recently put barricades and signages, the cops must have installed cameras too, and were watching me.

The real reason, I found on the way back, was a recorded message they kept playing on the mike. :D

In another note, two flyovers are coming up at Omalur, so all the more reason to bypass it and not pay the Omalur Toll (if the destination is somewhere along NH544).

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Originally Posted by mayukh42 (Post 5279575)

Ha ha ha... I have detailed the new thoppur ghat experience here, go through it if you have time.

Hi All, I am traveling to Coimbatore next weekend with family. I will be reaching there from Kodaikanal and will stay for a night on 2nd April. I plan to visit at least Adiyogi and Maruthamalai temple and travel back to Bangalore on 3rd April.
1) Any stay suggestions considering the two places on my list and the travel to Bangalore next day?
2) What time should I plan to reach Coimbatore from Kodai on 2nd April so that I can comfortably spend time at Isha yoga center considering it will be hot?
3) I plan to visit Maruthamalai temple the next morning and leave for Bangalore. So any idea how much time it might take for Maruthamalai?
4) Any food suggestion in Coimbatore or on the route to Bangalore.

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Originally Posted by niks4568 (Post 5281784)

Kodai to Coimbatore by car should take 4-5 hours [ 2 hours to Palani and 2 hours to Coimbatore ]. If you leave early you can reach by 10-11. Isha centre and Maruthamalai and on 2 different routes in Coimbatore. You can stay in the city Gandhipuram, RS Puram, Railway Station area to reach both places. Check MakeMytrip, GoIbibo for options. Maruthamalai is 30-40 min drive from Gandhipuram. There are plenty of food option in Coimbatore and On the way. [ Coimbatore - Gowrishankar Saibaba Colony, MTP Road, Airport Road, Gandhipuram ] Highway [ A2B, multiple hotels after Krishnagiri toll ]

New NH to bypass Hosur via Palakodu
On Sunday I Drove to Salem. Since I started only at 10.30 am and I was not in any hurry, decided to take the Rayakottai-Palakodu road (NH 844) instead of the usual krishnagiri route to enjoy the drive on tree lined two lane road.

After crossing hosur, I saw bypass roads were getting built for few villages and many of the tree cover was gone in some sections. I thought it would be road widening work. But after crossing palakodu I could see massive 4 laning work, then I realized this is something big.

After reaching home, googled and found that the Dharmapuri-Palakodu-Rayakottai road is elevated as NH 844 and it is going to be 4 lane toll road and it will bypass hosur and join the NH 44 at Neraluru (near chandapura).
I think this will cut down the Blr-Salem travel time by atleast 30 to 60 mintues and it will become the default route for all south TN/KL bound traffic.
Attaching the map of proposed highway.

There was a huge jam in thoppur ghat in the direction towards Salem. I was heading to Bangalore. The jam is caused due to an accident in the ghat section. When I saw 2 hrs back, the Jam was extending from thoppur toll plaza ! This ghat section is always having accidents and NH authorities or any other authorities are not able to find a permanent solution for this. Almost daily I read about accidents in this section.

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Originally Posted by sairamboko (Post 5298877)

A family known to me was traveling from Bangalore to Salem on 14th April. They met with an accident at Thoppur ghat. A truck rammed their car from behind and their car in turn hit the car in front and so on. A total of 4-5 cars and the truck were involved in the accident.
Rear passengers who were not wearing seatbelts were injured (not life threatening). Front passengers were wearing seatbelts and came out unscathed. Car is totalled.
There was a scary multi vehicle accident in this ghar section 2-3 years ago due to a speeding truck.
I'm always scared when traversing this part of the highway.