[vnabhi]

Folks

Bumping up this thread to find out the latest road updates from Hyderabad to Vizag. My friend is travelling on 15th Oct to Vizag by road, and is confused on which of the following routes to take. He resides near BHEL:-

1. BHEL Hyd--Gachibowli--Hayatnagar via ORR--Suryapet--Vijaywada--Rajamundry--Vizag
2. BHEL Hyd--Suryapet via above route--Khammam--Ashwaraopet--Rajamundry--Vizag
3. BHEL Hyd--Tarnaka--Jangaon on Waragal Highway--Suryapet and then either route 1 or 2.
4. BHEL Hyd--Tarnaka--Warangal--Khammam--and then route 2.

Inputs on recent road conditions will be of great help.

I also wanted to know where the bottlenecks lie on the NH-9 to Vijaywada. Are they between Ramoji City and Suryapet, or between Suryapet and Nandigama? I know that from Nandigama it is a great drive, except getting through Vijaywada.

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

I also wanted to know where the bottlenecks lie on the NH-9 to Vijaywada. Are they between Ramoji City and Suryapet, or between Suryapet and Nandigama? I know that from Nandigama it is a great drive, except getting through Vijaywada.

From my previous experience,there is no real single bottleneck to pickout, on nh9.Its a constant swerving in and out, behind trucks and other cars, on the entire stretch after Ramoji all the way till Nandigama.The trucks compound the matter and by the time one reaches Nandigama,the left leg is all sore with the Clutch & Brake routine!

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

From my previous experience,there is no real single bottleneck to pickout, on nh9.Its a constant swerving in and out, behind trucks and other cars, on the entire stretch after Ramoji all the way till Nandigama.The trucks compound the matter and by the time one reaches Nandigama,the left leg is all sore with the Clutch & Brake routine!

Thanks Ranjit. So is it implicit in your post that the Vijaywada route is preferable, despite the left leg ache?

And what is a good time to start the journey to beat traffic? He plans to stop over at Rajamundry for a few days.

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

Thanks Ranjit. So is it implicit in your post that the Vijaywada route is preferable, despite the left leg ache?

And what is a good time to start the journey to beat traffic? He plans to stop over at Rajamundry for a few days.

I think I would stick to the Vijayawada route simply for the fact that there is human inhabitation on the roads and better wayside facilities.Other routes can get a little lonely and plus road conditions can be suspect especially the Khammam route.On NH9,surprisingly the road quality is good.

I dont think there is a good time to beat traffic on this sector.But I would suggest that if he targets to exit Ramoji by 7am,it should be ok and should be able to reach Vijayawada for lunch around 1230-1300.He can break journey in 3hours time from RFC at 7-Refresh at Suryapet,a worldclass outlet I would say.It is exactly midway between VJA & Ramoji.

[spadix]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

[*]BHEL Hyd--Gachibowli--Hayatnagar via ORR--Suryapet--Vijaywada--Rajamundry--Vizag

I would stick to this route only despite the 5 hrs of pain between RFC and Nandigama. Roads from Khammam to Ibrahimpatnam can be very hit-or-miss and I would venture on that route (only in broad daylight) only after getting updates from reliable sources who do not drive SUVs.

The other option is to take a small detour to Guntur from somewhere along the NH9 and then take the NH5 through and through from Guntur. Once again, NH9-cut to Guntur (there are a couple of options) can be hit-or-miss.

So I'd suggest gritting teeth and just soldiering ahead on NH9.

Regards,
spadix

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by spadix

I would stick to this route only despite the 5 hrs of pain between RFC and Nandigama. Roads from Khammam to Ibrahimpatnam can be very hit-or-miss and I would venture on that route (only in broad daylight) only after getting updates from reliable sources who do not drive SUVs.

The other option is to take a small detour to Guntur from somewhere along the NH9 and then take the NH5 through and through from Guntur. Once again, NH9-cut to Guntur (there are a couple of options) can be hit-or-miss.

So I'd suggest gritting teeth and just soldiering ahead on NH9.

Regards,
spadix

Equally problematic,Guntur-VJA is going to take lots of time,flyovers,widening,dense traffic.Not worth it going via Guntur.

[vnabhi]

Thanks spadix and ranjitp1. He is sticking to NH 9 as he is a newbie driver and this is his first long drive. He has been driving in Hyd for past 3 months though.

He also has a 6-month old kid, hence sticking to NH 9 gives him more comfort from the loneliness angle.

I found out from a colleague who travels to Vijaywada frequently that the pain area ends at Jagayyapet, which is before Nandigama. The stretch till Jagayyapet from RFC will be the only part where he needs to drive slowly.

[zen91]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

Thanks Ranjit. So is it implicit in your post that the Vijaywada route is preferable, despite the left leg ache?

And what is a good time to start the journey to beat traffic? He plans to stop over at Rajamundry for a few days.

Venu Sir, I travelled from Vijayawada to Rajahmundy on the 11th of this month. Was shocked to see the condition of the road specially after Eluru until Rajahmundry. We ended up with a busted rim of my colleague's Indica. Potholes are galore specially after the Dwaraka Tirumala road junction. Not advisible to drive a sedan in the night and at descent speed it is almost impossible to avoid these potholes. Please advise your friend to be very cautious on this stretch.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by zen91

Venu Sir, I travelled from Vijayawada to Rajahmundy on the 11th of this month. Was shocked to see the condition of the road specially after Eluru until Rajahmundry. We ended up with a busted rim of my colleague's Indica. Potholes are galore specially after the Dwaraka Tirumala road junction. Not advisible to drive a sedan in the night and at descent speed it is almost impossible to avoid these potholes. Please advise your friend to be very cautious on this stretch.

Thanks Brajesh, will inform him. So are you referring to the 4-laned NH5 all the way till Rajamundry via Tanuku, or the shortcut after Eluru that is around 60 kms shorter?

[himavanth_m]

Originally Posted by zen91

Venu Sir, I travelled from Vijayawada to Rajahmundy on the 11th of this month. Was shocked to see the condition of the road specially after Eluru until Rajahmundry. We ended up with a busted rim of my colleague's Indica. Potholes are galore specially after the Dwaraka Tirumala road junction. Not advisible to drive a sedan in the night and at descent speed it is almost impossible to avoid these potholes. Please advise your friend to be very cautious on this stretch.

Is this the NH5. The NH5 is in great condition when I have done it in April this year. Vijayawada to Vizag was a breeze.
It is shocking to hear that NH5 has gone bad so fast from such a great. Can you please confirm if this is NH5?

Originally Posted by vnabhi

Thanks spadix and ranjitp1. He is sticking to NH 9 as he is a newbie driver and this is his first long drive. He has been driving in Hyd for past 3 months though.

He also has a 6-month old kid, hence sticking to NH 9 gives him more comfort from the loneliness angle.

I found out from a colleague who travels to Vijaywada frequently that the pain area ends at Jagayyapet, which is before Nandigama. The stretch till Jagayyapet from RFC will be the only part where he needs to drive slowly.

Be careful on the NH9 though. For newbie drivers it is extremely difficult to do Hyd vijayawada especially at night. The road is terrible and also the heavy truck traffic is to look out for as the truck and bus drivers in this route are especially quite rash and do not break while overtaking from the opposite lane even if a car comes in front. The reason being if they break, it will take a minimum of 15 to 20 minutes to overtake the vehicle ahead for them.

If he is a newbie driver I would certainly advise against driving on this route. One of my friend newbie driver after driving for 45 minutes in the night got so tired that he gave the wheel to me and slept for 9 hours. So you can imagine the amount of strain a newbie driver will face on this route.

However near Nandigama the road is 4 laned and is completely finished. But even after 4 laning, closer to Vijayawada, the traffic becomes really heavy. Hyd Vijayawada calls for a 6 lane road minimum considering the amount of traffic this route sees.

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

Equally problematic,Guntur-VJA is going to take lots of time,flyovers,widening,dense traffic.Not worth it going via Guntur.

Oh yes. This route is horrible.

Originally Posted by spadix

I would stick to this route only despite the 5 hrs of pain between RFC and Nandigama. Roads from Khammam to Ibrahimpatnam can be very hit-or-miss and I would venture on that route (only in broad daylight) only after getting updates from reliable sources who do not drive SUVs.

Well the problem with this road is not the road condition. It is infact quite good. Not great but in much better shape than Hyd - Vijayawada road. Done it in April while returning to hyd from Vizag. I have an SUV though, but this road should not have any problems in a Sedan.
The main problem with this road is lack of traffic, facilities and questionable safety. In the broad daylight, I would prefer this road any day to vizag as compared to Hyd - Vijayawada- Vizag. But during night I would prefer the opposite.
Please note that the above comment is purely on speculation and from what I have heard. I have not had a bad incident on this road when I drove at night in 2007. But as they say better be safe. So I am a bit skeptical about travelling through these areas at night from what I hear.

[spadix]

Originally Posted by zen91

Venu Sir, I travelled from Vijayawada to Rajahmundy on the 11th of this month. Was shocked to see the condition of the road specially after Eluru until Rajahmundry. We ended up with a busted rim of my colleague's Indica. Potholes are galore specially after the Dwaraka Tirumala road junction.

Originally Posted by himavanth_m

Is this the NH5. The NH5 is in great condition when I have done it in April this year. Vijayawada to Vizag was a breeze.
It is shocking to hear that NH5 has gone bad so fast from such a great. Can you please confirm if this is NH5?

That's very distressing to hear. :(

This stretch was a dream last December. Yes, there were undulations when entering/leaving culverts and these could throw you off guard but there would be no rim/wheel damage.

So even the mighty GQ is not entirely indestructible. I hope the newer highways like NH7 (Hyd - Blr) are better in this respect over the long term.

Originally Posted by himavanth_m

The road is terrible and also the heavy truck traffic is to look out for as the truck and bus drivers in this route are especially quite rash and do not break while overtaking from the opposite lane even if a car comes in front. The reason being if they break, it will take a minimum of 15 to 20 minutes to overtake the vehicle ahead for them.

But even after 4 laning, closer to Viijayawada, the traffic becomes really heavy. Hyd Vijayawada calls for a 6 lane road minimum considering the amount of traffic this route sees.

+1 to these points. I think the current expansion into 4 lanes will simply not serve the huge traffic between these two cities.

Originally Posted by himavanth_m

Well the problem with this road is not the road condition. It is infact quite good. Not great but in much better shape than Hyd - Vijayawada road.

This has been my experience too the couple of times I've been on this route (with family in a Qualis) in 2007/8. But I heard from some ex-colleagues that the road condition worsened progressively, especially after the 2010 monsoons.

If this route is good it's best to stick to it but only in daylight, of course.

Regards,
spadix

[vnabhi]

Thanks @himavanth_m and @spadix.

He is travelling early morning (starting at 6 am), and therefore the Vijaywada highwway is the best option.

We cannot trust the Khammam route, especially after the monsoons. Even during daytime, it is quite a lonely road.

[zen91]

[quote=himavanth_m;2544110]Is this the NH5. The NH5 is in great condition when I have done it in April this year. Vijayawada to Vizag was a breeze.
It is shocking to hear that NH5 has gone bad so fast from such a great. Can you please confirm if this is NH5?

Confirming that it is NH5. I was shocked myself to see the road in such a state.

[himavanth_m]

Originally Posted by zen91

Confirming that it is NH5. I was shocked myself to see the road in such a state.

Thanks for the conformation. But did you see any road works that are under progress to repair the road?
After paying so much toll one would not want to drive on such rough roads. I hope they rectify it soon.

[vnabhi]

Here is an update from my colleague who travelled to Rajamundry from Hyderabad on 14th.

Being his first highway drive, he drove with great caution and avoided over-taking single carriageway roads and reached Vijaywada in 7+ hours. Overall it took him 12 hours till Rajamundry, including bio and food breaks.

Road updates are:-

Hyd to Suryapet has patchy road surfaces and slow-moving traffic.

Suryapet to Nandigama has better road surfaces, with pothles near villages.

Nandigama till Vijaywada has a great dual carriageway road.

Vijaywada till Tanuku has a great road.

From Tanuku, his GPS showed 2 routes, of which the longer was 112, while the shorter was 70 kms.

He took the longer one and the road till RJY was very good, except a bridge on Godavari that was very bad.

It looks like Zen91 used the shorter route.