[venki.bala]

Originally Posted by himavanth_m

On my onward journey, there was a big accident. A ford Ikon was travelling in the wrong direction and hit a lorry carrying LPG gas at high speed. None of the people in the car survived. It was a mistake of Ikon and he was travelling in the wrong direction. My guess is that he missed one such diversion and unknowingly went at high speeds in opposite direction and hit the lorry. Even though the accident was fatal, it was quite lucky that the LPG Gas cylinders did not explode. In the accident, none of the car was left behind. It was totally gone. The Lorry's front axle was completely gone.
.

My colleague was travelling in the Ikon. She along with her husband,mother and brother were travelling. The husband has survived and he is recuperating in Apollo. The remaining people met their fate. It was so terrible to see the entire family.

[himavanth_m]

Originally Posted by venki.bala

My colleague was travelling in the Ikon. She along with her husband,mother and brother were travelling. The husband has survived and he is recuperating in Apollo. The remaining people met their fate. It was so terrible to see the entire family.

I am so sorry for your colleague. My condolences to his family. Also I am extremely sorry for the wrong information. That was the information given to me by police there. Hope your colleague recovers quickly. I wish him a speedy recovery.

I would advice strongly against anyone who is travelling on this highway, especially in the night. This highway should be done only if one has enough experience on highways. Even then, one must be very careful while driving and should never go at high speeds. The buses on this route are especially rash. So it is best to give them way.

More often than not on this highway, once a bus starts overtaking and if they see a car on opposite direction. they do not brake and continue overtaking. This is a dangerous situation. So one needs to be cautious and one needs to be have good instinct on what needs to be done in such situations. In such situations one should not panic which will only cause disaster. All these will be learnt with experience.

[venki.bala]

Originally Posted by himavanth_m

I am so sorry for your colleague. My condolences to his family. Also I am extremely sorry for the wrong information. That was the information given to me by police there. Hope your colleague recovers quickly. I wish him a speedy recovery.

I would advice strongly against anyone who is travelling on this highway, especially in the night. This highway should be done only if one has enough experience on highways. Even then, one must be very careful while driving and should never go at high speeds. The buses on this route are especially rash. So it is best to give them way.

More often than not on this highway, once a bus starts overtaking and if they see a car on opposite direction. they do not brake and continue overtaking. This is a dangerous situation. So one needs to be cautious and one needs to be have good instinct on what needs to be done in such situations. In such situations one should not panic which will only cause disaster. All these will be learnt with experience.

Apparrently my colleague's ( She) brother was driving the Ikon and her mother was sitting in the front seat. Her husband was sitting on the backseat leftside and she was right behind the driver. Both my colleague and her husband actually survived but the delay in getting them to the hospital cost my colleague's life. Both her brother and the mother sitting in the front died instantaneously. The driver lost one of the diversions and was on the wrong side at high speed.

Yes I truly accept that this road should be avoided in the nights till tehy complete the entire four laning.

[skumare]

Originally Posted by venki.bala

Yes I truly accept that this road should be avoided in the nights till tehy complete the entire four laning.

Sorry to hear about the accident, the risk of this happening will not go away with the completion of roadworks. In the already 4 laned portion, I see that the 2*2 unidirectional lanes become 1+1, 1+1 bi-directional when they pass thru towns like Kanchikacharla, Nandigama etc, where one channel passes thru the town and the other bypasses it. Not sure if this is unique to this road or it happens everywhere in this incredible India? Quite a scary experience driving on the road which is meant for traffic going in the opposite direction.

[venki.bala]

Originally Posted by skumare

Sorry to hear about the accident, the risk of this happening will not go away with the completion of roadworks. In the already 4 laned portion, I see that the 2*2 unidirectional lanes become 1+1, 1+1 bi-directional when they pass thru towns like Kanchikacharla, Nandigama etc, where one channel passes thru the town and the other bypasses it. Not sure if this is unique to this road or it happens everywhere in this incredible India? Quite a scary experience driving on the road which is meant for traffic going in the opposite direction.

Wow... This is surprising. I have never seen something like this arrangement anywhere else.

[rm_arjuna]

Actually at Nadigama, it is only one way , people instead of taking diversion thru the town have started driving on the wrong route , some times there is patrolling by police and offenders are challaned but still no effect .

i travel to vijayawada once a month due to work , i stopped taking my car and started traveling by train , driving in this route is almost suicidal , people drive like maniacs .

[skumare]

Originally Posted by rm_arjuna

Actually at Nadigama, it is only one way , people instead of taking diversion thru the town have started driving on the wrong route , some times there is patrolling by police and offenders are challaned but still no effect.

They can't challan all and sundry - the RTC buses, trucks, bullock carts, tractors, taxis, private vehicles, autos etc. Should have been addressed during the design phase and both the 2*2 lanes should have bypassed the town, not just one. I guess that's the only solution, unless they have 24/7 manned checkposts on both sides of the town.

[spadix]

Originally Posted by himavanth_m

The news is that once the 4 laning is done, 6 laning will start immediately. (Not sure of the authenticity of this ). But why didnt the govt start the 6 laning now itself instead of waiting for 4 laning to complete? This road definitely needs 6 lanes to handle the traffic it carries.

That may be because in the time it took them to move ahead from planning to execution of what they originally thought must have been a "good enough" expansion (2-lane to 4-lane) population/traffic has grown exponentially, necessitating another immediate expansion.

Would even 6 lanes be enough, though? Might as well go up to 8 (at least in parts) if it can be afforded. 6-laning + bypassing/flying over the small towns en route, like on the NH7, will be fantastic for this highway to begin with.

Regards,
spadix

[prabingade]

Hi all,
I plan to do Hyd-Vizag this Friday. Unfortunately I can't start before 12:30pm. I will be in my scorpio with my wifey, dad and 2 kids (6yrs and 2 yrs).

I understand Hyd-Vij stretch has become very decent and hence plan to go via Vijayawada.

Couple of questions:

• After 7 dhabba in Suryapet, what is the good restaurant to stop by? Is there any restaurant to grab a quick evening snack like Dosa etc in Vijayawada on my left side? I will be crossing Vij at around 5:30 to 6:30pm and don't want to waste time in peak Vij traffic deviating for Restaurant.

• After Vijayawada is there any decent food places till Vizag?

• I am expecting a drive time of 12:00hrs (Gachibowli-Vij: 5 hrs, Vij crossing 1 hr, Vij to Vizag MVP Colony 6 hrs). Assuming 2 breaks of 30 mins, I expect it to be 13 hrs. Is this a realistic assumption and doable? (I am used to doing the long drives with my kids without many breaks - many thanks to my wifey for this)

Any other suggestions or things that I should keep in my mind are most welcome.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by prabingade

Hi all,
I plan to do Hyd-Vizag this Friday. Unfortunately I can't start before 12:30pm. I will be in my scorpio with my wifey, dad and 2 kids (6yrs and 2 yrs).

I understand Hyd-Vij stretch has become very decent and hence plan to go via Vijayawada.

Couple of questions:

• After 7 dhabba in Suryapet, what is the good restaurant to stop by? Is there any restaurant to grab a quick evening snack like Dosa etc in Vijayawada on my left side? I will be crossing Vij at around 5:30 to 6:30pm and don't want to waste time in peak Vij traffic deviating for Restaurant.

• After Vijayawada is there any decent food places till Vizag?

• I am expecting a drive time of 12:00hrs (Gachibowli-Vij: 5 hrs, Vij crossing 1 hr, Vij to Vizag MVP Colony 6 hrs). Assuming 2 breaks of 30 mins, I expect it to be 13 hrs. Is this a realistic assumption and doable? (I am used to doing the long drives with my kids without many breaks - many thanks to my wifey for this)

Any other suggestions or things that I should keep in my mind are most welcome.

Time of 12 to 13 hours seems feasible, and you will be avoiding traffic from Steel Plant Jn to MVP colony (25 kms) as you will be passing that stretch around midnight.

I am not sure about eating joints as I have not traveled on that route for more than 5 years.

[prabingade]

Thanks vnabi.

Is there any restaurant/Dhabba in Vij-Vizag section. I need help in this asap as I would be driving around 24 hrs from now.

Thanks.

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by prabingade

Thanks vnabi.

Is there any restaurant/Dhabba in Vij-Vizag section. I need help in this asap as I would be driving around 24 hrs from now.

Thanks.

The NH5 starts from Benz Circle which is in the heart of the city.As you come from Hyd,you would cross Nandigama(approx 55kms before MG(Bandar) Road, VJA) and then enter VJA town.You would find the Prakasam Barrage to your right,then you would cross the Kanakadurga Temple and after that,you would enter MG Road which takes you straight to Benz Circle.At Benz circle you would take a left towards Eluru-Rajahmundry-Vizag.Between Prakasam Barrage & Benz circle,you would find plenty of places to eat, apart from the restaurants of the bigger hotels like Gateway,DV Manor,Midcity,Fortune Murali Park etc.Apart from there,there is a Southern Spice on the Murali Park road which is not too much of a diversion for you (Point A on the map is Souther Spice https://maps.google.co.in/maps?q=Sou...desh&t=m&z=18).

There is also KFC on MG Road.If you could make it to Ilapuram,I would say thats the best for you.https://maps.google.co.in/maps?q=hot...22213&t=m&z=16

https://maps.google.co.in/maps?q=Nan...eluru&t=m&z=17

Beyond this,you are sure to find places to eat at Eluru,Rajahmundry towns,though I dont remember having seen anything on the highways beyond VJA.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by prabingade

Thanks vnabi.

Is there any restaurant/Dhabba in Vij-Vizag section. I need help in this asap as I would be driving around 24 hrs from now.

Thanks.

In case you think it is too early for grub at Vijaywada, then you might find some roadside dhabas between Vijaywada and Rajamundry. The general guideline is to eat at a dhaba where lots of trucks are parked.

You also have the option of driving into Rajamundry town and eating at good hotels there. I guess traffic won't be heavy after 9 pm there.

There are also a couple of dhabas at Annavaram town--you would need to turn left into the town though.

[rkg]

Originally Posted by prabingade

Thanks vnabi.

Is there any restaurant/Dhabba in Vij-Vizag section. I need help in this asap as I would be driving around 24 hrs from now.

Thanks.

The best option is either viziawada or ravulapalem before godavari bridge. NH5 does not touch eluru, rajamundry etc. Ravulapalem is OK kind on the road. need not go inside. There are some dhaba's ( big ones) near or between tuni and anakapalli. i do not know the quality as i have never stopped there. We used stop on rajamundry bypass only for chai.

[prabingade]

Thanks Ranjit, vnabhi and rkg for quick responses. I will share my experiences, road conditions and travel times once I reach Vizag.