[pramodpk]

Manorama news reports that one tunnel in Kuthiran will be opened shortly.

https://www.manoramanews.com/nattuva...open-soon.html

[venkyhere]

Originally Posted by pramodpk

Manorama news reports that one tunnel in Kuthiran will be opened shortly.

https://www.manoramanews.com/nattuva...open-soon.html

the pictures/video in above report are disappointing as to the readiness. THe lights/signboards/cameras that are seen, are installed for real or for just show ? Apart from the outermost entry/exits, majority of the ceiling inside the tunnel is exposed mountain rock. When are they going to put concrete arches and cover it ? Is it even going to be covered ? will tall giant extra heavy load trucks fit ? Asking since I have seen many trucks carrying really tall transformers from/to the TELK factory in angamaly.

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by venkyhere

the pictures/video in above report are disappointing as to the readiness. THe lights/signboards/cameras that are seen, are installed for real or for just show ? Apart from the outermost entry/exits, majority of the ceiling inside the tunnel is exposed mountain rock. When are they going to put concrete arches and cover it ? Is it even going to be covered ? will tall giant extra heavy load trucks fit ? Asking since I have seen many trucks carrying really tall transformers from/to the TELK factory in angamaly.

The contractor builds to NHAI specifications, not in anticipation of our individual comments/sentiments/feelings/aesthetics. There is a process for these things.

As for TELK transformers and significantly larger movements by road to the Cochin Shipyard, Refineries and other large industries around - the original road would continue to be serviceable as one cannot design a tunnel meant to handle bulk traffic for occasional exceptions.

[venkyhere]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

The contractor builds to NHAI specifications, not in anticipation of our individual comments/sentiments/feelings/aesthetics. There is a process for these things.

Its not about "individual comments/sentiments/feelings/aesthetics" - pure safety im talking about.

Safety against progressive rock failure and water seepage (if present, the concrete ceiling arch would crack in case of a slowly developing structural integrity problem above it and serve as warning to the maintenance authority) , particularly since the tunnel is fairly long (~1km), wide (unlike a single line railway tunnel on konkan railway, this supports 2L road traffic which means lots of width - 2x width would mean 4x rock removal) and present in an area where there is lots of rainfall. Most road tunnels in the world have reinforced ceiling, most rail tunnels have exposed rock ceiling. I would be surprised if such a fairly long & wide tunnel is deemed fit without ceiling reinforcement.

I am not a civil engineer & neither do I know what the NHAI specifications are. However, I live in india, where structural failure of lucrative govt issued civil construction projects are not uncommon , particularly the ones where there is lots of political pressure for completion.

This forum is for expressing opinion and asking questions - thats all I did in my post. @Steeroid, if somebody's opinion seems very trivial to you, and deserves to be dismissed, there are more civil ways of doing it than swatting it away as if its a fly.

[deathwalkr]

So...planning a trip to Madurai from Trivandrum. Which is the optimal route to take?

Via Tenkasi?
Via Marthandam?
Via Boothapandi?

Some other unknown route?

Been some time since i drove that side and would be great if someone who has traveled out of Trivandrum to TN to advice

[Lively]

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

So...planning a trip to Madurai from Trivandrum. Which is the optimal route to take?

Via Tenkasi?
Via Marthandam?
Via Boothapandi?

Some other unknown route?

Been some time since i drove that side and would be great if someone who has traveled out of Trivandrum to TN to advice

deathwalkr,

We drive often from Trivandrum to TN via NH 66 (Neyyantinkara - Nagercoil route). Construction is ongoing near Marthandam, hence would advise you to avoid Marthandam-Thuckalay-Nagercoil stretch. Instead, take deviation just before Marthandam onto Kulasekharam - Bhoothapandi to join NH 44 at Aralvaimozhi. Would advise day-light driving on this stretch to avoid getting lost in the maze .

Not driven via Tenkasi, but a couple of my colleagues have. They say the roads are passable but winding with 17 hairpin bends.

I wouldn't recommend unknown routes as we would never know the quality of roads beforehand - we have had a couple of bad experiences navigating poor asphalt and kacha roads with our car bottoming on bad stretches.

Hope this helps!

[kozhissery]

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

So...planning a trip to Madurai from Trivandrum. Which is the optimal route to take?

Via Tenkasi?
Via Marthandam?
Via Boothapandi?

Some other unknown route?

Been some time since i drove that side and would be great if someone who has traveled out of Trivandrum to TN to advice

We did a bike ride to Rameswaram some 3 months back (Trivandrum-Nagarcoil-Tirunelveli-Rameswaram-Tirunelveli-Shencotai-Thenmala-Trivandrum). My take is take nagarcoil route (early in the morning) and you can sail through. Except for marthandam most of the roads are good, where as in thenmala route there were quite few undulations, hairpins which tends to slow you down and ride becomes quite jittery.

[deathwalkr]

Originally Posted by Lively

deathwalkr,

Instead, take deviation just before Marthandam onto Kulasekharam - Bhoothapandi to join NH 44 at Aralvaimozhi. Would advise day-light driving on this stretch to avoid getting lost in the maze .

That sounds like a plan. Thanks

[SajiNSalin]

The Trivandrum-Kanyakumari highway with a deviation around Marthandam is the better option. You have to take a left turn just before Marthandam and look for a right turn not too far from this turn. If you have Google maps, it will be handy to find the shortest detour around Marthandam to join the highway just after Marthandam. It is a bit complicated to explain the turns. In short, you by pass Marthandam using some very complicated side roads.

[deathwalkr]

Originally Posted by Lively

deathwalkr,

We drive often from Trivandrum to TN via NH 66 (Neyyantinkara - Nagercoil route).

Does Fastag work on the toll gates on that side? Remember asking them sometime back and they said no...

[Lively]

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

Does Fastag work on the toll gates on that side? Remember asking them sometime back and they said no...

From my recent experience, fastag does work at TN toll booths except the odd one or two. Sometimes, the fastag lane might be closed, but the booth attendant would be able to scan with a handheld scanner.

[arun_josie]

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

Does Fastag work on the toll gates on that side? Remember asking them sometime back and they said no...

It works in all (Nagercoil to Madurai) but they use hand held device. And no dedicated Fastag lanes.

[sparky@home]

I did a road trip to Cape from Trichur via TN, so on the NH 44 from near Dindigul to Cape, all toll booths had only the hand held scanners, even though there were dedicated FT lanes. As the traffic was thin, no delays took place.

[aarcee]

I alongwith family, travelled from New Delhi to Kerala and back in my Baleno Zeta Petrol during the period from 26th May to 15th June 2018. The total distance travelled was around 7000 kms and the journey was really enjoyable. The route taken was New Delhi-Udaipur-Vadodara-Pune-Chitradurga-Bangalore-Kochi and for the return journey, Kochi-Bangalore-Pune-Vadodara-Udaipur-Jaipur-Delhi.

The car’s performance was superb and during the journey it consistently gave a mileage of more than 19 kmpl with driving inside cities like Vadodara, Pune, Bangalore, Coimbatore and Kochi and on highways with speeds between 90 and 130 kmph. By the time we reached Kerala, the monsoons had started and it was raining hard there.

The roads all the way from Delhi to Ernakulam (Kochi) were fantastic with a few exceptions and diversions. Road widening is going on between Kishangarh and Udaipur but we could maintain good speeds as traffic was thin.

During the week we stayed in Kerala, we travelled extensively the length and breadth of the State. One day by mistake the parking lights were left on for full night. There was no warning, or if it was there, I just did not see / hear it as it was raining heavily and in my hurry to get inside house, I just got out and locked the car. I always put the lights switch in the auto mode but on that day, by mistake it was in the “lights on” mode and I turned the knob once thinking I put off the lights. But the parking lights remained on and by next morning the battery was fully discharged and the ignition was not working.

Here a relative came to my rescue. He disconnected and removed the battery and put his car’s battery in its place and started the engine. After starting the car, this battery was disconnected and removed and the original battery was put back and connected and the engine was left running for some time so that the battery gets charged. After that there was no problem and the car was running fine.

I was a little apprehensive about the performance of the stock tyres as there have been innumerable complaints about its quality but there was no problem at all. Mostly the speed was between 90-110 with occasionally the speedo touching 130.

[Pequod]

Driving to Goa from Cochin on Saturday, was planning on Bangalore-Hubli-Anmod route, till Google Maps suggested this : Turn left before Avinashi, and take the Kollegal-Kunigal-Hebbur route to Tumkur.

Any feedback on road conditions on this route? Thanks!