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Yes, in the initial days they were charging ONLY for Lorries I guess. But now all vehicles are being charged.
I wonder why there is no protest for this over charging.

Maradu toll plaza is another nightmare. You have to pay 35 INR and wade through water filled potholes and face the worst traffic at Pipeline and Edappally. This stretch easily takes 1 to 1.5 hours to cross.:deadhorse

It's been a while now
I think its 50₹ one way on container terminal road for private vehicles.
KL07 vehicles need to pay only 25₹.
The point of contention was lack of service road, which they have made, for the sake of making. It's not usable though.

How are the roads to Nelliyampathy post the deluge in July? Thinking of driving down in the first week of Sep. Also would appreciate any inputs on must visit spots, unique experiences and culinary hotspots in and around.

I am planning to drive to Kerala Attingal through Blr-Salem-Coimbatore- Palakkad-Cochin - Attingal. The reason to select this is have to drop a friend in Palakkad then drive off. We are planning to drive on the 7th or 8th and really unsure on the quality of roads after Palakkad as there were too much construction and with the floods if someone can get us a real update will be very helpful. Thanks as travelling with senior family members

Between Palakkad and Thrissur - Kuthiran stretch could be problematic especially if it rains. Yesterday there were reports of big jams.
Thrissur and Kochi - Highways should not be a problem - 4 laned.
Traversing Kochi bypass - traffic on the higher side with blocks expected due to Palarivattom flyover problems and Vytilla and Kundannur flyover constructions.
Beyond Kochi - Should be smooth with 4 laned highway till Cherthala.
Beyond Cherthala - Just 2 lanes with no dividers. Lots of traffic. Alapuzha bypass still under construction, so crossing the town will probably be difficult.
Between Alapuzha and Kollam - Same as above. Crossing Kollam can be through the new bypass but with signals at major intersections.
Kollam to Attingal - 2 lanes with no dividers and plenty of traffic.

Hope this helps.

I traveled between Bengaluru and Kollam (Parippally) last weekend. Upto Palakkad no major issues. Kuthiran stretch there was traffic buildup due to the constructions and the rains/bad roads. Beyond that roads are in fairly good condition. But traffic will be a problem (depending on the time of the day you traverse) when you cross major towns (Kochi, Alappuzha, Kollam). Overall roads are in good condition.

Instead of taking NH all the way from Palakkad, I would suggest to take MC Road from Angamaly and go via Kottayam (or Ettumanoor bypass, Manarcaud, Perumthuruthy), Kottarakkara & Parippally. Roads are good till Kottarakkara (I am not sure of the condition between Kottarakkara and Parippally) and then Attingal. The difference in distance is negligible and traffic is less compared to NH. It is more twisty than the NH so a bit more caution in driving advised.

Last month when I traveled to Iritty from Kochi, saw a new bypass to Kannur just before Mahe -after Chombala.

Is it good? I might possibly need to travel that way soon.

This is for information, try and avoid driving thru the Kuthiran sector on Pallakad/Thrissur highway. There is traffic pile up everyday. I have posted a photograph from last night traffic jam on the kuthiran secor which was displayed in todays Malayala Manorama paper (Thrissur edition), it quoted the traffic jam was upto 8 hrs. Cheers.

Does anyone know how the traffic in and around Kuthiraan will be during the morning hours say between 9 and 10 am?

Updates from my recent trip to/ from Edappally from Bangalore. These days I've been doing only the regular highway route via Hosur-Krishnagiri-Thoppur-Salem-Neelambur-Walayar-Mannuthy-Edappally.

Aug 25, Sunday: Bangalore - Edappally
Aug 28, Wednesday: Edappally - Bangalore

- I had expected my journey to Kerala to be peaceful, being a Sunday, but it turned out to be quite painful. Traffic in Kerala was much more than what I've encountered before on regular days (between 10-10:30 AM and 2-3 PM window).
- NICE road has deteriorated with several broken patches and potholes. On my return, I saw that some patching work was happening on the Hosur road bound section.
- L&T Coimbatore bypass is the usual pain, but now the ticket scanning seem to have improved. Earlier they used to take the ticket from you, scan it inside their cabin and then return it to you. Now, you show it outside your window and they just scan it.
- The highway in Kerala from Vadakkenchery towards Mannuthy has several potholes and broken patches. On a dry day, they are easy to spot and avoid but when it rains heavily, like it happened on my drive, they pose a serious challenge.
- Kuthiran, while going was slow moving but there was no jam. There are potholes, some crater size, which require caution. They are not yet the undercarriage scarping types but will soon get there before this rainy season eases.
- Kuthiran, on return (around 6:15-6:30 AM), had an hour long jam which seemed to be the usual affair.
- I am told by a local source that Kuthiran tunnel contract has been reactivated and work is expected to complete in 10 months. However, on my drive both ways, I didn't notice any signs of renewed work.
- Thrissur - Edappally section was quite painful with almost bumper kissing traffic, potholes, signals, camera traps and impatient drivers.

In summary, start early, budget more than usual time and drive slower (in Kerala, I mean)

Curious you should ask that. Earlier today Mathrubhumi published an article which spun some sort of conspiracy theory about interstate trucks running out of fuel on Kuthiran and causing never-ending traffic jams, which apparently is becoming a daily affair - sometimes several times a day.

The truckers claim that they don't get expected mileage within Kerala that results in this situation (they seem to run with just enough fuel to cross into TN where diesel is cheaper).

Ref (in Malayalam): https://www.mathrubhumi.com/thrissur...nker-1.4078472

Thanks @binand. The article seems to give it a conspiracy twist indeed. And reading it I feel that its quite unpredictable.

Going by the newspaper reported pasted by sparky@home it seems scary.

Going by Mnjdnght's trip report it seems a bit slow but not too bad.

I might have a trip coming up this weekend. Let us see how it goes.

Today's newspaper (Malayala Manorama) carries a news item that the Kuthiran Tunnel will be opened within a week, which is good news, but the proof of the pudding is in eating, as they say.

Will both sides be opened, or just one?