All Roads to Kerala

s3va · 23rd June 2010, 12:29

+1 to ^

One needs to be damn careful while driving thru this new bypass in Calicut as the road is infamous for fatal accidents on an everyday basis. Especially during night, one need to watchout for the small junctions where the road from small towns joins the bypass !!! Even the pedestrian can pose a big danger !

They are planning to now widen this 2 lane into a 4 lane.

pramodpk · 23rd June 2010, 13:37

I drove my Father's Ford Fiesta from Bangalore to Vaikom on June 21st.
The route taken was
Bangalore (AECS Layout Kundalahalli)
Silk Board (Did not take the elevated Highway)
Hosur
Krishnagiri
Thoppur
Salem (New By pass is open to connect to NH47)
Bhavani
Avinashi
Coimbatore L&T By Pass
Walayar
Palakkad By Pass
Thrissur By Pass
Chalakkudy
Angamaly
Aluva
Kalamassery (Took Left at HMT Junction and proceeded via Kakkanad through Airport Seaport Road)
Tripunithura
Vaikom

We started at 4:45 AM and reached home at 1:45 PM.
Total 583 KMS covered in 9 hours with around 40 mins break.
I was the only driver (Did not let my Father driver

).

Potholes have started appearing between Palakkad and Thrissur. Expect the road conditions to deteriorate soon.

gajadonga · 23rd June 2010, 15:05

The new bypass you have mentioned for Salem is the same old bypass you are referring to or a new one after Omalur connecting NH47.

gadadhar · 28th June 2010, 17:40

I am planning a trip from Bangalore to Vandenmedu. Option I am considering is Bangalore --Salem - Karur - Dindigul - Sembatti - Vattalagundu - Periakulam - Theni - Kambum - Kumaly -- Vandenmedu..Is this the best option? How are the roads from Salem till Vandenmedu?

-

hvkumar · 28th June 2010, 17:51

You can cut your journey distance a little by turning off at Kumbam and going via Kambamedu, Nedumkandam and Puliyanmala to Vandanmedu.

All roads are fine.

jacs · 29th June 2010, 14:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by hvkumar

You can cut your journey distance a little by turning off at Kumbam and going via Kambamedu, Nedumkandam and Puliyanmala to Vandanmedu.

All roads are fine.

+1 HVK sir, its the shortest and I did it sometime back during my Moolamattom trip. But if he is travelling in his Elantra, climb from Kumbam to Kambamedu would be little rough and slippery especially when it rains due to minor land slides.

gadadhar · 2nd July 2010, 08:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by hvkumar

You can cut your journey distance a little by turning off at Kumbam and going via Kambamedu, Nedumkandam and Puliyanmala to Vandanmedu.

All roads are fine.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jacs

+1 HVK sir, its the shortest and I did it sometime back during my Moolamattom trip. But if he is travelling in his Elantra, climb from Kumbam to Kambamedu would be little rough and slippery especially when it rains due to minor land slides.

Thanks for the tips, will do a final check before starting on the landslides

gadadhar · 2nd July 2010, 08:43

I am driving from Kalady to Kozhenchery this Sunday, planning to take the NH47 till Allapuzha and then through Nedumudy to Changanachery and MC road till Kozhenchery. Please let me know whether this is the right choice. Advice on a good place for breakfast for a family group of 10 with kids is welcome.

coolclouds · 5th July 2010, 09:55

Did Cochin-Bangalore today. Roads between Pattikkad (Trichur) and Vaniyampara is bad with lot of potholes and broken surfaces. Need to be very careful especially on night driving. Road between Vaniyampara & Palakkad is patched up. Else, roads are in good condition except for few small stretches where construction is going on (Chalakudy Jn etc)

pramodkumar · 6th July 2010, 09:54

Did a trivandrum trichur round trip yesterday.

Roads are ok till Parippally, from parippally to kalluvadakkyal, ther roads are intermittently bad, This continues till kollam, then from kollam till neendakara the roads are bad, from there till karunagapally the roads are just about ok. The roads are worst in the harippad till alpy. Then the 4 lane highway from chertalla till EKM are in the worst state, the roads are good from EKM till Trichur.

Please avoid night driving in the affected stretches as the potholes are really big and might damage the suspension and the wheel.

Pramod

sbraj · 6th July 2010, 10:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by pramodkumar

Roads are ok till Parippally, from parippally to kalluvadakkyal, ther roads are intermittently bad, This continues till kollam, then from kollam till neendakara the roads are bad, from there till karunagapally the roads are just about ok. The roads are worst in the harippad till alpy. Then the 4 lane highway from chertalla till EKM are in the worst state, the roads are good from EKM till Trichur.

In a nutshell, NH47 from TVM till EKM is bad?

trrk · 6th July 2010, 12:42

Hi,

Quote:

Originally Posted by sbraj

In a nutshell, NH47 from TVM till EKM is bad?

Not yet. Some stretches are still good.

As per a Malayala Manorama report in today's newspaper, only 20000 potholes are to be repaired, with 60000 of them already attended to.

The number of potholes district wise still to be attended to:

Alleppey - 5359, Kollam - 1368, Trivandrum - 2018.

Just as Pramod mentioned, some are deathtraps.

sv1976 · 14th July 2010, 11:31

Did a B'lore-Calicut-B'lore last weekend. B'lore-Mysore is pretty much the same apart from some more new speed breakers closer to Mysore. Mysore-Nanjangode is back to its original bad shape

Nanjangode-Gudalpet is excellent. The Ghat section is also good till Muthanga check post. Muthanga-Sulthan Bathery has some new potholes but not that bad. Effect of rains is clearly visible in Wayanad ghats and hairpins with some of them really tough to handle.

vrprabhu · 14th July 2010, 13:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by sv1976

Did a B'lore-Calicut-B'lore last weekend. B'lore-Mysore is pretty much the same apart from some more new speed breakers closer to Mysore. Mysore-Nanjangode is back to its original bad shape

Nanjangode-Gudalpet is excellent. The Ghat section is also good till Muthanga check post. Muthanga-Sulthan Bathery has some new potholes but not that bad. Effect of rains is clearly visible in Wayanad ghats and hairpins with some of them really tough to handle.

Did a similar trip on 30th June -

Calicut - Vayittiri - Kalpetta - Sultan Batheri - Mulehole - Maddur - Gundlupet - Nanjangund - Mysore - Srirangapatna - Nagamangala - Nelligere - Kunigal - Hebbur - Tumkur.

As you said, the rains have made the Wayanad Ghats difficult to drive - the nine hair pin bends require plenty of caution in the rain, and the roads were broken. Otherwise, the road was OK.

Gundlupet onwards the road was good - except for the section where work was going on (between Nagamangala and Kunigal).

sv1976 · 14th July 2010, 18:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by vrprabhu

As you said, the rains have made the Wayanad Ghats difficult to drive - the nine hair pin bends require plenty of caution in the rain, and the roads were broken. Otherwise, the road was OK.

The hair pin bends will only get worse in the next 3-4 weeks. Last year, I remember hair pin # 4 (or 5) was so bad that no sedan/small cars could handle it without some rough underbody hits

23rd June 2010, 12:29	#1366
s3va BHPian Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Dubai Posts: 646 Thanked: 5 Times View My Garage	+1 to ^ One needs to be damn careful while driving thru this new bypass in Calicut as the road is infamous for fatal accidents on an everyday basis. Especially during night, one need to watchout for the small junctions where the road from small towns joins the bypass !!! Even the pedestrian can pose a big danger ! They are planning to now widen this 2 lane into a 4 lane.
	() Thanks

23rd June 2010, 13:37	#1367
pramodpk Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,089 Thanked: 580 Times View My Garage	I drove my Father's Ford Fiesta from Bangalore to Vaikom on June 21st. The route taken was Bangalore (AECS Layout Kundalahalli) Silk Board (Did not take the elevated Highway) Hosur Krishnagiri Thoppur Salem (New By pass is open to connect to NH47) Bhavani Avinashi Coimbatore L&T By Pass Walayar Palakkad By Pass Thrissur By Pass Chalakkudy Angamaly Aluva Kalamassery (Took Left at HMT Junction and proceeded via Kakkanad through Airport Seaport Road) Tripunithura Vaikom We started at 4:45 AM and reached home at 1:45 PM. Total 583 KMS covered in 9 hours with around 40 mins break. I was the only driver (Did not let my Father driver). Potholes have started appearing between Palakkad and Thrissur. Expect the road conditions to deteriorate soon.
	() Thanks

23rd June 2010, 15:05	#1368
gajadonga Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 1,045 Thanked: 458 Times	The new bypass you have mentioned for Salem is the same old bypass you are referring to or a new one after Omalur connecting NH47.
	() Thanks

28th June 2010, 17:40	#1369
gadadhar Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,342 Thanked: 1,116 Times View My Garage	I am planning a trip from Bangalore to Vandenmedu. Option I am considering is Bangalore --Salem - Karur - Dindigul - Sembatti - Vattalagundu - Periakulam - Theni - Kambum - Kumaly -- Vandenmedu..Is this the best option? How are the roads from Salem till Vandenmedu? -
	() Thanks

28th June 2010, 17:51	#1370
hvkumar Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 7,369 Thanked: 3,454 Times	You can cut your journey distance a little by turning off at Kumbam and going via Kambamedu, Nedumkandam and Puliyanmala to Vandanmedu. All roads are fine.
	() Thanks

2nd July 2010, 08:43	#1373
gadadhar Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,342 Thanked: 1,116 Times View My Garage	I am driving from Kalady to Kozhenchery this Sunday, planning to take the NH47 till Allapuzha and then through Nedumudy to Changanachery and MC road till Kozhenchery. Please let me know whether this is the right choice. Advice on a good place for breakfast for a family group of 10 with kids is welcome.
	() Thanks

5th July 2010, 09:55	#1374
coolclouds Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Garden City Posts: 1,798 Thanked: 519 Times	Did Cochin-Bangalore today. Roads between Pattikkad (Trichur) and Vaniyampara is bad with lot of potholes and broken surfaces. Need to be very careful especially on night driving. Road between Vaniyampara & Palakkad is patched up. Else, roads are in good condition except for few small stretches where construction is going on (Chalakudy Jn etc)
	() Thanks

6th July 2010, 09:54	#1375
pramodkumar Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Gods own country Posts: 2,302 Thanked: 2,208 Times View My Garage	Did a trivandrum trichur round trip yesterday. Roads are ok till Parippally, from parippally to kalluvadakkyal, ther roads are intermittently bad, This continues till kollam, then from kollam till neendakara the roads are bad, from there till karunagapally the roads are just about ok. The roads are worst in the harippad till alpy. Then the 4 lane highway from chertalla till EKM are in the worst state, the roads are good from EKM till Trichur. Please avoid night driving in the affected stretches as the potholes are really big and might damage the suspension and the wheel. Pramod Last edited by pramodkumar : 6th July 2010 at 09:55.
	() Thanks

14th July 2010, 11:31	#1378
sv1976 BHPian Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 123 Thanked: 8 Times View My Garage	Bangalore - Calicut Did a B'lore-Calicut-B'lore last weekend. B'lore-Mysore is pretty much the same apart from some more new speed breakers closer to Mysore. Mysore-Nanjangode is back to its original bad shape Nanjangode-Gudalpet is excellent. The Ghat section is also good till Muthanga check post. Muthanga-Sulthan Bathery has some new potholes but not that bad. Effect of rains is clearly visible in Wayanad ghats and hairpins with some of them really tough to handle.
	() Thanks