[KL07]

Hi friends,

I am planning to travel from Angamaly to Trivandrum next weekend. I would be leaving Angamaly by 4 PM. I am confused as to whether I should take the MC Road or to stick to the regular NH 47. How are the road conditions in the MC Road route ? Is it better than NH 47 ?

Thanks.

[binand]

Originally Posted by KL07

I am planning to travel from Angamaly to Trivandrum next weekend. I would be leaving Angamaly by 4 PM. I am confused as to whether I should take the MC Road or to stick to the regular NH 47. How are the road conditions in the MC Road route ? Is it better than NH 47 ?

Even thinking about the chaos on the Aluva-Kalamassery-Edapally NH47 stretch gives me nightmares. I'd take MC Road just to avoid going near Kochi.

Anyway, MC Road is mostly OK in Ernakulam and Kottayam districts (experience+hearsay). Not sure what the status is further down south.

[naveen.raju]

Originally Posted by KL07

Hi friends,

I am planning to travel from Angamaly to Trivandrum next weekend. I would be leaving Angamaly by 4 PM. I am confused as to whether I should take the MC Road or to stick to the regular NH 47. How are the road conditions in the MC Road route ? Is it better than NH 47 ?

Thanks.

NH-47 will definitely take a lot of time (Aluva - Aroor) especially during the time you plan to travel. Aluva - Edappally (metro/lulu/flyover), Palarivattom (flyover construction), Vytilla (as always), Kundanoor signal. Only after you clear Aroor, you will find some empty stretch but by that time, you would have spent good amount of time covering the stretch till here. Moreover, add interceptors between vytilla and aroor plus speeds cams, it will definitely slow you down. Will strongly suggest you to check the condition of MC road or some alternative routes to reach aroor.

[deepclutch]

Originally Posted by KL07

Hi friends,

I am planning to travel from Angamaly to Trivandrum next weekend. I would be leaving Angamaly by 4 PM. I am confused as to whether I should take the MC Road or to stick to the regular NH 47. How are the road conditions in the MC Road route ? Is it better than NH 47 ?

Thanks.

MC road as you know is facing traffic blocks in Kalady, Perumbavur, Muvattupuzha, Ettumanur etc in daytime particularly. since you are travelling in the evening, I think MC road is OK. the stretch from Muvattupuzha to Ettumanur was slowly deteroirating last I travelled through that route.

Many are not using MC road from Kuthattukulam to Ettumanur instead, uses Kuthattukulam-Mangalathuthazham-(right turn)-Uzhavoor-Marangattupilly-Kidangoor-Ayarkkunnam-Manarcaud-Puthuppally-Thengana-Thiruvalla route. the road is Mcadam laid though narrow. and AFAIK, after Puthuppally, the road is average in condition. Some may rejoin MC road at Chingavanam(after Kottaayam) towards Changanassery-Trivendrum MC Road.

Another option is to take Seaport-Airport highway from Kalamassery-Kakkanad to travel till Irumpanam and through Petta join back at Kundannur(NH47). distance will not be much great.

[tharian]

i'll be doing a road trip starting from Bangalore- Coimbatore-Thrissur- Calicut- Bangalore.
Bangalore to CBE will be most probably via Salem. What I wanted to enquire about is the road condition from CBE to Thrissur. The last I did this route was in 2011.
Also the road from Thrissur to Calicut. I will be taking the usual NH which again I did way back in 2009, so no idea how good the roads are now.
Any information on these are welcome.

[naveen.raju]

Originally Posted by tharian

Bangalore to CBE will be most probably via Salem. What I wanted to enquire about is the road condition from CBE to Thrissur. The last I did this route was in 2011.

I took this route couple of months back. You can see the condition of the road here. It was brilliant and I think it should be the same now since I felt the work done was good. Can expect some potholes between Walayar and Palghat.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ml#post3414108

[binand]

Originally Posted by tharian

Also the road from Thrissur to Calicut. I will be taking the usual NH which again I did way back in 2009, so no idea how good the roads are now.

Just proceed in a north-north-west direction from Thrissur, till you hit NH17 (most people do that at Edappal). Standard route, and generally OK roads with heavy traffic. It should take about 3 hours to do this route non-stop.

Alternately you could take the Chamravattom bridge, Tirur, Chettipadi to join NH17 at Chelari. Uncertain roads in this route - have heard scary reviews of the bridge itself and seen bad roads between Alathiyur and Tirur.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by tharian

Also the road from Thrissur to Calicut. I will be taking the usual NH which again I did way back in 2009, so no idea how good the roads are now.
Any information on these are welcome.

Standard route is via edappal kuttipuram valanchery calicut. Roads are great. Traffic will be heavy. Other option would be thrissur- chavakkad-ponnani-chamravattom- tirur- parappanangadi- chelari.

Again great roads all through. The stretch from chamravattam to tirur was relaid a few months back. Narrower roads, slightly lesser traffic. But I would recommend the first route itself. Don't think you will save anything by taking the 2nd route.

Originally Posted by binand

Alternately you could take the Chamravattom bridge, Tirur, Chettipadi to join NH17 at Chelari. Uncertain roads in this route - have heard scary reviews of the bridge itself and seen bad roads between Alathiyur and Tirur.

This stretch has been re laid and slightly widened also. So it's a smooth ride from chamravattom all the way to chelari.

[KL07]

Originally Posted by deepclutch

MC road as you know is facing traffic blocks in Kalady, Perumbavur, Muvattupuzha, Ettumanur etc in daytime particularly. since you are travelling in the evening, I think MC road is OK. the stretch from Muvattupuzha to Ettumanur was slowly deteroirating last I travelled through that route.

Many are not using MC road from Kuthattukulam to Ettumanur instead, uses Kuthattukulam-Mangalathuthazham-(right turn)-Uzhavoor-Marangattupilly-Kidangoor-Ayarkkunnam-Manarcaud-Puthuppally-Thengana-Thiruvalla route. the road is Mcadam laid though narrow. and AFAIK, after Puthuppally, the road is average in condition. Some may rejoin MC road at Chingavanam(after Kottaayam) towards Changanassery-Trivendrum MC Road.

Another option is to take Seaport-Airport highway from Kalamassery-Kakkanad to travel till Irumpanam and through Petta join back at Kundannur(NH47). distance will not be much great.

Are there any speed cams on the MC Road and would it be advisable to use the Kuthattukulam-Uzhavoor-Thengana-Thiruvalla route ?

[silversteed]

Drove to Palakkad this morning on Kanakapura-Chamarajanagara-Sathyamangalam-Annur-Karumathampatty-Walayar route. NH209 is relaid from Bangalore city outskirts till Kanakapura. The shoulders are dug up for what looks like widening work. Lots of mud mounds, so not watching the left shoulder can be dangerous, especially when blinded by high beams from oncoming vehicles. Similar work-in-progress areas can be seen after Kollegal and also inside the forest area. The road surface is one of the best.

There were at least 3 trucks that had a breakdown in the Dimbham ghats, but since I passed the area very early, the thin traffic helped avoid any delays.

Tried the highly recommended Sri Ram Vilas hotel at Sathy, opposite to the police station. Food is great and cheap, but toilets are just ok. After Nijaguna residency in Chamrajanagara, this is probably the first decent hotel that we would come across in this route.

Madukkarai-Walayar is the same old story. Wonder when would the contractor finally get to have the stretch completed! Walayar-Chandranagar is better, and I found most of the sharp surface level changes smoothened out. Work is progressing really fast.

Left home at around 3 o'clock. Passed Madukkarai at 9 o'clock (350km) and was at home by10 o'clock (~390km). Took a couple of power naps, and a breakfast break, for about 1 hour in all.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by silversteed

Left home at around 3 o'clock. Passed Madukkarai at 9 o'clock (350km) and was at home by10 o'clock (~390km). Took a couple of power naps, and a breakfast break, for about 1 hour in all.

From a timing point of view, how would Salem-Palladam-Pollachi-Palakkad stand up? Looks like that is only hassle free option left for the moment.

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by silversteed

Tried the highly recommended Sri Ram Vilas hotel at Sathy, opposite to the police station. Food is great and cheap, but toilets are just ok. After Nijaguna residency in Chamrajanagara, this is probably the first decent hotel that we would come across in this route.

Till chamarajanagar, we have only 2 options: Hotel Mayura near KSRTC bus stand and Hotel Nijaguna Residency. The ambiance is good in the latter but food is average (my opinion)

[deepclutch]

Originally Posted by KL07

Are there any speed cams on the MC Road and would it be advisable to use the Kuthattukulam-Uzhavoor-Thengana-Thiruvalla route ?

I don't know, but dedicated speed interceptors are now being used in Perumbavur-Muvattupuzha stretch of MC road. If you are new to MC road, better take MC road instead of Uzhavoor route, because, there are a lot of junctions like Kidangoor, Marangattupilly etc where you have to take turns to continue. So, may be you should use MC road or NH47.

[sandsun7]

Originally Posted by silversteed

NH209 is relaid from Bangalore city outskirts till Kanakapura. The shoulders are dug up for what looks like widening work. Lots of mud mounds, so not watching the left shoulder can be dangerous, especially when blinded by high beams from oncoming vehicles.

The said work (shoulders dug up) is happening only around a KM or so near the Art of Living ashram. So I doubt whether this has to do something with widening of the accident prone stretch there or the whole of the Blr-Kanakapura stretch. I travel up to my new office campus near Kanakapura daily from city and will report here if there is any progress in the work.
Has the contract for 4 laning been awarded?

[silversteed]

Originally Posted by ampere

From a timing point of view, how would Salem-Palladam-Pollachi-Palakkad stand up? Looks like that is only hassle free option left for the moment.

Palladam-Pollachi route would take more or less the same time, though it's longer by about 40km compared to Sathy route. The latter is a good option for an early morning start, IMHO

Originally Posted by suresh_gs

Till chamarajanagar, we have only 2 options: Hotel Mayura near KSRTC bus stand and Hotel Nijaguna Residency. The ambiance is good in the latter but food is average (my opinion)

We had tried Mayura once, and the wash room did not even have a proper bolt/lock inside. Not very women-friendly I'd say. Can't comment on food because we had just a tea. Nijaguna is neat and clean, but the food is exorbitantly priced for its quality.

Originally Posted by sandsun7

The said work (shoulders dug up) is happening only around a KM or so near the Art of Living ashram...

Spot on. After that, the road was wider than usual for the entire relaid stretch