[srimath]

Originally Posted by narayans80

.........
Kadapa-Nandyal-Kurnool 4-laning was going on for a long time, not sure of current condition.

If you are a 4-lane lover, you can go with the much longer Madurai-Vandalur-Madras bypass-NH5-SH2-NH9 route to Hyderabad too.
.........

Kadapa - Nandyal is 95% 4 laned with two tolls of Rs 60/- and Rs 30/-.

Nandyal - Kurnool work is still in progress with he worst stretch between Nandyal - Panyam - Orvakal.

Madurai - Chennai - Ongole - Hyd is longer by just 50 km than the NH7 route via BLR.

[Harshavarthan]

Originally Posted by narayans80

You could take Madurai-Tindivanam/Sothupakkam-Vandavasi-Arcot-Ranipet-Chittoor.

I had done Renigunta-Koduru-Rajampeta-Kadapa which took an additional 2.5 hrs. You probably have to do Pileru-Rayachoty from Chittoor to reach Kadapa.

There's another route Ranipet-Chittoor-Palamaner-Punganuru-Madanapalle-Anantapur-NH7.

Tindivanam - Vellore road is not so good. Same distance through Krishnagiri but can do it much faster.

Chittor - Pileru - Rayachoty - Kadapa is what google is suggesting.

How is the roads through Palamaner - Punganuru - Madanapalle - Anantapur? Hope I do not enter Karnataka in this route

Originally Posted by srimath

Madurai - Chennai - Ongole - Hyd is longer by just 50 km than the NH7 route via BLR.

Tindivanam - Chennai - Ongole Traffic is very high. Takes very long time to cover the distance.

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by Harshavarthan

How is the roads through Palamaner - Punganuru - Madanapalle - Anantapur? Hope I do not enter Karnataka in this route

Not aware of current condition. When NH9 was under construction, this was one of the routes of choice from Madras/Tirupati to Hyderabad.

Originally Posted by Harshavarthan

Tindivanam - Chennai - Ongole Traffic is very high. Takes very long time to cover the distance.

While I agree partially, timing is key. If you time Madras cross around 1pm 2pm ish. You can make it past Tada by the time any Madras evening traffic starts. You should also be able to do better average speeds here than any other route.

The other slot is 10 pm and later till 6am, which I won't suggest since you have a further 700 km + there is work starting at Vandalur for a flyover or you need to drive odd timings.

[Harshavarthan]

I did Vellore Hyderabad today. Took 10 hrs and 15 min including 30 min break. Initial 20 kms roads were rough with a lot of traffic too. And then road surface improved but with traffic till Trirupathi diversion. Beyond that it was easy to cruise at 80-90 km/hr. Kadapa - Nandiyal four lane road is 95% complete. Nandiyal - Kurnool is 50% four lane, 25% average two lane and remaining 25% very bad roads.

[SKavuri]

Request latest update on the Hyderabad - Chennai routes if anyone has done it
I am sure the highway itself is not an issue, but the road from Hyderabad to Highway via Hyderabad-Nalgonda-Miryalaguda-Piduguralla-Ongole
My concern is : if there is any degradation of road condition due to recent heavy rains.
If so, I will prefer to take the longer route via Vijayawada or the route Via Kurnool-Kadapa.
Really appreciate feedback on this.
Thanks.

[SKavuri]

I went ahead on Hyd-Chennai-Hyd between 26th-28th September 2016.
So here is my update on the condition of roads after the recent heavy rains: " Minimal impact of the rains on the Nalgonda-Medarametla road" Whats more, the drive is beatiful as the fields on both sides are lush green with abundant rains.
Did the Gandhinagar (near Indira park), Hyderabad to Mogappair, Chennai in 12 hours, which includes breakfast, lunch, tea and stretch breaks+almost a dozen toll queues.

[whencut86]

Originally Posted by SKavuri

I went ahead on Hyd-Chennai-Hyd between 26th-28th September 2016.
So here is my update on the condition of roads after the recent heavy rains: " Minimal impact of the rains on the Nalgonda-Medarametla road" Whats more, the drive is beatiful as the fields on both sides are lush green with abundant rains.
Did the Gandhinagar (near Indira park), Hyderabad to Mogappair, Chennai in 12 hours, which includes breakfast, lunch, tea and stretch breaks+almost a dozen toll queues.

Did you take the route through Nagarjuna Sagar? Planning to go to Hyd next weekend.
Chennai-Nellore-Ongole-Macherla-N.Sagar-Nalgonda-Hyd

Are these 2 lane or 4 lane roads? Planning a 5AM start from Chennai.

[SKavuri]

Originally Posted by whencut86

Did you take the route through Nagarjuna Sagar? Planning to go to Hyd next weekend.
Chennai-Nellore-Ongole-Macherla-N.Sagar-Nalgonda-Hyd

Are these 2 lane or 4 lane roads? Planning a 5AM start from Chennai.

No I did not take the Nagarjuna sagar road. I took the "NAM Expressway" [Nalgonda-Addanki-Medarametla Expressway]. Medarametla is after Ongole. There is a big board pointing the direction to Hyderabad, but it is easy to miss the turn so crank-up the volume on your GPS. It is a a 4-Lane (2 each way) toll road with low traffic. There are a couple of rough patches but it is insignificant in terms of length.

The picture below gives a glimpse of the quality of the surface and the lush green fields on both sides of the road.
This is the best option for Hyderabad - Chennai road travel.

[bblost]

Originally Posted by SKavuri

The picture below gives a glimpse of the quality of the surface and the lush green fields on both sides of the road.
This is the best option for Hyderabad - Chennai road travel.

Without any doubt the NAM road is a visual treat especially in weather like this.


The only sore point is the lack of any decent food options between Addanki and Narketpally.
However one time when I was driving alone I saw this old couple in a small roadside eatery selling hot biryani. The crowd around that place indicated it was yummy.

I was not hungry but I gobbled down that hot biryani. It was very good.

[SKavuri]

Originally Posted by bblost

The only sore point is the lack of any decent food options between Addanki and Narketpally.

Wow, beautiful picture! Clouds look stunning.

Yes, this route seems to have fewer food options.

I had my lunch at "Anjaneya Vilas" in Piduguralla - the food and the place is typical mess type. There was an AC restaurant also but I preferred the mess.

I feel Addanki may have a couple of eateries. Otherwise, one has to wait till Nalgonda.

[bblost]

Close to Gachibowli, Hyderabad, departure at 11 pm.
Arrival at Adyar, Chennai at 10 am.

Route the usual via Miryalaguda-Addanki.

Highly recommended that you don't do night drive on this stretch. The volume of trucker traffic is insane.

[bblost]

Left home in Adyar at 4:00 AM.
Breakfast at the beautiful foodcourt on NH5 above the toll booth.
We had a couple of hot idlies and dosas.
The service is good but confused. The waiters have no idea who ordered what. They would bring something from the kitchen and ask every table if they asked for it!

The gents toilet was clean. The ladies restroom according to my wife could have been cleaner. There is no cleaning staff on duty like they do at airports. Considering the number of people stopping here, this is important.

I reached my home in Hyderabad at around 2:30 PM.

The roads at Pidugurila needs to be repaired as its quite bad in comparison to the remaining route.
This route is still the best connection for Hyderabad - Chennai.

[Seek]

I drove from Hyderabad (secunderabad cantonment) to chennai (thoraipakkam) yesterday. Took the regular NAM expressway - Ongole - Nellore - Chennai route. A few patches on the NAM stretch are in a rough state , but otherwise an excellent road. To top it, no tolls were being collected so breezed past the toll plazas. Started at 6.15 am from Hyderabad and reached home in Chennai at 4.30 pm.

[HighwayHopper]

I am travelling to Nellore from Hyderabad on 14th Feb. Will be starting from Hyderabad around 8 or 9 PM and intend to reach early morning hours.

Since I am travelling with family at night, I will be taking Hyderabad-->Suryapet-->Vijayawada-->Guntur-->Nellore (584 KMS) though it is longer and I know this route is drivers paradise.

While returning on 16th, I am thinking of taking
Nellore-->Ongole-->Piduguralla-->Miryalaguda-->Nalgonda-->Hyderabad (483 kms)
Can someone shed some light on current road condition in this route and is this route safe to travel with family at day/night ?

[bblost]

Originally Posted by HighwayHopper

While returning on 16th, I am thinking of taking
Nellore-->Ongole-->Piduguralla-->Miryalaguda-->Nalgonda-->Hyderabad (483 kms)
Can someone shed some light on current road condition in this route and is this route safe to travel with family at day/night ?

When my mom's aunt expired in 2015. I left Hyderabad at 3 PM. Reached Ongole around 9 PM. My trip was till Chennai.

For a large part of the journey, it was quite dark.
For dinner I picked up some puffs from a bakery in Addanki.

From Pidugurala to Ongole the toll road is in very good condition.

I don't see any reason why you need to take the longer route via Vijayawada.
If your car is in good shape and you are used to night driving, there is no major difference between these two routes.
Don't depend on food options. Keep food with you. If you are used to tea at frequent intervals, keep a flask.