That is exactly what UnoCzar had reported just a week ago on this thread. Thanks for re-confirming.

so the zaheerabad route is better than gulbarga one ?

Posting a query on behalf of a friend. "Last I went in January, there were couple of toll booths being constructed in Telangana and Karnataka section.. Are any toll booths between Hyderabad - Maharashtra border operational on Hyderabad - Pune highway?"

I traveled on Hyderabad- Solapur section on 21st and 23rd July'17 and toll booths were being constructed, however they were not operational.

how were the roads and diversions? and time taken?

The first 200 kms from Hyderabad to Karnataka-Maharashtra border is extremely good. The diversions start once you enter Maharashtra, however they are manageable.

A 20 kms patch between Umerga and Naldurg is rough but not too much of a worry and can be easily managed at reasonable speeds.

Time taken from Hyderabad to Solapur was 6 hrs with half and hr break at Zaheerabad and a 15 min break at Naldurg.

I believe that the rough stretch between Omerga and Naldurg has been around for a while now, with no attempt to repair the road. Probably some sort of no mans land.

Six hours from Hyderabad to Solapur, including two breaks totaling 45 minutes, should make this the preferred option over the Hyd-Gulb-Akkal-Sol route as it results in a saving of nearly two hours.

Just to get things in perspective, what time did you start and what was the starting point?

I started at 6.30 am from Shaikpet.

For Hyderabad-Gulbarga, please take the route via Humnabad. We did Gachibowli-Humnabad-Gulbarga in 3 hours today with two loo breaks. Smooth roads all the way except a 1-2KM stretch right when you enter Karnataka. Sadashivpet doesn't have a functional bypass yet but it's nearing completion. The road within Sadashivpet is smooth 4 lane with no potholes. Everywhere else, either bypasses/flyovers are ready or at least one side is ready. No potholes. Beware of local people coming on the wrong side though. They are still not used to the expressway traffic.

Humnabad - Gulbarga is 2 lane with paved shoulders (mostly unmarked though). But smooth ride all the way with only a few speed breakers. Work in progress at a couple sites but that's just 500 meters at a time.

Note: Both Toll Plazas are not yet operational.

I Hve done Pune Hyderabd on 26th Aug, It was morning drive, The roads were almost empty all the way.

I was able to do this stretch in 8.50hs with 1hrs of Lunch break. Roads after sholapur is in okay condition with few diversions but managable. The moment you cross omerga, the express way is almost done you can just do good speeds as its day time.

The best part is Zaheerabad city is been bypassed, you wouldnt even realize that you have crossed it, However sadashipet bypass is still not functional, should be done anytime.

on 3rd Sept i have done the return Trip Hyderabad-Pune, I have started around 3pm, and reached omerga around 6:30, Post that i have taken 2.50hrs to reach Sholapur though the distance was about 85kms onlly, The truck traffic has increased and the roads seemed to have gone from good to bad again, may be beacuse of the rains in that week.

the moment you reach sholapur its heaven as you all know.

Over all, this stretch has been improved a lot over last two years, earlier to that it was very risky and i always used to preffer driving at the night. from last 4 trips that i have been doing in this stretch, i realised that its way better and faster during the day time, also understood that i have risked driving in these roads at nights. So i deciede to do a night drive on this stretch only after the eway is completed.

Hi all
Has any one traveled Pune to Hyderabad recently?
Want to know the current conditions of the roads and want to know about Zahirabad Bypass too.

I can only second bordeaux post , i left Hyderabad by 5.30 and reached Solapur by 10.30 without breaks, the only sore part was the Omerga stretch , rest is all good ...
Pune took about 8 hours. The Zaheerbad bypass is actually a misnomer , you just continue on the same road and you will cross the town without knowing about it , the earlier town Sadhashivpet goes across the town, although they might have opened it this month.

I traveled to Hyderabad from Mumbai via NH65 from Sholapur. I'll break this down into onward and return journey
Date of Journey : 30 September 2017 (Onward); 1st October 2017 (Return)

I had taken my Polo just for reference

Onward
Mumbai to Hyderabad
Time Taken : 12 hrs including about 1.5 hrs of break
Start time : 3.30am
End time : 3.30pm

Mumbai to Pune - Expressway no issues
Pune City - Had to go through the city to reach NH65, but as i reached Pune before peak hours, this was a breeze.
Pune to Sholapur - NH65 : Four lane highway - The roads are beautiful with minimal 2 wheeler traffic
Sholapur to Dhaktiwadi (Maharashtra Border via Omerga) : Roads are being repaired so various diversions, but quality of roads is bad only in patches. Completely manageable but 103 kms took me about 2 hrs to clear.
Dhaktiwadi to Hyderabd : The roads become Butter smooth right upto Hyderabad. They change like magic as soon as we enter Karnataka
Overall - Very much doable in a Hatchback / Sedan - You wont feel any pain.


Return Journey
Hyderabad to Mumbai
Start time : 12pm
End time : 12.45am

Hyderabad to Dhaktiwadi (Maharashtra Border) : Beautiful 4 lane roads again. The only issue was there were a number of 2 wheelers completely blocking the first lane so overtaking was near impossible till the 2 wheelers move out showing empathy :P
Dhaktiwadi to Sholapur : Right below the board that stated "Welcome to Maharashtra", the road changed dimensions, a huge pothole welcomed us into the state
The 103 kms was excruciating ! If the same road in the onward journey is rated 100, this would be ranked 40 ! The sections where newly paved roads existed, had crater sized potholes whose depth was difficult to judge. It was like playing RoadRash and trying to suddenly dodge them at highway speeds (read 60 - which also seemed extremely high). It's a complete no no in the night as damage to the car (hatchback / sedan) is certain. I failed to avoid 2 such potholes and had to get down and check for damage to the alloy / any other damage. Thankfully it was safe.
It took me 3 hrs 15 mins to get over this patch of 100kms . One of the worst roads (National Highway) in the country i'll term this as !
Sholapur to Mumbai : As usual beautiful roads

So do i suggest you to drive from Mumbai to Hyderabad ?
Yes , certainly. The balance 600kms are quite mesmerizing and lovely to drive on

Just one caution, don't exceeds speeds of 60kmph on the stretch between Sholapur and Maharashtra border on NH65.

Hopefully road conditions would improve in the next 2 or 3 years as some work is in progress.

I am planning to drive down from Hyderabad to Pune in a couple of weeks time. Your update of the road condition between Sholapur to Dhaktiwadi is definitely not enthusing. Hope that some of these patches are repaired just in time for Diwali !!!

Don't let that stop you .. if you're Aware what you're in for, you'll be much more careful than what I was .. the rest of the road is just too good to miss !