[ankura12]

I Intend to take Chitradurga-Haveri-Sirsi route this weekend. It has been more than a year since I have taken this road. I have read from other posts that NH4 upto Haveri is OK. Does any one know if the state highway from Haveri to Sirsi is OK?

[ravi_hsrlayout]

Chitradurga to Ranibennur is not good because of construction activity and too many diversions... you get good roads for 5 to 6 KMs and then 300 to 400 meters of bad stretch...

Ranebennur - Haveri - Sirsi is good and no traffic... You can go at an avg of 55KM/hour.

[akroy]

Haveri - Sirsi is not potholed 1.5 laned wide, ocassionally smooth and occassioanlly uneven stretch...you can easily average 50km in a hour...

MOds: Pls close/merge this thread...We are already discussing the route Blr- Goa and this stretch is part of it in the discussion...

Abhi

[prasad14]

Hi,

Request BHPians to update the recent road condition b/w Haveri and Sirsi?

Also, how to approach Sirsi road in Haveri bypass? A few years ago, I had to down a ramp of sorts on the bypass, which was not asphalted. Any sign boards so that I don't miss out this road?

Also, it would be great if someone can update Sirsi-Sagara road condition too.

Thanks,

Prasad

[NPV]

Traveled to Kumta from Bangalore recently, updating this thread with the information so that it helps others. Longish post to cover all details...

We took the Bangalore-Chitradurga-Haveri-Sirsi-Kumta route.
Upto Haveri is on NH48 (old NH4), the Pune route and is excellent, just 3-4 places where there are rumblers between Chitradurga-Davanagere and Haveri.

Near Haveri, slow down and you will be able to see a large "Welcome to Haveri" signboard on the right side of the highway beyond the service road. Just after this, on left side look for a signboard that says "SP Office, Haveri 0.4Km" and "Sangur". The turn off is immediately after this board, very easy to miss, the exit road is neither well lit nor has any lane markings.

If you miss this, you will have to make a U turn about 4-5Km ahead. Now, after making the U-turn, return on the main lanes of the highway, since there is an entry to the town from service road but will take you further away from the Sirsi road and will make it a long detour. Again, the exit is similar to the one on the Bangalore-Haveri direction, no lane marking, dimly lit, easy to miss.

The Haveri-Sirsi road is in very good condition but has lots of speed breakers (rumblers) in the first 30Km or so almost every 2-3 Km has one set, so drive slowly and patiently. After that, the road is good but narrows down and couple of places there are 4 road junctions so be alert, general direction is to go straight. Stay on SH 2 and then SH 69 (at the SH 69 junction keep left towards Sirsi, right is the road coming from Hubli).

After Sirsi, road continues to be good till it merges with NH66 (old NH 17), just 3 Km before Kumta.

Tolls on the NH 48 between Bangalore-Haveri:
-Navayuga (Elevated section of Tumkur Road) - Rs.20
-Kulumepalya (Nelamangala) - you can pay Rs.17 and then Rs.17 again at the next toll at Chokkenahalli (Kyathasandra) or you can pay Rs.34 once and just show the receipt at Chokkenhalli plaza
-Karjeenahally - Rs.75
-Guilalu - Rs.60
-Chalageri - Rs.100
-Hebbalu - Rs.75

With a 4pm start from CMTI, Tumkur Road we reached Kumta around 10 minutes past midnight with one coffee break at Mysore Cafe, Chitradurga and dinner break at Deol Punjabi Hotel before Haveri.

[rajathv8]

Thank you for the update NPV.
The last time I traveled on this route the road was in shambles.

Will take this route if my monsoon Goa trip materializes this year.

[null]

Originally Posted by NPV

Near Haveri, slow down and you will be able to see a large "Welcome to Haveri" signboard on the right side of the highway beyond the service road. Just after this, on left side look for a signboard that says "SP Office, Haveri 0.4Km" and "Sangur". The turn off is immediately after this board, very easy to miss, the exit road is neither well lit nor has any lane markings.

If you miss this, you will have to make a U turn about 4-5Km ahead. Now, after making the U-turn, return on the main lanes of the highway, since there is an entry to the town from service road but will take you further away from the Sirsi road and will make it a long detour. Again, the exit is similar to the one on the Bangalore-Haveri direction, no lane marking, dimly lit, easy to miss.

There is a entry ramp to NH4 from the Haveri Sirsi Road - heading towards Hubli on NH4. This turn can be taken to enter the Haveri Sirsi road further ahead (instead of the SP Office exit mentioned above). You will be able to see the well-done & well-lit 4 lane Haveri-Sirsi road from NH4 on your left and you can look for the exit I mentioned immediately after it. To be frank, I too was mislead by Google Maps about a 4-5km uturn direction which I wisely chose to ignore (ignore tech) and used common sense.

Originally Posted by NPV

The Haveri-Sirsi road is in very good condition but has lots of speed breakers (rumblers) in the first 30Km or so almost every 2-3 Km has one set, so drive slowly and patiently. After that, the road is good but narrows down and couple of places there are 4 road junctions so be alert, general direction is to go straight.

Yes. Please drive a bit carefully around these crowded junctions as there are too many people on the road near villages/towns/junctions (with a not so wide road at atleast at 3-4 points on this stretch - possibly because Sunday, when I traveled, was their Santhe day). You should typically take 75 to 90min to reach Sirsi from Haveri.

If you want to have lunch/dinner enroute, do checkout Vaishnavi Restaurant at Harihar - I have added a tag on Google Maps now - for North Indian Vegetarian fare.

[abirnale]

Originally Posted by NPV

We took the Bangalore-Chitradurga-Haveri-Sirsi-Kumta route.
Upto Haveri is on NH48 (old NH4), the Pune route and is excellent, just 3-4 places where there are rumblers between Chitradurga-Davanagere and Haveri.
....
...
The Haveri-Sirsi road is in very good condition but has lots of speed breakers (rumblers) in the first 30Km or so almost every 2-3 Km has one set, so drive slowly and patiently. After that, the road is good but narrows down and couple of places there are 4 road junctions so be alert, general direction is to go straight. Stay on SH 2 and then SH 69 (at the SH 69 junction keep left towards Sirsi, right is the road coming from Hubli).

After Sirsi, road continues to be good till it merges with NH66 (old NH 17), just 3 Km before Kumta.

I took the exact same route yesterday but for opposite direction. I was coming from Murudeshwar to Bangalore. The route between Kumta and Sirsi is great - nice ghat roads and smooth surface almost everywhere. Like NPV said, there are lots of speed breakers towards Haveri side but there are also long smooth stretches where you would cover up on time as well. Many villages en-route so be careful of folks crossing roads, kids walking for school if its school dispersal or arrival times. Other than few roadside eateries in Sirsi and Kumta, there are no decent eating places so plan accordingly.

This route I had taken almost 10 years ago and had chance to take it again yesterday. Its as scenic as it was before and road surface has only improved. So a fun drive all season, even better in monsoon!

[NPV]

The Sirsi-Kumta SH 69 will be upgraded to a 2 lane road and rechristened NH 766-E as part of the Sagar Mala project. The road will be closed for 1.5 years from October 2018.

Source:New Indian Express, Bangalore, 18 Sep 2018 - Link

[NPV]

Originally Posted by NPV

The Sirsi-Kumta SH 69 will be upgraded to a 2 lane road and rechristened NH 766-E as part of the Sagar Mala project. The road will be closed for 1.5 years from October 2018.

A friend was planning to travel on this route so I reached out to @DrHoneyCake and he was kind enough to check with folks known to him and here's the latest update:
The present status of the road between Sirsi and Kumta (SH69) is open. It is scheduled to be closed from December 1 for 1.5 yrs.

Road is damaged at certain places towards Sirsi side due to heavy rains this year. Caution is advised.

Thanks for the update @DrHoneyCake

[NPV]

Another update courtesy @DrHoneyCake who traveled on this route recently (another friend who traveled recently echoed the same):

Road between Sirsi and Kumta has taken quite a beating. Need to watch out for sections that have absolutely no roads at all. Drive with caution.

Also, the road is scheduled to be closed down for widening from Dec 1 this year as part of the Sagar Mala project.

[goandude]

Originally Posted by NPV

Road between Sirsi and Kumta has taken quite a beating. Need to watch out for sections that have absolutely no roads at all. Drive with caution.

Also, the road is scheduled to be closed down for widening from Dec 1 this year as part of the Sagar Mala project.

Bumping up an old thread... Any update on this road? Planning Gokarna to Bangalore next week

[NPV]

Originally Posted by goandude

Bumping up an old thread... Any update on this road? Planning Gokarna to Bangalore next week

I don't have any updates on this route. BHPian @drhoneycake and DBHPian @santoshbhat are probably your best bets for updates on this route.