[lsjey]

I completed my trip following the route map options shared by srvm and narayans80.

My observations are these:

1. Chennai to Ranipet: Roads have many diversions, but in good condition. This is a busy route. Surface is tarred so good in both dry weather and during rains.
2. Ranipet to AP border: Roads are two lanes. Traffic discipline is not good. Need to be careful. Surface is tarred, so good in both dry and wet seasons. Traffic is less.
3. AP section1 (from TN border to Chitoor): This is easily the worst section I'd say in the entire route. four-laning is in progress. Surface is concrete, IMHO will not be providing good grip during wet conditions. Also, there are many undulations in the road surface. Need to drive carefully. Additionally, vehicles, especially two-wheelers, come in the wrong direction. Watch out for them as well. Traffic is less. Not many decent restaurants.
4. AP section2 ( Chittoor to Mulbagal): four lane roads. Surface is concrete, IMHO will not be providing good grip during wet conditions. Also, there are many undulations in the road surface. Need to drive carefully. Traffic is less.
Watch out for people selling custard apple (Seetha pazham in Tamil) on the roadside. Very cheap and direct from the farms nearby.
5. KA section (Mulbagal to KR Puram): four lane roads. Surface is tarred. Will be good in both wet and dry conditions. You'll hit traffic only in KR Puram. This section is the best section for enjoying your drive. While coming back, you can stop at KR Puram market and pick up fresh and cheap vegetables and fruits.

Overall, a peaceful drive.

Regards,
lsjey

[anandhsub]

Did a Bangalore to Tirupati trip recently but posting on this thread as it is more related to the the Bangalore to Chittoor section.

The rate at which the bumpy concrete portions are being relaid with tar in a year or so the concrete will be unrecognizable

What a waste of time and money

I see that several new(?) eateries seem have opened up pretty much all through the highway from Mulbagal to Chittoor. However all of them are on the the Chittoor to Bangalore side. Didn't see any on the Bangalore to Chittoor section.

Not sure how the quality, but this is one more reason to prefer this over Krishnagiri. So far have avoided taking this route whenever I start before 6 AM because Maiyaas comes to early and A2B Arcot is too late for a breakfast stop.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by anandhsub

The rate at which the bumpy concrete portions are being relaid with tar in a year or so the concrete will be unrecognizable

What a waste of time and money

Actually I would be very happy to see tar over concrete. Concrete provides longevity but I think its to fatal to tyres and road grip. A mild coat of tar would greatly improve the drive condition esp. safety.

Actually thats one reason I always would prefer the Krishnagiri option to Chittoor for driving to Chennai

[ravib]

Completed Bangalore-Madras-Bangalore trip via Chittoor route.

31st Oct and did a very slow / relaxed drive for 8 hours with 4 breaks
Left at 6.30 am and reached around 2.30 pm.

Return journey yesterday 5th Nov was able to do it in less than 5 hours drive.
Left Vadapalani at 3.30 pm, able to reach Kanchipuram in just 1 hour and reached Bangalore C.V.Raman Nagar at 8.45 pm including a 30 minutes break at Murugan Idli shop. There was almost no traffic all throughout, but constant rains.

In return direction, due to heavy rains the roads are damaged between Sriperumbudur to Chennasamudram and also from AP border to Chittoor-Tirupati bypass.
From Bangarupalayam to Nangli in many places, there were heavy water logging particularly below the bridges, so need to really be careful and slow down heavily.

Otherwise, its pretty much same updates like in previous posts/previous trips.

-Ravi

[whencut86]

Has anyone done the Chennai to Bangalore or Bangalore to Chennai trip via Vellore route in the past 2-3 days? Is it safe to travel by Vellore route tomorrow given the rains in past 2-3 days in that region?

[concorde24]

I had travelled last weekend in this route after the heavy rains and here are the updates

• Chennai to Bangalore on 12 Nov via Chithoor - I was really worried to travel just after the mega rains last week but no water logging anywhere in the route. I encountered medium rains after entering Karnataka and in some places water accumulation close to median after getting down a flyover. But no diversions/issues as such
  
• Bangalore to Chennai on 14 Nov via Krishnagiri - It rained heavily from Vaniambadi till Kanchi stretch but again, roads are drivable. Be careful if you are driving in this section in the night as there are lot of deviations to service road and back and with rains & unmarked lanes, it takes a while to adapt.

One issue I encountered is all private cars driving with hazard lights on and it is very confusing if they also plan to do lane change with indicator !! I was driving with headlights on only in the route.

[ravib]

Originally Posted by whencut86

Has anyone done the Chennai to Bangalore or Bangalore to Chennai trip via Chittoor route in the past 2-3 days? Is it safe to travel by Chittoor route tomorrow given the rains in past 2-3 days in that region?

If you are travelling in 100% day light, then you can do it, but be watchful of small section between Chittoor bypass to Collectorate plus additional 1 km.
However, with the volume of rains in last few days that are not normal and causing floods in many places, and still expected to continue for few more days, from safety perspective, i would suggest you to stick to Krishnagiri route, more than Chittoor route for this time.

You also got update from concorde24 in Bangalore-Chennai-Bangalore thread.

-Ravi

[luvurride]

Just drove to Chennai and back over the last couple of days. Took the Chittoor route both ways. Here are the timings for reference to infer how the route is:

Onward:
Whitefield start time - 10:30am
Chittoor bye pass - 12:30pm
Chennasamudram toll - 1:00pm
Sangeetha@Sriperumbudur - 2:15pm, lunch break of 25 mins.
Guindy - 3:40pm

Return:
Guindy - 3:45pm
Motel Highway@Thiruvallur turnoff - 4:40pm, break of 20 mins.
Chennasamudram toll - 6:50pm
RK Restaurant@ Narsapura - 9pm, dinner break of 30 mins.
Whitefield - 10:15pm

The problem lies in the Chennasamudram-Sriperumbudur stretch with 6 laning roadwork + unmaintained road surfaces slowing you down. Although the road surface improves from Sriperumbudur to Chennai, traffic slows you down.

It took roughly about 2:30 hrs drive time from Whitefield to Chennasamudram toll. The roads are much better with lesser traffic compared to Krishnagiri route.

Things to watch out for in the Chittoor route:

1. The uneven bumps atop the bridges in the AP 4 laned sections from Mulbagilu to Chittoor.
2. 0.5 km unpaved stretch in Chittoor bye pass. (The bridge under construction at the Tirupati turnoff is now open to traffic)
3. 0.5 km stretch between Chittoor and Vellore turnoff.
4. Some 3 diversions in the small stretch between Vellore turnoff- Ranipet.

All of the above are very much manageable even in low GC sedans.

In a nutshell, whether you take the Krishnagiri or Chittoor route, there is no escaping the thorn in the side. So my preference still remains the Chittoor route for the ease of getting onto the highway if you stay in and around Whitefield. Even if you aren't convinced, the current state of affairs of the Varthur- Sarjapur road will force you to think otherwise!

[ampere]

Originally Posted by luvurride

In a nutshell, whether you take the Krishnagiri or Chittoor route, there is no escaping the thorn in the side. So my preference still remains the Chittoor route for the ease of getting onto the highway if you stay in and around Whitefield. Even if you aren't convinced, the current state of affairs of the Varthur- Sarjapur road will force you to think otherwise!

Very true. The thorn does prick between Walaja to Sriperumbudur to Poonamallee.

The bigger problem now is : Even if one were to like to take the Mudichur or Manimangalam bypass the turn back at Gandhi memorial is next to impossible. The trucks just pack it up wanting to turn to Oragadam.

As regards to Chittoor vs Krishnagiri: Like you said its a personal choice depending on location. But I would still want NHAI to add a coat of tar on the concrete highway. Makes driving easier. Else its a bumpy ride on such a surface.

[saisree]

Completed Tambaram to Chittoor trip. Road stretch between Tambaram, Manimangalam & upto Chennasamudram toll is pathetic and not eligible for driving with headlights. Full of deep potholes ready to eat your tyres. Please do consider twice if you have to drive during nights and early mornings.

Lot of construction activities. Nice to see new flyovers coming at crucial junctions prone to accidents.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by saisree

Completed Tambaram to Chittoor trip. Road stretch between Tambaram, Manimangalam & upto Chennasamudram toll is pathetic and not eligible for driving with headlights. Full of deep potholes ready to eat your tyres. Please do consider twice if you have to drive during nights and early mornings.

This is very true. At least Poonamalle-Sriperumbudur can still be tolerated early mornings. But surely don't take the Tambaram-SriPerumbudur road in late nights. It already has enough blind turns. Add to it deteriorating road conditions.


One option can be: Tambaram-Vandalur-Oragadam-Sriperumbudur. But like what member NPV mentioned earlier, it has lots of cattle on the road. So one needs to be extra vigilant at night, which probably is not worth it.

I have myself done early morning rides starting from Chennai at 0330 AM in these times. There were hiccups on the way especially coming to Poonamallee thanks the the Metro work. But beyond that it is decent. There are diversions, but can managed.

The trick is to cross Walajah before people rise up. Because then onwards its a smooth 6-lane (or 4-lane on Chitoor side). It works very well. Just that one needs a very-very early start.

[saisree]

Originally Posted by saisree

Road stretch between Tambaram, Manimangalam & upto Chennasamudram toll is pathetic and not eligible for driving with headlights.

I take back these words. The pathetic stretch is the return leg. Folks loving their cars do not drive on this road. Consider some other alternative. It’s a harassment we do for our cars driving on this road.

[ravib]

Originally Posted by saisree

I take back these words. The pathetic stretch is the return leg. Folks loving their cars do not drive on this road. Consider some other alternative. It’s a harassment we do for our cars driving on this road.

So you meant that roads are horrible from Chennasamudram toll to Sriperumbudur - for those heading towards Madras city?
And Sriperumbudur to Chennasamurdam - outbound towards Vellore/Bangalore is better, if not good?

I have a trip next week to Madras and most likely will end up driving in dark from Chennasamudram to Madras. If the roads are so bad, alternate option i am thinking is to go via Chittoor-Pallipat-Nagari-Tiruvallur-Madras. Not sure how the roads are that side.

-Ravi

[saisree]

Originally Posted by ravib

So you meant that roads are horrible from Chennasamudram toll to Sriperumbudur - for those heading towards Madras city?
And Sriperumbudur to Chennasamurdam - outbound towards Vellore/Bangalore is better, if not good?

I have a trip next week to Madras and most likely will end up driving in dark from Chennasamudram to Madras. If the roads are so bad, alternate option i am thinking is to go via Chittoor-Pallipat-Nagari-Tiruvallur-Madras. Not sure how the roads are that side.

-Ravi

The entire stretch is in shambles. Potholes, too many of them. There are rains and the water logging will mask the depth of the potholes.

Nagari - Tiruvallur section was poor when we last drove in September. It could have become worse after the recent rains.

Better take a train or a bus.

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by saisree

Tambaram, Manimangalam & upto Chennasamudram toll is pathetic and not eligible for driving with headlights.

Manimangalam route was never a night drive route. It is single lane and sees mild to moderate traffic.

Originally Posted by ampere

One option can be: Tambaram-Vandalur-Oragadam-Sriperumbudur. But like what member NPV mentioned earlier, it has lots of cattle on the road. So one needs to be extra vigilant at night, which probably is not worth it.

Vandalur-Oragadam-Sriperumbudur is the route to take. You can maintain decent pace. If you are worried about cattle on roads, you cannot drive anywhere.

Originally Posted by ravib

alternate option i am thinking is to go via Chittoor-Pallipat-Nagari-Tiruvallur-Madras. Not sure how the roads are that side.

Google is suggesting Kaveripakkam-Ocheri-Tirumalpur-Takkolam-Sriperumbudur. I've done Takkolam-Sriperumbudur and confirm its divider separated and good tarmac (this was prior to this monsoon), its just that it has loads of speed breakers.

Tiruvallur-Nagari wasn't great even early this year. Tiruvallur has received a fair share of hammering this year, so won't keep high hopes on the Tiruttani road.

Am toying with the idea of Chengalpattu-Uthiramerur-Cheyyar-Arcot-Vellore.