[floyd]

Hi guys,
I'm planning a trip to Chikmagalur tomorrow. I live on Old Madras Road, so I was thinking of OMR->Outer Ring Road -> Hebbal -> Continue on ORR towards NH4 -> Either Tumkur route or Hassan route.
Is Magadi road a better choice for me also (considering I live far from NICE road/Magadi road)?

[addyhemmige]

Originally Posted by floyd

Hi guys,
I'm planning a trip to Chikmagalur tomorrow. I live on Old Madras Road, so I was thinking of OMR->Outer Ring Road -> Hebbal -> Continue on ORR towards NH4 -> Either Tumkur route or Hassan route.
Is Magadi road a better choice for me also (considering I live far from NICE road/Magadi road)?

If you are taking the Outer ring road, distance wise it does not make sense to go all the way to Magadi road and continue from there. I would suggest you take the usual Nelamangala route and go via Hassan.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by addyhemmige

If you are taking the Outer ring road, distance wise it does not make sense to go all the way to Magadi road and continue from there. I would suggest you take the usual Nelamangala route and go via Hassan.

PLUS also be aware that ORR is seeing lots of muggings in the last few days.
I know you would start early and should be OK with it. But while coming back,
also you should be vigilant.

Also since more people would in the car, it should be fine.
But just wanted to bring to your notice to be vigilant.

[floyd]

Went via Nelamangala, and really regretted it!! On the way back, took Magadi road after "Indo-Spanish Foods". Then entered NICE road, all the way to Banngerghatta road exit. On second thoughts I should have taken the Mysore road exit, since Bannerghatta road always has slow moving traffic.
I think for someone living in east Bangalore, or even Indiranager, it makes sense to drive to the Mysore road, and then catch NICE road (provided you are ready to pay around 50 ~ 100 bucks).

@ampere: I had also been hearing of this gang in ORR, but it was mostly towards Sarjapur road/Wipro office side. In fact the first I heard of it was from a Wipro security email which was forwarded to me.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by floyd

@ampere: I had also been hearing of this gang in ORR, but it was mostly towards Sarjapur road/Wipro office side. In fact the first I heard of it was from a Wipro security email which was forwarded to me.

@floyd,

The Mysore will still choke you. BG is still better.

About the gang I do agree. But later I also heard they kept moving around the whole ORR from Marathahali to Silk Board!

[asethi]

Guys, I'm planning a road trip along with my wife to Chikmangalur towards end of August. So just wanted to know the present road condition from Bangalore till there. The thing is my wife is expecting, and I only want to go if the road condition is good enough, else no point in going. So any idea what mess the current rains have caused, or the road is still good enough to go ahead with the trip?
And which route to prefer?

[ampere]

Originally Posted by asethi

Guys, I'm planning a road trip along with my wife to Chikmangalur towards end of August. So just wanted to know the present road condition from Bangalore till there. The thing is my wife is expecting, and I only want to go if the road condition is good enough, else no point in going. So any idea what mess the current rains have caused, or the road is still good enough to go ahead with the trip?
And which route to prefer?

Route I think is overall OK all the way till CKM. Avoid Nelamangala as every one says. Go via Magadi. That should ease the problem, quite a bit.

Overall route:

Bangalore-BTM-Jayadeva-NICE-Magadi Exit-Mgadi Town-Kunigal-CR Patna-Hassan Bypass (Satellite MC Center)-Belur-CKM.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by ampere

Route I think is overall OK all the way till CKM. Avoid Nelamangala as every one says. Go via Magadi. That should ease the problem, quite a bit.

Overall route:

Bangalore-BTM-Jayadeva-NICE-Magadi Exit-Mgadi Town-Kunigal-CR Patna-Hassan Bypass (Satellite MC Center)-Belur-CKM.

I don't get it here. Why take the Hassan Bypass via INSAT MCF when the destination is Chikmagalur? Of course, if its Halebidu, Belur and then Chikmagalur, it makes sense.

NH 48 bypasses Hassan town and there are 3 places to Join the BM road which passes through the town to take for Belur Road at Thanniruhalla.

One can take the Hassan Bypass on NH48, Take right on either of the intersections:

1. Mysore Road
2. Gorur Road
3. The road that over the railway crossing that comes out Opposite to the APE showroom at Thanniruhalla.

Mostly, all these 3 options are bad due to rains so avoid them.

The best would be to enter Hassan town, drive on the good old BM road and exit at Thanniruhalla for Belur Road (Take right).

Passing Hassan town isn't a pain and would take not more than 10-15 additional minutes.

Also, To do Halebidu from Hassan, even though if you consider that 10kms of Bad/single road Between Hagare (20 Kms from Hassan towards Belur), is the preferred route, especially for the fact that those 20kms on Belur Road (till Hagare-Halebidu where you take right for Halebidu) is a bliss and can be done under 15 mins easily.

Also, I have an pointer on avoiding Nelemangala. I had been to Belur 2 weeks before with Parents, Wife and my 5 months old daughter. I had too much of traffic back when I left Belur around 2-30pm on a Sunday and hence decided to continue to Nelemangala after Kunigal and what a decision it was. When I could see at least 20 private cars in my RVM till Kunigal, The route was super empty after that and I could reach Nelemangala from Kunigal within 45 mins (with speeds not beyond 60-70kmph due to the kid) and from there till Jalahalli cross in another 25 minutes. It definitely made sense to opt for this since I stay in North Bangalore and recently the Nelemangala fly over (at the NH48 NH4 Intersection) has also opened and as a result there is no Signal to wait for.

Also, I found most a good number of speedbreakers removed even at deviations!!

[ampere]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

I don't get it here. Why take the Hassan Bypass via INSAT MCF when the destination is Chikmagalur? Of course, if its Halebidu, Belur and then Chikmagalur, it makes sense.

I thought that is the standard protocol and hence suggested.
Sorry for that assumption.

Also, I have an pointer on avoiding Nelemangala. I had been to Belur 2 weeks before with Parents, Wife and my 5 months old daughter. I had too much of traffic back when I left Belur around 2-30pm on a Sunday and hence decided to continue to Nelemangala after Kunigal and what a decision it was. When I could see at least 20 private cars in my RVM till Kunigal, The route was super empty after that and I could reach Nelemangala from Kunigal within 45 mins (with speeds not beyond 60-70kmph due to the kid) and from there till Jalahalli cross in another 25 minutes. It definitely made sense to opt for this since I stay in North Bangalore and recently the Nelemangala fly over (at the NH48 NH4 Intersection) has also opened and as a result there is no Signal to wait for.

Also, I found most a good number of speedbreakers removed even at deviations!!

Thanks for that info. Did not know that the traffic has eased out so much. Was it the Sunday factor?
And yes, if you are in North Bangalore, Nelamangala does make sense.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by ampere

Thanks for that info. Did not know that the traffic has eased out so much. Was it the Sunday factor?
And yes, if you are in North Bangalore, Nelamangala does make sense.

Actually from Sunday noon onwards, NH48 towards Bangalore sees a bit of increase in the number of vehicles wanting to reach Bangalore before 8pm and most of then in a hurry often resulting in a bit of unwanted situation(s).

Tourist traffic from Dharmasthala, Belur-Halebidu and Chikmagalur add to this factor. With a 2 laned road without median, usually if you get stuck behind a tanker which is followed by a train of private traffic, the situation goes out of control with many Indicabs & Taveras wanting to attempt overtaking and trying to squeeze in between seeing oncoming vehicle.

I always had a habit of starting from Belur at 9pm and reaching Bangalore around 12-30am with peace except that I used to face hundreds of Mangalore bound private and Govt buses after Kunigal (which would've started from Bangalore around 9/10pm). Since those roads were well known to me then, I would usually ascertain the next curve or the width of the road at most of the sections but these days with 4 laning work in progress I refrain myself driving after dark and now that we have a baby I dont want drive with her in dark.

Since the Magadi approach has become too common now, I was sure that I will have very less traffic after Kunigal and it did work out im my favor. I wanted to check how good/bad the road ahead was and actually it was better and I felt no difference in the timings and of course, there were no potholes to watch for like in Magadi town except for a couple of speedbreakers. Like I said, even a few speedbreakers have been removed at deviations barring a few huge ones at Yentaganahalli.
If you drive on this highway on a weekday, the traffic is much less.

Finally, I would advise low floored sedans to avoid Nelemangala since a few speedbreakers between Nelemangala and Kunigal are very huge to maneuver.

[ampere]

Thats detailed! At least I dont do nigh driving!
Also the Magadi route still works very well for folks staying in South Bangalore.

[sushrutha]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

2. Gorur Road
3. The road that over the railway crossing that comes out Opposite to the APE showroom at Thanniruhalla.

Mostly, all these 3 options are bad due to rains so avoid them.

Both the options are in Bad state.
Option 2 was closed 15 days back, due to some repair work
Option 3, there's a big road hump in the beginning itself.
Underbody will be royally screwed for a sedan.
As parag says, it's better to take the road thru Hassan town. But some potholes near SDM college of Ayurveda.

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Since the Magadi approach has become too common now, Finally, I would advise low floored sedans to avoid Nelemangala since a few speedbreakers between Nelemangala and Kunigal are very huge to maneuver.

Yep Magadi road has become too common now. Traffic has increased 3 fold in this road compared to last year.
Traffic has eased a bit in Kunigal - Nelmangala stretch, but coz of the road deviations, it's slightly uncomfortable driving in this stretch

Yep, I scraped my OHC silencer in those humps when I was returning from Shimoga 2 weeks back.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by sushrutha

Option 3, there's a big road hump in the beginning itself.
Underbody will be royally screwed for a sedan.

Yes, In fact, It is so huge that anyone can be sure that its going to screw the underbelly badly for any car except SUVs and the likes. With 4 Adults and a baby and even with a diagonal maneuver one wheel at a time, the underbelly cried in pain as could all hear that.

The road further after the railway track is equally bad with no road at all and I wonder how the state of this road has remained like this forever!

[addyhemmige]

Originally Posted by sushrutha

Both the options are in Bad state Option 2 was closed 15 days back, due to some repair work Option 3, there's a big road hump in the beginning itself. Underbody will be royally screwed for a sedan. As parag says, it's better to take the road thru Hassan town. But some potholes near SDM college of Ayurveda.

All the 3 roads connecting Hassan city to the bypass are in pathetic state. So, people coming from Belur-Chikmagalur would be better off going through Hassan city.

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Yes, In fact, It is so huge that anyone can be sure that its going to screw the underbelly badly for any car except SUVs and the likes. With 4 Adults and a baby and even with a diagonal maneuver one wheel at a time, the underbelly cried in pain as could all hear that. The road further after the railway track is equally bad with no road at all and I wonder how the state of this road has remained like this forever!

Actually, I managed to take my fully loaded swift without scratching any part of its underbelly on this hump. This was not a hump actually. Some mud was dumped on the road just to block it. Now, after umpteen number of tractors, buses and trucks have passed over it, it reduced to this size.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by addyhemmige

Actually, I managed to take my fully loaded swift without scratching any part of its underbelly on this hump. This was not a hump actually. Some mud was dumped on the road just to block it. Now, after umpteen number of tractors, buses and trucks have passed over it, it reduced to this size.

True, this wasn't a hump at all but did exist in its mammoth size when I last went.
Everytime I take this road to join BM road at Thanniruhalla, usually something is terribly bad but I still take it.

Earlier we had an equally pathetic bypass which is now asphalted/relaid and is very good but unfortunately cannot take this if one is driving to Belur/Ckm and those approach roads from Gorur Rd and Mysore Rd are always in bad shape and passing Santhepet during monsoons has always been an ordeal.