[ampere]

Originally Posted by Knight Rider

Thank you, request feedback from anyone who has used this road recently

This is a good road almost to the end. Many driving to Kerala from CBE side, use the Pollachi-Vadakkencherry section many a times. SH in TN are very good and nothing to write about.

[kavu75]

I am planning a Bangalore - Velankanni trip on coming friday, 21-Feb
Got the following options from this thread

1. Bangalore - Salem - Namakkal - Musiri - Trichy - Thiruvarur - Velankanni
2. Bangalore - Salem - Namakkal - Thuraiyur - Trichy - Thanjavur - Mannargudi - Thiruthuraipoondi - Velankanni

And the google map shows

3. Bangalore - Salem - Virudhachalam - Chidambaram - Nagore - Velankanni ( I haven't seen many taken this route)

I am confused about to chose between Namakkal - Thuraiyur - Trichy or Namakkal - Musiri - Trichy
and Trichy - Thiruvarur - Velankanni or Trichy - Thanjavur - Mannargudi - Thiruthuraipoondi - Velankanni

Which is the best option, any recent updates?

[ampere]

Originally Posted by kavu75

2. Bangalore - Salem - Namakkal - Thuraiyur - Trichy - Thanjavur - Mannargudi - Thiruthuraipoondi - Velankanni

And the google map shows

3. Bangalore - Salem - Virudhachalam - Chidambaram - Nagore - Velankanni ( I haven't seen many taken this route)

Thuraiyur is a better option. You get good roads till Tanjore. I would prefer this to Virdhachalam/Chidambarm.

[kavu75]

Last weekend (Feb 21-22) I did Bangalore - Velankanni - Bangalore trip.

Onward
Bangalore - Salem - Karur - Lalapettai - Trichy - Thanjavur - Needamangalam - Thiruvarur - Velankanni

It's 4 lane till Lalapettai(took the exit after Karur byepass). Lalapettai - Trichy is also not bad, but truck traffic is more and there are some narrow stretches. Again beautiful 4 lane till Thanjavur. Not so bad road between Thanjavur to Velankanni, some bumpy stretch around Thiruvarur, but easily doable.
Started from Bangalore at 5.30am, reached Velankanni at 2.30 pm. Took 45 minutes break at Thoppur A2B for breakfast and 10 minutes fuel break.

Return I took Trichy - Musiri - Namakkal route. It's much better than my onward route. Overall roads are good except 1-2 km stretch around Thottiyam.
Started from Velankanni at 12pm, reached Bangalore at 9.30 pm. Again with 1 hour break.

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by kavu75

Last weekend (Feb 21-22) I did Bangalore - Velankanni - Bangalore trip.

Onward
Bangalore - Salem - Karur - Lalapettai - Trichy - Thanjavur - Needamangalam - Thiruvarur - Velankanni

It's 4 lane till Lalapettai(took the exit after Karur byepass). Lalapettai - Trichy is also not bad, but truck traffic is more and there are some narrow stretches. Again beautiful 4 lane till Thanjavur. Not so bad road between Thanjavur to Velankanni, some bumpy stretch around Thiruvarur, but easily doable.
Started from Bangalore at 5.30am, reached Velankanni at 2.30 pm. Took 45 minutes break at Thoppur A2B for breakfast and 10 minutes fuel break.

Return I took Trichy - Musiri - Namakkal route. It's much better than my onward route. Overall roads are good except 1-2 km stretch around Thottiyam.
Started from Velankanni at 12pm, reached Bangalore at 9.30 pm. Again with 1 hour break.

Any idea about Thanjavur, Mannargudi, Thiruthiraipoondi road conditions?Will this be a better bet compared to the Thiruvarur route?

[M35]

Originally Posted by suresh_gs

Any idea about Thanjavur, Mannargudi, Thiruthiraipoondi road conditions?Will this be a better bet compared to the Thiruvarur route?

It used to be, not anymore. The route via Thiruvarur has been relaid and better than the one via Mannargudi/Thiruthiraipooni.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by M35

It used to be, not anymore. The route via Thiruvarur has been relaid and better than the one via Mannargudi/Thiruthiraipooni.

Finally looks like overall NH67 relaying work is almost getting complete.
I just hope they also fix the Gudalur section.

[nijelj]

Originally Posted by kavu75

Last weekend (Feb 21-22) I did Bangalore - Velankanni - Bangalore trip.

Onward
Bangalore - Salem - Karur - Lalapettai - Trichy - Thanjavur - Needamangalam - Thiruvarur - Velankanni.

I am going to take this route this weekend.Thanks a lot Kavu75!

[suresh_gs]

Hi all

My friend intends to go to Velankanni from Bangalore by car some time next week. He will be accompanied by his wife and 6 month old kid.

Considering the number of breaks he will have to take , i suggested the following route so that he can reach his destination fast.

Via Hosur, Krishnagiri, Thoppur, Salem, Karur-Trichy by pass road, Kulithalai, Trichy by pass, Thanjavur by pass, Needamangalam, Thiruvarur and Nagapattinam.

Is this the best possible route ? Suggestions are welcome

[ampere]

Originally Posted by suresh_gs

Via Hosur, Krishnagiri, Thoppur, Salem, Karur-Trichy by pass road, Kulithalai, Trichy by pass, Thanjavur by pass, Needamangalam, Thiruvarur and Nagapattinam.

Is this the best possible route ? Suggestions are welcome

Definitely the best one. The only issue is crossing Trichy.

This option is the best in my opinion

- NH67 exit at NH45 to BHEL is quite crowded. The traffic eases after the first toll booth on NH67 post BHEL (some where close to REC).
- The 4-lane bypasses Tanjore. And the place where the 4-lane ends, NH67 continues beyond.
- Its very good till Nedamangalam. Crossing Nedamangalam can be a pain because of multiple railway crossings.
- Beyond Nedamangalam, NH67 is quite a twisty road. Condition is quite good. Though rough at some places.
- Dont expect any good restaurants beyond Trichy. There is none even on the 4-lane to Tanjore.
- If you want to break beyond Tanjore, then Thiruvarur is the only good option, but you need to get into the town near the temple.

[nfsfreak]

Did Trichy-Nagapattinam-Trichy last weekend.

Route Taken: Trichy-Tanjore-Thiruvarur-Nagapattinam

Road Conditions:
Trichy-Tanjore very good 4L all the way. All the bridge construction works that were going on few months back are completed now and the road is excellent to drive

Tanjore-Tiruvarur: Good 2L all the way. Till few months back, this section had some nasty & dangerous potholes but all of them are either patched & few section of the road are relaid. So, the roads are good all the way except inside some small towns like Needamangalam.

Tiruvarur-Nagapattinam: Not as smooth as Tanjore-Tiruvarur, but the nasty potholes are patched except few small ones. Bit bumpy but certainly not dangerous as before.

Now, The entire stretch Tanjore-Tiruvarur-Nagapattinam stretch is doable at decent speeds (I was able to cover the distance in 90 mins)

[ampere]

Originally Posted by nfsfreak

Now, The entire stretch Tanjore-Tiruvarur-Nagapattinam stretch is doable at decent speeds (I was able to cover the distance in 90 mins)

The only other thing you need to have is a bit of luck at Needamangalam to go past the railway bridges without having to wait. Else there are three of them! And my luck was REALLY bad! I had to wait at all three (2 at Needamangalam and one beyond). Thanks to that crossing Needamangalam took me half an hour with all the trucks chocking the road and no space for overtaking.

And as you rightly pointed, beyond Needamangalam the road to Thirvarur, though good, is bumpy at many places. It is also narrow at many places and has sharp blind turns running around bunds. Need to be careful while overtaking.

But all in all no reason NOT to take this road.

EDIT:

Had posted in another thread. Cross linking. NH67 beyond Tanjore. Yes it was foggy in April !!

Originally Posted by nfsfreak

Agreed. My luck was real good as I passed them without getting stuck both ways.
Also noted that, for one such level crossing is right on the needamangalam station and I was actually wondering what would happen if a train has a prolonged stop at the railway station for some crossing. That would block the road for long time.

Very true. I planned this route for a Navagraha visit. I did a counter clockwise drive. Tanjore-Thiruvarur-Peralam-Thirunallar-Keezaperumpallam-Thiruvengadu-Vaitheeshvaran Kovil-Kumbakonam. Worked out very well. D1 we covered Alangudi/Thingaloor while staying at Tanjore. Day 2 we drove counter clockwise and finished the ones (I mentioned earlier) and drove to KMU by noon. In the evening we drove back to cover Suryanar, Kanjanur, Govindapuram, Thirunageshwaram and Uppiliappan

[nfsfreak]

Originally Posted by ampere

The only other thing you need to have is a bit of luck at Needamangalam to go past the railway bridges without having to wait. Else there are three of them!
...
But all in all no reason NOT to take this road.

Agreed. My luck was real good as I passed them without getting stuck both ways.
Also noted that, for one such level crossing is right on the needamangalam station and I was actually wondering what would happen if a train has a prolonged stop at the railway station for some crossing. That would block the road for long time.

[xotiq]

Planning a BLR-Velankanni drive, please suggest best routes from BLR.
Thanks-

[coolclouds]

Last time, during my return from Velankanni, I took Thiruthuraipoondi-Mannargudi-Thanjavur route. It was in good condition with less tourists traffic compared to regular route. It also doesn't have any railway gates.

I did it about one year back, no update on latest conditions.