[jethrofloyd]

I am not sure about the specifics of the route to Tadoba after Nagpur. If the route you’re following goes via/near Nagpur then you can see if you are allowed on the Samruddhi Mahamarg. Currently the only section that I think can be driven on is Shelu Bazaar to Nagpur.

In the standard route to Nagpur both Pune/Nashik will lead to Aurangabad and then Nagpur. Shelu Bazaar is after Aurangabad so you can try your luck either way.

I would whole heartedly recommend going via Pune. It is infinitely better to start your journey/end it with a smooth expressway versus a broken road.

Have a great trip!

[heman_369]

Originally Posted by dvl666

We are planning a trip to Tadoba & Pench from Mumbai in Oct around Diwali.

You would suggest we go via Pune or Nashik? Also the new samriddhi route should be bypassed in either routes? Or is it worth taking it and then going to Tadoba?

If you are going to Tadoba first then you should take Karanja- Wardha - Tadoba not using Samruddhi.
If you are going to Pench first then Samruddhi must be taken if open

[dvl666]

Originally Posted by jethrofloyd

I would whole heartedly recommend going via Pune. It is infinitely better to start your journey/end it with a smooth expressway versus a broken road.

I just did a day trip to Nashik last week and agree with you. It was pouring and there were stretches where we had to find road amongst craters since no one was sure if the craters reached the earth's core.

Even saw water logging like SV Road near Sai Dhara complex.

Return was less painful in terms of roads till Bhiwandi. From Bhiwandi to Santacruz Airport in evening traffic took aprox 4 hours which is quite normal in rains.

Overall drove for aprox 11 hours and T-Roc gave me a blended mileage of 9 kmpl with XP95 fuel.

Originally Posted by heman_369

If you are going to Tadoba first then you should take Karanja- Wardha - Tadoba not using Samruddhi.
If you are going to Pench first then Samruddhi must be taken if open

Is Samruddhi open? I read somewhere that the next inauguration date is diwali. The stretch to be opened wasnt mentioned.

I was hoping to return on Samruddhi Highway from Pench.

[AkshatR]

any recent updates on the official opening of the expressway. They should open what is ready given we are in the festive season

[dvl666]

Originally Posted by AkshatR

any recent updates on the official opening of the expressway. They should open what is ready given we are in the festive season

They just set the official speed limits for the road.
News reports saying getting inaugurated in Diwali period.

Report in news says that the ready stretch of the highway was used to ferry ppl to BKC this Dussehra.

Need an actual report from someone about the highway.

[dvl666]

Our trip has been finalised.

We are going to Tadoba first on 20 Oct and will return from Pench on 26/27 Oct.

Has anyone been on the Nagpur route recently? Any updates or things to be careful about? What is the average speed I can expect?

Originally Posted by jethrofloyd

I would whole heartedly recommend going via Pune. It is infinitely better to start your journey/end it with a smooth expressway versus a broken road.

Have a great trip!

Would you know the status of the Samruddhi road and if its open to public?

Originally Posted by heman_369

If you are going to Tadoba first then you should take Karanja- Wardha - Tadoba not using Samruddhi.
If you are going to Pench first then Samruddhi must be taken if open

Is there a list of good restaurants, fuel stations, etc with good quality & clean amenities on the route?

[c@rwate]

I had been from Nagpur to Pune in early July in my newly purchased Honda City.
There is a monster pothole on the Shelu Bazar level crossing which was not visible due to water logging and I ended up scrapping the underbody, luckily no damage done but it hurt a lot!

[Meer]

Originally Posted by dvl666

Has anyone been on the Nagpur route recently? Any updates or things to be careful about? What is the average speed I can expect?

I went to Nagpur in August, so an old update, will try to recall as much as possible. Overall the route is decent with mixed roads. The stretch from Pune to Jalna is 4 lane, with bottleneck at Ahmadnagar due to flyover construction but once you cross the diversion it is fine. Ahmadnagar to Jalna has good stretches but there are potholes too mostly when you are coming back from Jalna to Ahmadnagar. There is one small stretch on Jalna bypass which is horrible, so will require careful driving. Post Jalna till Sultanpur is non-divider road but after Sultanpur its good tarmac (concrete mostly) and roads are great except for a short stretch near Dongaon and another stretch before the Amravati bypass. Amrawati bypaas to Nagpur is the best stretch. 12 to 14 hours depending on the time you start and your speed. I suggest to start around 5 am to bypass Pune traffic at Kharadi to Wagholi stretch.

Originally Posted by dvl666

Would you know the status of the Samruddhi road and if its open to public?

Looking at one of the updates in this thread, I did get on the Samruddhi expressway at Shelu Bazar and was able to go for quite long with quite a few diversions but was stopped around 60-70 kms before reaching Nagpur due to some unsafe stretch where some arch had fallen. Then I had to take a long detour and in the end it took almost similar time as normal route. So please find out exact status before venturing. There were no pumps, restaurants etc on the route.

Originally Posted by dvl666

Is there a list of good restaurants, fuel stations, etc with good quality & clean amenities on the route?

Smilestone just before Ahmadnagar is our usual stop for breakfast, there is a restuarant after Jalna bypaas called Chhatrapati, very basic but decent restaurant, both have clean amenities. And after that we just have snacks on Amravati Nagpur Road.

[bj96]

Originally Posted by dvl666

Has anyone been on the Nagpur route recently? Any updates or things to be careful about?...

Been to Pench national park during dussehera (2-5th Oct) via Nagpur from Pune in my X3. While going we took Khamgaon- Shegaon- Akot - Amravati route and returned via Amravati - Shelu Bazar - Mehkar route. Former is slightly longer and better route. However, latter was fine too. Nothing to worry about.

Started from Pench (near Sillari gate) at 7am and reached Ranjangaon around 7pm. Faced huge traffic in Wagholi and finally reached home (Kharadi) about 9pm. Had only breakfast (packed food), lunch and and a couple of tea breaks. While going it was raining heavily in the evening between Pune to Waluj (night halt at Aurangabad) which slowed us down. We took about 15 hours.

Both routes had a common bad patch near Jalna town (~1 km bypass) and worn top surface plus scattered potholes between Aurangabad and Ahmednagar. Overall it was okay. Budget about 12-13 hours to Nagpur from Pune. Either route is fine.

Hth,
-BJ

[mygodbole]

Just saw PM schedule announcement, no mention of Samruddhi. So maybe some lesser dignitary to open?

-------------------------

Mods, please delete all that follows if not adhering to T-BHP rules on politics.

Personal opinion: Why not just get CM, DyCM, NCP maestro Sharad Pawar, previous CM Uddhav Thackray to jointly 'inaugurate' incomplete highway. These four lead the way when it comes to Maharashtra's development.

(Don't closely follow Maharashtra politics, but I think no one would think anything less if these four share a dais that opens a road to prosperity for Indians, Maharashtrians included, of all hues. Open for all brickbats; maybe leaders from other parties/organisations too?)

[tp_dominator]

I regularly drive on the Pune Nagpur route (atleast once a month). I've never dared to hop onto the Samruddhi expressway till it is officially opened for public. Few pointers as of now:-

1. Once you reach Jalna from Pune, don't take the left bypass turn shown by Gmaps, instead go straight from the junction and take a right after about 500 meters from the junction. The bypass on the right is way better than the bypass on the left with no potholes as of now but just some speed breakers. While coming to Jalna from Sindkhed Raja, take a left instead of the right turn to hop on this bypass.

2. Mehkar to Dongaon is a mess, drive carefully on this stretch as there are some big potholes which might damage your car.

3. Going via Aurangabad city is better than taking the bypass shown by maps.

4. Malegaon stretch is a bit confusing and you need to drive on the wrong side while going towards Nagpur and then look for a gap in the median to cross over to the correct side. Maps shows you a longer stretch which involves taking a U-turn.

5. Taking the route via Karanja - Murtizapur - Amravati - Nagpur is better than driving straight from Karanja towards Pulgaon - Wardha - Nagpur as it is the same 2 laned road with heavy truck traffic till you reach Wardha. The stretch from Murtizapur to Amravati is amazing 2 laned cemented road with minimal traffic.

6. Some of the better food stops - Hotel Amritsari Punjabi Dhaba on the Jalna - Aurangabad stretch, Hotel Parivar near Mehkar bypass, Hotel Chhatrapati near Jalna, Hotel Rajkamal near Nagpur on the Amravati - Nagpur stretch, only food and if you want to try local snacks - Lahanuji at Teosa near Amravati.

7. Cop stops and speed cams - few kms before Ahmednagar near an uphill and downhill straight section, on the Ghat section between Ahmednagar and Aurangabad, at Sindkhed Raja turn, Mehkar bypass, Malegaon bypass, Karanja bypass, Amravati bypass, 50-60 kms before Nagpur on the Amravati - Nagpur stretch.

[dvl666]

Reached karanja from mumbai today.
Started late at 8am and reached at 1030pm.
Was with family so lot of breaks. Total driving time was only 12hrs.

Route taken Mumbai - Nashik - Vaijapur - Aurangabad - Jalna - Dusarbid - Mehkar - Malegaon - Shelu Bazar - Karanja

Mumbai - Nashik::
Roads have improved drastically till Nashik with only 3-4 bad patches to slow down the traffic.

Mehkar - Malegaon::
Agree with @tp_dominator - road was a nightmare with high beam blinding the craters.

AVOID SAMRIDDHI UNTIL ITS OPENED FOR PUBLIC
I tried getting on the samriddhi to realise its been blocked off in parts/phases.
Got on it from vaijapur to be blocked before jalna - a major detour getting off at karmad.
Tried to get on from Jalna - they have military blocking access. Somehow managed to get on the highway to find it blocked in between with a ditch to pass thru. Exited at Dusarbid & followed the normal highway.

Reason is they want to inaugurate in few days & ppl are getting into accidents causing delays.

[Meer]

Originally Posted by bj96

Been to Pench national park during dussehera (2-5th Oct) via Nagpur from Pune in my X3. While going we took Khamgaon- Shegaon- Akot - Amravati route and returned via Amravati - Shelu Bazar - Mehkar route. Former is slightly longer and better route. However, latter was fine too. Nothing to worry about.

Thank you buddy for the update. A quick question - I took the Khamgaon- Shegaon- Akot - Amravati route once instead of the Mehkar route but found a lo of truck traffic on the former. Did you also face the same?

[bj96]

Originally Posted by Meer

I took the Khamgaon- Shegaon- Akot - Amravati route once instead of the Mehkar route but found a lo of truck traffic on the former. Did you also face the same?

It was other way for me. Mehkar route has more truck traffic but, manageable with some patience .

Hth,
-BJ

[inder]

How is the Karanja - Pulgaon stretch currently ? Anybody took this route ? Actually this stretch is ready on Samruddhi,but I am skeptical about travelling on Samruddhi before it is opened. My travel date is 25th Oct and I dont think it will be inaugrated before that.