[Meer]

Originally Posted by bj96

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

Hth,
-BJ

Thanks a lot BJ, I am traveling Saturday and will go through this route and update on the thread. Based on the updates regarding Samruddhi E'way, will only try it once officially opened!

[abhi_tjet]

I did a Pune - Raipur via Nagpur leg last Saturday. Road conditions are exactly like mentioned by bhpians above.

Aurangabad - Jalna patch is quite good. Better than Pune - Ahmednagar/Sambhajinagar. This was a first.
Jalna - Karanja patch was the best I have seen in almost a decade.

However, more than roads, it was traffic that messed up the driving plan. It was like group drive to Ahmednagar/Aurangabad/Nagpur .

Despite leaving around 4:45 am from home, I was stuck at traffic for some 10-15 mts at Kalyani nagar junction. This is at around 5:15 am! Same thing repeated at Shikrapur - Chakan junction. Was stuck there for around 30mts at around 6 am.

Also, the small patch of NH 53 between Hiwara budruk and Amravati bypass, though better than before, is far from complete. Not sure what patch was covered in that Guiness world record attempt.

Took me 15 plus hours to reach Nagpur including couple of small breaks.

[mygodbole]

saw a news report that Samruddhi Mahamarg section between Nagpur and Shirdi shall open some time in "November", that was Maharashtra Chief Minister, no date, no data either.

I wonder when a politician is unsure.

[AkshatR]

Originally Posted by abhi_tjet

I did a Pune - Raipur via Nagpur leg last Saturday. Road conditions are exactly like mentioned by bhpians above.

Aurangabad - Jalna patch is quite good. Better than Pune - Ahmednagar/Sambhajinagar. This was a first.
Jalna - Karanja patch was the best I have seen in almost a decade.

However, more than roads, it was traffic that messed up the driving plan. It was like group drive to Ahmednagar/Aurangabad/Nagpur .

Despite leaving around 4:45 am from home, I was stuck at traffic for some 10-15 mts at Kalyani nagar junction. This is at around 5:15 am! Same thing repeated at Shikrapur - Chakan junction. Was stuck there for around 30mts at around 6 am.

Also, the small patch of NH 53 between Hiwara budruk and Amravati bypass, though better than before, is far from complete. Not sure what patch was covered in that Guiness world record attempt.

Took me 15 plus hours to reach Nagpur including couple of small breaks.

Was on the road the same day as you. The traffic was horrible, especially the Jams at Kalyani Nagar and Shikarpur.

A friend drove down yesterday. Said it took him 12.5 hours door to door. Hence, looks like we chose the wrong day!!!!

Hoping things are better on the way back.

[Meer]

Originally Posted by AkshatR

Was on the road the same day as you. The traffic was horrible, especially the Jams at Kalyani Nagar and Shikarpur.

Same experience for me too. I started Friday night around 11 PM hoping that it might be calmer, but hit tourist bus traffic at every town and village till Ahmednagar, with a 15 mins jam at Shikrapur crossing. Made worse by vehicles making 2 lanes on the opposite side of the road too. Dropped my plan to drive till Nagpur and stopped over at Shambajinagar / Aurangabad around 5 AM, 6 hours later!

Originally Posted by AkshatR

Hoping things are better on the way back.

I drove back on Saturday hoping to avoid the returning traffic and it was not too bad. Traffic was more than usual, especially after Aurangabad. Took 14 hours with 3 stops worth 1.5 hours.

Key points:
-> Roads after Malegaon till Hotel Pariwar are bad, need to be careful due to potholes.
-> Someone had suggested to take the left from Jalna outskirts rather the bypass on the right (while coming from Nagpur), I followed the advise (thank you), this road to me seemed better than the usual bypass to the right.
-> Approach to Aurangad bypass is also in a bad shape, especially for cars with low GC. Last time I remember taking a turn left way before Aurangabad outskirts to get to the same bypass road, it was much better.
-> The road from Aurangabad to after Ahmadnagar is riddled with potholes, if possible drive on the lane marking as most potholes are to the extreme right of the fast lane or near the lane marking between the 2 lanes.
-> I hit pune outskirts after 10:30 PM and it was smooth sailing, even at Wagholi - Kharadi stretch

Overall - while driving back, I was thinking we definitely need a better highway for Pune - Aurangabad as this is used by other folks going to other districts of Maharashtra as well. And I read this tweet, hope it happens soon!

https://twitter.com/nitin_gadkari/st...OcyOHIRLlmEIcQ

[abhi_tjet]

Originally Posted by Meer

-> I hit pune outskirts after 10:30 PM and it was smooth sailing, even at Wagholi - Kharadi stretch

I came back yesterday and wasn’t that lucky
It was like a convoy of cars from Aurangabad onwards.

I avoided the traffic around Ahmednagar by using the bypass but was stuck for an hour in the Shikrapur - Chakan phata mess. I got the traffic till 1 km from my home.

Left from Raipur at around 5 AM and reached Pune home at 1:30 AM. Total distance 1025kms. Nagpur - Pune again took excess of 15 hours including a small snacks break.

[Meer]

Originally Posted by abhi_tjet

I came back yesterday and wasn’t that lucky
It was like a convoy of cars from Aurangabad onwards.

I avoided the traffic around Ahmednagar by using the bypass but was stuck for an hour in the Shikrapur - Chakan phata mess. I got the traffic till 1 km from my home.

Yeah, one of my friend came yesterday and he followed google map suggestion and got rerouted through Alephata -> Rajgurunagar -> Chakan -> Wakad. Even I had taken a small detour at Junnar on Saturday evening due to jam / accident.

Even today, traffic seems to be bad, it is still suggesting to come through Chakan rather than from Junnar -> Wagholi -> Kharadi

[streetfighter]

No official conformation of the Samruddhi Mahamarg is giving me jitters as I am planning a drive to Odisha later this month and I'd be passing via Nagpur and Raipur (starting from Mumbai). Any update on the road conditions would be helpful as this is the first time I am travelling this route.
A google map search does show up the route via Samruddhi Mahamarg but I am not sure if the expressway is open to public. (I did read the earlier post by Leoshashi). The map I got is - https://goo.gl/maps/b8qGcf9qq1esSbgJA.
Surprisingly, the route via Samruudhi expressway is showing longer duration than the normal one. The normal route shown is https://goo.gl/maps/YLBT64iknLXEJTZb8
Can someone who has travelled rrecently on this route please update?

Also, I plan to stretch the day1 drive till Rajnandgaon or Bhilai or Durg, i.e. inch as closer to Raipur as possible. Any good recommendations to take the night break with family?

[bj96]

Originally Posted by streetfighter

...Any good recommendations to take the night break with family?

Based on my experience (4y ago) road towards Raipur was not that great up to MH-CH border after Nagpur. Beyond that it was fine. Hence, I would recommend to stay in Nagpur for the night. Radisson Blu in Nagpur on Wardha road has a convenient location for exiting towards Raipur.

Hth,
-BJ

[siddhant]

Originally Posted by streetfighter

Can someone who has travelled rrecently on this route please update?

In April 2022, I rode my bike from central Odisha to Pune via Sambalpur-Raipur-Nagpur-Amravati-Karanja-Mehkar-Jalna-Aurangabad. After Sambalpur, 95% of the roads were good and the rest 5% weren't bad either. If you want to take this route, go ahead. You'll be fine.

In May 2022, I did the return journey but via Solapur-Hyderabad-Vijaywada-Vizag-Berhampur-Bhubaneshwar. So, I kind of rode east-to-west and back in a circle! And, roads via this route were much better (less stressful, overall) because a lot of it is expressways and excellent highways, even though this was 200 kms longer for my destination.

Originally Posted by streetfighter

Also, I plan to stretch the day1 drive till Rajnandgaon or Bhilai or Durg, i.e. inch as closer to Raipur as possible. Any good recommendations to take the night break with family?

For this route, it is best to avoid expressways for now and considering you are travelling with family, realistically plan for a pit stop in Nagpur. The roads, unlike the route via Hyderabad, won't be smooth cruising all the way.

In my opinion, if your destination is closer to west or north Odisha, go via Nagpur. If it is south or east Odisha or Bhubaneshwar, take the Hyderabad route.

[thirugata]

Originally Posted by streetfighter

I am planning a drive to Odisha later this month and I'd be passing via Nagpur and Raipur (starting from Mumbai). Any update on the road conditions would be helpful as this is the first time I am travelling this route.

I would be able to give you update on Nagpur - Bhubaneswar as I did this route in May.
You can read about it here (28 State Capitals, 6 Union Territories | All-India Road Trip | Capital Connect)

[streetfighter]

Thank you for the quick response and valuable tips, I'll keep those in mind while planning the trip.

Originally Posted by bj96

Based on my experience (4y ago) road towards Raipur was not that great up to MH-CH border after Nagpur. Beyond that it was fine. Hence, I would recommend to stay in Nagpur for the night. Radisson Blu in Nagpur on Wardha road has a convenient location for exiting towards Raipur.

Hth,
-BJ

Halting at Nagpur is my plan A. Radisson Blu in Nagpur is quite nice, have stayed there once before.
I'm being little optimistic that the Samruddhi Mahamarg would open up and I may reach Nagpur earlier than anticipated in plan A. So going further will be the plan subject to the expressway being open.

Originally Posted by siddhant

For this route, it is best to avoid expressways for now and considering you are travelling with family, realistically plan for a pit stop in Nagpur. The roads, unlike the route via Hyderabad, won't be smooth cruising all the way.

In my opinion, if your destination is closer to west or north Odisha, go via Nagpur. If it is south or east Odisha or Bhubaneshwar, take the Hyderabad route.

That is one hell of a trip you took on a bike, hats off
I will be going to Anugul, which is kind of central Odisha, so I guess the Nagpur-Raipur route is preferable. Via Hyderabad, Google map says 3 hours (200kms) more; would you still recommend the longer route?

Originally Posted by thirugata

I would be able to give you update on Nagpur - Bhubaneswar as I did this route in May.
You can read about it here (28 State Capitals, 6 Union Territories | All-India Road Trip | Capital Connect)

Amazing trip Sir... what a drive and what a travelogue... truly inspiring. Thank you for all the details, this will certainly help me in my travel plan.

[siddhant]

Originally Posted by streetfighter

That is one hell of a trip you took on a bike, hats off
I will be going to Anugul, which is kind of central Odisha, so I guess the Nagpur-Raipur route is preferable. Via Hyderabad, Google map says 3 hours (200kms) more; would you still recommend the longer route?

Oh, what a coincidence! My destination was Angul too. The ride was extremely tough because of the heat (43-45 C). Nagpur, Amravati and Jalna region during April was utterly brutal. The only thing that kept me going was drinking tremendous amount of water, ORS and sugarcane juice. I took the Hyderabad route during return journey to avoid this extreme dry heat and the Hyderabad-Vizag region had relatively nicer weather because the cyclone had just subsided there.

Winter time won't be a problem at all. The Nagpur-Raipur route is a no-brainer then. Also, Nagpur is the perfect pit stop. No need to stretch further since Nagpur-Angul can be done easily in 12 hours. Roads from Nagpur to Sambalpur are great and you can cruise at 100 kph mostly. Sambalpur to Boinda, 20% roads are a mix of not-good and okayish with several diversions but nothing to worry. Rest 80% is very good so it'll be tempting to speed through this but be wary of locals going wrong side and strays. After Boinda, it's all good until Angul.

[inder]

Samruddhi mahamarg is going to be opened in January as per Dy CM in his last update a few days ago. Although it is fully complete between Shelu Bazar (Akola) and Nagpur. Which you are seeing in the google link. But this stretch is being guarded now by Para military since people were speeding and a few fatal accidents took place. You can try your luck if the let you enter or else take the alternative route.

[nadbe]

Read in newspaper today that samruddhi mahamarg to be opened on 11th dec