[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by issigonis

hvk,

Its decided then, I stick to the
Poona Expressway-Satara-Kolhapur-Belgaum-NH4A-Ramnagar-Anmod-Mollem NP- Margao route for my Bombay -South Goa run.
I start on 9th morning at 6 am and hope to arrive in Margao around 6pm.
I will return the same way after six days' time.

The bad news from issigonis is that the NH4A has also crumbled - he drove from Bombay to Goa today and reported bad stretches between Khanapur and Molem,the worst being in the section near Anmod. Sudden potholes, some of them very bad.

Let us await his detailed report

[hvkumar]

Jagdalpur-Raipur highway in Chattisgarh affected by floods, as per news reports in TOI.

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

The bad news from issigonis is that the NH4A has also crumbled - he drove from Bombay to Goa today and reported bad stretches between Khanapur and Molem,the worst being in the section near Anmod. Sudden potholes, some of them very bad.

Let us await his detailed report

High time they did something to that road,this means this monsoon,the road stayed good for less than 2 months.

[mayurpalav]

Teammates,

Proud to introduce 'A free training course for driving Off Road',
Coem to Mumbai and you can get a crash course on "How to drive you car in Ladakh/Mountains".

The road conditions in Mumbai especially highways as we call them are horrendous, If you can drive on these roads then you can drive in the hills as well. The notorious stretches being western express highway near Santacruz airport and Dahisar check naka. Also the arterial roads haven't been spared either, the Dadar vegetable market flyover acts as an unofficial speedbreaker with the road being mostly non-existent. The patchwork carried out by the BMC is as we call it in Mumbai "Thook Patti".

So fellowmen, please do attend a free course on driving on off roads in Mumbai.

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by mayurpalav

Teammates,

Proud to introduce 'A free training course for driving Off Road',
Coem to Mumbai and you can get a crash course on "How to drive you car in Ladakh/Mountains".

The road conditions in Mumbai especially highways as we call them are horrendous, If you can drive on these roads then you can drive in the hills as well. The notorious stretches being western express highway near Santacruz airport and Dahisar check naka. Also the arterial roads haven't been spared either, the Dadar vegetable market flyover acts as an unofficial speedbreaker with the road being mostly non-existent. The patchwork carried out by the BMC is as we call it in Mumbai "Thook Patti".

So fellowmen, please do attend a free course on driving on off roads in Mumbai.

Let me also recommend inclusion of Thane within the ambit of Mumbai!!

Try driving on some lovely stretches between Reay Road and Wadala via Sewree, especially near the Reay Road Station and the Port Trust Hospital, guaranteed to break your steering (mine did last week) and bruise your suspension rubbers.

[frequentflyer]

Originally Posted by ASHISHPALLOD

Its not harishchandraghat but harishchandra gad[ fort].

There is no drivable route from malshej to hari'gad.
usually, people get down at the village named khubi on malshej-ale road to go hari'gad via khireshwar village.

The route to bhandaradara from malshej is via kotul which forks at otur.

Thanks to all of you for ur replies...I think going via Otur from Malshej to B'dara. Should be safer than trying the route that passes by Harishchandra gad (shown in google maps but looks like a dirt track). I will be going early next month so hope to give all of you feedback on the state of the road.

Thanks once again..!

Uday

[hvkumar]

A bridge over River Sukati on NH21 was washed away, so traffic is being diverted through alternative road on NH21, at the place named Dadora

HimVani :: Voice of Himachal :: News, Travel, Jobs, Property, People, Culture, Issues, Weather, Citizen journalism & RSS

[hvkumar]

Heavy rains have affected the Pathankot-Dalhousie-Chamba road, at Tunnuhatti

The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Himachal Pradesh Edition

[ranjitp1]

Adilabad in AP still remains affected.

Heavy rains disrupt normal life in Adilabad - Hyderabad - City - The Times of India

[issigonis]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

The bad news from issigonis is that the NH4A has also crumbled - he drove from Bombay to Goa today and reported bad stretches between Khanapur and Molem,the worst being in the section near Anmod. Sudden potholes, some of them very bad.

Let us await his detailed report

>>> hvk,

I came back from Goa last night. Onward journey on 9th August, return journey on 15th August

A very brief description of the sections is :

A. Bombay-Poona Expressway : As good as ever. Light traffic on 9th morning. Heavy traffic on 16th evening, with many vehicles in the right lane unwilling to make way for faster cars. Overtaking bothersome.

B. Bombay-Poona bypass road through Katraj Tunnel upto Satara :

Good tarred surface of the four lanes (two on each side), two wheeler and three wheeler traffic for nearly 75 kms from Poona toward Satara. Truck traffic too. Some bad patches. Good signage. It is best done during off peak hours, when the two wheeler/three wheeler traffic on the left lane is less.

C. Satara -Taswade toll plaza-Kini toll plaza-Kolhapur :

Good surface, very occasional bad patches, which you can swerve to avoid. Traffic lighter than on previous section. Good signage.

D. Kolhapur - Belgaum ( via Kognoli, Sankeshwar, Hattargi) :

Best stretch of the entire route. Four lanes, tarred on the Kolhapur to Belgaum side, concrete on the Belgaum to Kolhapur side), with proper markings for turnoffs painted on the road. Very scenic views.

E. Belgaum - Khanapur - Ramnagar :

After crossing Belgaum (you have to go through Belgaum city as there is no bypass), the road to Khanapur is narrow, one lane for each side. You have two wheeler, three wheeler and four wheeler traffic. Reduced speeds must. Surface is not smooth. A stiffly sprung car will give you a jarring effect. It took me 70 minutes to do 56 kms from the HP petrol pump with the US Pizza restaurant in Belgaum to the Ramnagar RTO roundabout, from where you turn right for Anmod and for Goa.On the return journey I took 72 minutes.

F. Ramnagar - Anmod- Mollem :

The worst stretch in the journey. Road condition very non-uniform. Generally the surface is fine but you have
i. sections 10-15 metres in length where it is cratered, with some potholes 6-9 inches deep and 24-30 inches across
ii. isolated potholes on the right, middle and left sections of the road which are 6-9 inches deep and 15 inches across
iii. rough patches, a few metres in length

This is a forested and hilly (ghat) drive and the overarching trees create shadows, even in the day time so that you cannot make out the bad sections from a distance. So, if you are at 80-90 kmph you have to swerve and apply your brakes at the same time, sometimes to ensure the safety of your wheels and your suspension! And some Karnataka SRTC bus drivers were a wee bit sadistic with their passengers when they were speeding on the bad sections and slowing down when the going got smooth.

The entire length of this section is approximately 43.1 to 43.4 kms, from the Ramnagar RTO roundabout to the police check post at Mollem. Very scenic views, magnificent. The road is lonely, so if a family is going then maybe it is better to cross this stretch before sundown. It took me 56 minutes on my onward and 59 minutes ( including a loo break) to traverse this beautiful but bad section.

{The second time round, I avoided plunging into craters( I had crashed into two craters in my onward journey) and kept a lower top speed and swerved wherever there was no traffic around me, to avoid the potholes. Also on my return journey toward Ramnagar, I drove almost 50% of the time on the right side of the two laned road; I found some taxi Taveras and one Accent driving almost exclusively on the rhs.}

G. Mollem police outpost - Ponda -Margao :

There are ( to the best of my knowledge) two routes to take. On our onward journey we were directed to a bypass, which bypassed Ponda city. This road is bad-with long sections cratered. Best to avoid. We did some 18 kms in 33 minutes here. I will be slower here if I travel again on this road.

The other road is through Ponda which is better. This is about 28.6 kms which we did in 36 minutes, despite taking one small wrong turn and despite the crowds of excited school children returning from their independence day celebrations.

It is always better to ask your way, although the interpretation of what consittutes a good road may not be the same!

Overall, a very very good driving experience.
{I should remember to stay calm when drivers do not move to the left when driving in the right lane and when I have to do silly things like overtake from the left to avoid getting delayed unduly.}

Hope this helps in some way to prospective travellers on the NH4 and NH4A.

Regards

[hvkumar]

That was a comprehensive update, issigonis.
This being the best Bombay-Goa route at the moment, a rethink is needed as to whether we should be going on alternative routes like Amboli-Savantwadi or the good old NH17 itself?
Thanks also for the advice on the Ponda bypass. Is this bypass only for going to Madgaon or do you have to take it to go to Panaji also?

[ranjitp1]

I totally agree with Issigonis on the NH4A part,we did a drive through it after sun down and till date it ranks as my scariest drive till date,craeters as big as wells,and lonely stretches with silence disrupted only by the occasional mine-owner scorpios and iron ore trucks driven by 16yr-olds.We left Belgaum at 5pm and reached Panjim at 9PM.5 hours to cover 160kms.I would definitely back Issigonis' advise to do the stretch during day time,the ideal time would be reach this road around 3pm and exit before 6pm,after that the road gets menacing.

The Ponda BP referred here imo is for going towards South Goa(Madgaon-Karwar etc).For Panjim,one needs to go via Ponda,and during the monsoons,I felt that the Mandovi could spill over to the roads any time,the road is at that low a level

[issigonis]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

That was a comprehensive update, issigonis.
This being the best Bombay-Goa route at the moment, a rethink is needed as to whether we should be going on alternative routes like Amboli-Savantwadi or the good old NH17 itself?
Thanks also for the advice on the Ponda bypass. Is this bypass only for going to Madgaon or do you have to take it to go to Panaji also?

>>> hvk,

This bypass is for Margao. Not for Panjim. Panjim is due north west, whereas Margao is due south west. As you continue on the road through which you entered Goa, past Tisc and Khandepar, you will see a Three Amigos restaurant on the lhs (if you travel further straight, you see a fork- left for Ponda city, right for Panjim). Beside the Three Amigos restaurant there is a two laned road which climbs up a bit. This is the bypass. If I remember correctly it had no signage.

On our return jouney, we consciously avoided this bypass. Our route was :
Benaulim to Margao round about-straight (cross the HN17) -turn left at T junction-Fatorda-Borim-Ponda ( you come out of the left side of the fork, underlined in the paragraph above). Then onto to Khandepar-Tisc-Mollem.

Hope your friends are safe. Has their Scorpio been returned from Leh?

Regards

[issigonis]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

I totally agree with Issigonis on the NH4A part,we did a drive through it after sun down and till date it ranks as my scariest drive till date,craeters as big as wells,and lonely stretches with silence disrupted only by the occasional mine-owner scorpios and iron ore trucks driven by 16yr-olds.We left Belgaum at 5pm and reached Panjim at 9PM.5 hours to cover 160kms.I would definitely back Issigonis' advise to do the stretch during day time,the ideal time would be reach this road around 3pm and exit before 6pm,after that the road gets menacing.

The Ponda BP referred here imo is for going towards South Goa(Madgaon-Karwar etc).For Panjim,one needs to go via Ponda,and during the monsoons,I felt that the Mandovi could spill over to the roads any time,the road is at that low a level

>>> ranjitp1,

I was busy avoiding the potholes and enjoying the magnificent greenery and the hills to think about getting scared. But yes, I remember that my wife became silent in that stretch; she invariably becomes silent when we encounter a lonely stretch as she thinks on what will happen if our car breaks down with not a human in sight.

I enjoyed it more the second time round as I knew what to expect and drove with greater control.

But the recommendation for traversing it well before sundown holds if you are with family -
on our onward journey we left Ramnagar at 16.37 (odo 553.0), we reached the Goa police checkpost near Mollem at 17.33 (odo 596.4); on our return it was 09.56 (odo 1234.1) at the Goa police checkpost and 10.55 (odo 1277.4) at Ramnagar.

By the way, we saw a detached boulder on the rhs near Mollem on the Goa side. there is a small twisty hilly stretch after Mollem on the Karnataka side where there are about 4-5 large boulders almost hanging beside the road.

Terribly exciting, scary -perhaps.

Regards.

[lightinin95]

Hi folks - Any updates to share on the recent road conditions between Baroda - Mumbai?

Planning a drive to Silvassa this Sunday with some folks coming from Baroda and some from Mumbai

Cheers...