Monsoons - Road Condition Update

pypkmsrikanth · 6th October 2010, 09:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by sbraj

Planning to drive from Bangalore to Trivandrum this weekend.

1. Anyone has updates on NH47 Nagerkovil-Trivandrum stretch?

2. I assume NH7 from Bangalore till Nagerkovil suburbs is great as usual and the rains have not done much to it.

I did Chennai - Tirunelveli last weekend the stretch between Madurai & Tirunelveli was in good shape and I see no reason for the rest of the stretch to become bad beyond Dindigul, which incidentally my brother had covered a couple of weeks back.

hvkumar · 8th October 2010, 22:18

Heard that the Trivandrum-Tenkasi road via Nedumangad, Palode & Tenmala is closed because some section of the road is washed away in the rains this week, and is not expected to be restored - any confirmations on that?

Sailor · 9th October 2010, 13:06

We started off on Hyd - Nagpur leg at 05:40 from Hyderabad:

Road condition:
Hyd - Kamareddi: Grt 4 lane highway (05:30 - 07:06, 140 KMs)
Kamaraddi - Dichpalli : Two lane, four laning in progress. OK roads slow progress ( 07:06 - 07:45, 42 KMs)
Dichpalli - Dudgaon: Ok' ish road (07:45 - 08:23, 50 Kms)
Dudgaon - Nirmal - Adilabad town: Great 4 lane road. You have to go through the town, potholed road. (08:23 - 09:10, 94 KMs)
Adlabad town road: (09:10 - 09:33 13 KM)

Pitstop at BP dhaba: Dirty restrooms, poor choice of food.

BP dhaba - Pandharkwada: (10:18 - 11:15, 45 Kms) pretty bad roads, need to be very cautious on this sector. Diversions crop up every 3 - 5 KM, sometime without any notice, the only signal you may get in dust cloud ahead to the car in front suddenly bobbing up and down and slowing down. I found a car ahead of me and kept tailing her till cleared that area.

Pandharkwada - Hinganghat: Ok'ish road. Diversions and bad road but far apart. (11:15 - 12:30, 75 Kms)

Hinganghat - Nagpur (Deen Dayal Nagar): grt roads except the famous railway crossing just before airport (12:30 - 13:10, 75 Kms)

Overall: 530 Kms in 07hrs 30 Mins.

hvkumar · 9th October 2010, 16:20

Calcutta-Siliguri,
via Bardhaman, Siuri, Malda, Dalkola

NH60 from Darjeeling More (NH2, near Durgapur) to Morgam (before Farakka on NH34) is messy, since road widening is going on, lot of diversions, lots of driving on shoulders.

NH34 between Raiganj & Dalkola (Calcutta-Siliguri highway) is terrible. So is the road after the 4 laned road ends before Bagdogara.

hvkumar · 9th October 2010, 16:21

Siliguri-Guwahati,
via Mynaguri, Drupuguri, Falakata, Cooch behar

From Siliguri onwards NH31 via Myanaguri, Drupuguri till Falakata is totally broken. Improves only after Falakata towards Cooch Behar. Alternative route via Sevoke, Gayerkata, Hashimara & Alipurduar is also in very bad condition.

Sailor · 17th October 2010, 04:24

Nagpur - Pachmarhi via Saoner - Chhindwara - Patalkot - Tamia.

Entire route is absolutely great except for a small section between Patalkot - Tamia which is patchy and single laned.

Sailor · 17th October 2010, 04:57

Pachmarhi to Maihar via Pipariya - Bankhedi - Amgaon - Kareli - Narsimhpur - Gotegaon - Shahpur - Jabalpur - Sihora - Katni - Maihar

I was advised to take the Bhopal - Jabalpur highway route (via Bareli) however based on advise by MPTDC employees at Pachmarhi (who had travelled to Jabalour a few weeks back) we decided to take the SH route

1. Pachmarhi - Jabalpur: This section (on SH) passes through lots of towns and quite a few railway crossings. Roads are great and there are quite a few tolls on this section till Shahpura. Road from Narsimhpur to Shahpura to Jabalpur are just horrible. Road is very bad with really huge craters. Very annoying and tiring drive.

2. Jabalpur - Maihar: This section too has been battered by Monsoons! Roads have lots n lots of potholes, crateres and there doesn't seem to be any work in progress to rectify the road.

Our drive of approx 400 Kms took close to 13 hours.

Sailor · 17th October 2010, 05:25

Maihar to Lucknow via Satna - Chitrakoot - Banda - Fatehpur - Lalgunj, Bacchrawan

Maihar to Chitrakoot is SH and what a beautiful drive. In this section early morning we revved up to 130 Kmph very easily. After Satna, this road narrows down to a single lane road, however this road is tarred and well maintained.
(06:45 - 10:10, 120 Kms, incl 1 hour stop at Kothi for breakfast)

Chitrakoot to Banda: This section is NH 76, however this road is under construction. Several patches as long as 10 KM are not prepared, though not potholed there is considerable loose material making the ride very unpleasant and slow. This section passes through three towns, where the traffic slows you down considerably.
(12:30 - 15:00, 70 Kms)

Banda - Fatehpur: Great two lane road. However this road also passes through couple of towns and lots of speed breaker.
(15:00 - 16:00, 80 Kms)

Fatehpur - Lucknow: Horrible road connecting Fatehpur to GT road (NH2). After traversing on GT road (which seemed excellent) for a few Km's a detour takes you to lalgunj - Bacchrawan which is double lane and OK'ish. There is lots of local traffic (cycle, bike, Bullock cart). After Bacchrawan we are on NH 24B which as usual is great.

hvkumar · 18th October 2010, 19:17

Sailor, thanks for updates on the roads least travelled!

vrprabhu · 18th October 2010, 22:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sailor

Dudgaon - Nirmal - Adilabad town: Great 4 lane road. You have to go through the town, potholed road. (08:23 - 09:10, 94 KMs)

That's one hell of ride, Sailor!! (94 kms in 47 minutes = Average Speed of 120 kmph)

Great contribution on the road conditions - you seem to be on a cross country tour!

hvkumar · 19th October 2010, 11:10

Surprised to hear that NH7 between Jabalpur and Maihar is in a bad condition.

Sailor · 19th October 2010, 13:55

Thanks @HVKumar: You have been an inspiration to us. Current road condition from Jabalpur to Maihar is not so good. We reached Jabalpur at around 12:30, and it took us 6.5 hrs to reach Maihar. However this is on a Civic. Scorpio / Safari will be able to gobble up the type of road we encountered without much ado.
Based on this experience am wondering which route to take for return. Several options:

1. Lko - Allahabad - Rewa - Maihar (Halt) - Jabalpur - Nagpur (Halt) - Hyd
2. Lko - Etawah - Shivpuri (Halt) - Bhopal - Nagpur (Halt) - Hyd
3. Same route as we took earlier

Please suggest?

Thanks @vrprabhu: That was a nice section and the road did help us to rev up pretty well. I am on this trip from Hyderabad to Lucknow (Via Nagpur - Pachmarhi - Maihar - Chitrakoot). Return journey starts Friday AM.

hvkumar · 19th October 2010, 14:04

Sailor, I think the Shivpuri route is best even though it is longer. However, you do not have to go to Etawah, you can take the EW corridor from Pukharayan/Bhognipur crossing 25 kms from Kanpur on NH2 (towards Etawah). Road till Jhansi is not great but after that it is one of the fastest roads in India.

My friend did the Allahabad-Rewa route before the rains, reported it to be terrible.

shabahmad · 19th October 2010, 17:36

Hello Kumar Sir,

After 4 months in Kolkata, I am going back to pune and driving back in my WagonR. I am planning to do it in 3 parts:
1. Kolkata to Sambalpur:
I wont dare again to take the NH6 route Kharagpur-kendujhar-Deogarh-sambalpur, so taking the longer NH6-NH60-NH5-NH42. Kol-KGP-Chaudwar(Calicut)-Sambalpur. Also refered your GQ logs till Calicut. As NH6-NH60-NH5 are parts of GQ they will be easy to travel, Need to know the current state of NH42 from Chaudwar till Sambalpur. After monsoon there is no update on this region.

2. Sambalpur to Durg: Straight NH6 and 2 lane and quite OK road 4 months back. Might detiorate post monsoon.

3. Durg to Nagpur further Pune: Durg-Ngp is 4 lane but lane markers & work on divider were going on when i traveled last time. Situation might improve. Further Pune is by short route via wardha-karanja-jalna-nagar-pune. Part 2 & 3 would be simple and wont be much problem as roads in maharastra were mostly in good state.

As you always instruct, i Will be starting early in morning around 4.00 for each phase. Any other suggestion is always welcome

hvkumar · 19th October 2010, 17:43

Shabbir, no update on NH42 after the rains. PM Kalinga, he is based in Bhubaneswar and should have the answers.
NH6 is quite OK from Sambalpur onwards.
So is the Karanja route from Nagpur.

8th October 2010, 22:18	#377
hvkumar Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 7,369 Thanked: 3,454 Times	Heard that the Trivandrum-Tenkasi road via Nedumangad, Palode & Tenmala is closed because some section of the road is washed away in the rains this week, and is not expected to be restored - any confirmations on that?
	() Thanks

9th October 2010, 13:06	#378
Sailor BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: College Station Posts: 45 Thanked: 0 Times	Hyderabad to Nagpur condition We started off on Hyd - Nagpur leg at 05:40 from Hyderabad: Road condition: Hyd - Kamareddi: Grt 4 lane highway (05:30 - 07:06, 140 KMs) Kamaraddi - Dichpalli : Two lane, four laning in progress. OK roads slow progress ( 07:06 - 07:45, 42 KMs) Dichpalli - Dudgaon: Ok' ish road (07:45 - 08:23, 50 Kms) Dudgaon - Nirmal - Adilabad town: Great 4 lane road. You have to go through the town, potholed road. (08:23 - 09:10, 94 KMs) Adlabad town road: (09:10 - 09:33 13 KM) Pitstop at BP dhaba: Dirty restrooms, poor choice of food. BP dhaba - Pandharkwada: (10:18 - 11:15, 45 Kms) pretty bad roads, need to be very cautious on this sector. Diversions crop up every 3 - 5 KM, sometime without any notice, the only signal you may get in dust cloud ahead to the car in front suddenly bobbing up and down and slowing down. I found a car ahead of me and kept tailing her till cleared that area. Pandharkwada - Hinganghat: Ok'ish road. Diversions and bad road but far apart. (11:15 - 12:30, 75 Kms) Hinganghat - Nagpur (Deen Dayal Nagar): grt roads except the famous railway crossing just before airport (12:30 - 13:10, 75 Kms) Overall: 530 Kms in 07hrs 30 Mins.
	() Thanks

9th October 2010, 16:20	#379
hvkumar Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 7,369 Thanked: 3,454 Times	Road to Siliguri Calcutta-Siliguri, via Bardhaman, Siuri, Malda, Dalkola NH60 from Darjeeling More (NH2, near Durgapur) to Morgam (before Farakka on NH34) is messy, since road widening is going on, lot of diversions, lots of driving on shoulders. NH34 between Raiganj & Dalkola (Calcutta-Siliguri highway) is terrible. So is the road after the 4 laned road ends before Bagdogara. Last edited by hvkumar : 9th October 2010 at 16:21.
	() Thanks

9th October 2010, 16:21	#380
hvkumar Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 7,369 Thanked: 3,454 Times	Siliguri-Guwahati Siliguri-Guwahati, via Mynaguri, Drupuguri, Falakata, Cooch behar From Siliguri onwards NH31 via Myanaguri, Drupuguri till Falakata is totally broken. Improves only after Falakata towards Cooch Behar. Alternative route via Sevoke, Gayerkata, Hashimara & Alipurduar is also in very bad condition.
	() Thanks

17th October 2010, 04:24	#381
Sailor BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: College Station Posts: 45 Thanked: 0 Times	Nagpur - Pachmarhi Nagpur - Pachmarhi via Saoner - Chhindwara - Patalkot - Tamia. Entire route is absolutely great except for a small section between Patalkot - Tamia which is patchy and single laned.
	() Thanks

17th October 2010, 04:57	#382
Sailor BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: College Station Posts: 45 Thanked: 0 Times	Pachmarhi to Maihar Pachmarhi to Maihar via Pipariya - Bankhedi - Amgaon - Kareli - Narsimhpur - Gotegaon - Shahpur - Jabalpur - Sihora - Katni - Maihar I was advised to take the Bhopal - Jabalpur highway route (via Bareli) however based on advise by MPTDC employees at Pachmarhi (who had travelled to Jabalour a few weeks back) we decided to take the SH route 1. Pachmarhi - Jabalpur: This section (on SH) passes through lots of towns and quite a few railway crossings. Roads are great and there are quite a few tolls on this section till Shahpura. Road from Narsimhpur to Shahpura to Jabalpur are just horrible. Road is very bad with really huge craters. Very annoying and tiring drive. 2. Jabalpur - Maihar: This section too has been battered by Monsoons! Roads have lots n lots of potholes, crateres and there doesn't seem to be any work in progress to rectify the road. Our drive of approx 400 Kms took close to 13 hours. Attached Thumbnails
	() Thanks

17th October 2010, 05:25	#383
Sailor BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: College Station Posts: 45 Thanked: 0 Times	Maihar to Lucknow Maihar to Lucknow via Satna - Chitrakoot - Banda - Fatehpur - Lalgunj, Bacchrawan Maihar to Chitrakoot is SH and what a beautiful drive. In this section early morning we revved up to 130 Kmph very easily. After Satna, this road narrows down to a single lane road, however this road is tarred and well maintained. (06:45 - 10:10, 120 Kms, incl 1 hour stop at Kothi for breakfast) Chitrakoot to Banda: This section is NH 76, however this road is under construction. Several patches as long as 10 KM are not prepared, though not potholed there is considerable loose material making the ride very unpleasant and slow. This section passes through three towns, where the traffic slows you down considerably. (12:30 - 15:00, 70 Kms) Banda - Fatehpur: Great two lane road. However this road also passes through couple of towns and lots of speed breaker. (15:00 - 16:00, 80 Kms) Fatehpur - Lucknow: Horrible road connecting Fatehpur to GT road (NH2). After traversing on GT road (which seemed excellent) for a few Km's a detour takes you to lalgunj - Bacchrawan which is double lane and OK'ish. There is lots of local traffic (cycle, bike, Bullock cart). After Bacchrawan we are on NH 24B which as usual is great.
	() Thanks

18th October 2010, 19:17	#384
hvkumar Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 7,369 Thanked: 3,454 Times	Sailor, thanks for updates on the roads least travelled!
	() Thanks

19th October 2010, 11:10	#386
hvkumar Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 7,369 Thanked: 3,454 Times	Surprised to hear that NH7 between Jabalpur and Maihar is in a bad condition.
	() Thanks

19th October 2010, 13:55	#387
Sailor BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: College Station Posts: 45 Thanked: 0 Times	Thanks @HVKumar: You have been an inspiration to us. Current road condition from Jabalpur to Maihar is not so good. We reached Jabalpur at around 12:30, and it took us 6.5 hrs to reach Maihar. However this is on a Civic. Scorpio / Safari will be able to gobble up the type of road we encountered without much ado. Based on this experience am wondering which route to take for return. Several options: 1. Lko - Allahabad - Rewa - Maihar (Halt) - Jabalpur - Nagpur (Halt) - Hyd 2. Lko - Etawah - Shivpuri (Halt) - Bhopal - Nagpur (Halt) - Hyd 3. Same route as we took earlier Please suggest? Thanks @vrprabhu: That was a nice section and the road did help us to rev up pretty well. I am on this trip from Hyderabad to Lucknow (Via Nagpur - Pachmarhi - Maihar - Chitrakoot). Return journey starts Friday AM.
	() Thanks

19th October 2010, 14:04	#388
hvkumar Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 7,369 Thanked: 3,454 Times	Sailor, I think the Shivpuri route is best even though it is longer. However, you do not have to go to Etawah, you can take the EW corridor from Pukharayan/Bhognipur crossing 25 kms from Kanpur on NH2 (towards Etawah). Road till Jhansi is not great but after that it is one of the fastest roads in India. My friend did the Allahabad-Rewa route before the rains, reported it to be terrible.
	() Thanks

19th October 2010, 17:36	#389
shabahmad BHPian Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Pune Posts: 270 Thanked: 21 Times	Need NH-42 Update: Orrisa Hello Kumar Sir, After 4 months in Kolkata, I am going back to pune and driving back in my WagonR. I am planning to do it in 3 parts: 1. Kolkata to Sambalpur: I wont dare again to take the NH6 route Kharagpur-kendujhar-Deogarh-sambalpur, so taking the longer NH6-NH60-NH5-NH42. Kol-KGP-Chaudwar(Calicut)-Sambalpur. Also refered your GQ logs till Calicut. As NH6-NH60-NH5 are parts of GQ they will be easy to travel, Need to know the current state of NH42 from Chaudwar till Sambalpur. After monsoon there is no update on this region. 2. Sambalpur to Durg: Straight NH6 and 2 lane and quite OK road 4 months back. Might detiorate post monsoon. 3. Durg to Nagpur further Pune: Durg-Ngp is 4 lane but lane markers & work on divider were going on when i traveled last time. Situation might improve. Further Pune is by short route via wardha-karanja-jalna-nagar-pune. Part 2 & 3 would be simple and wont be much problem as roads in maharastra were mostly in good state. As you always instruct, i Will be starting early in morning around 4.00 for each phase. Any other suggestion is always welcome
	() Thanks

19th October 2010, 17:43	#390
hvkumar Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 7,369 Thanked: 3,454 Times	Shabbir, no update on NH42 after the rains. PM Kalinga, he is based in Bhubaneswar and should have the answers. NH6 is quite OK from Sambalpur onwards. So is the Karanja route from Nagpur.
	() Thanks