[Ram Pratap]

Dear Team-BHP members,

I would request to know the condition of the roads, at this time of the year. I have request for the following info. : -

1) Whether it is advisable to travel now - monsoon , post-monsoon days ?
on the trip : Bangalore - Vizag - Tatanagar or Ranchi

2) How's the road situation ? Between the different Major/minor places ?

3) Whether it is advisable to travel during day ( 6 AM to 8 PM max. ) or night driving is possible on specific stretches and safe, as well ?

4) Above all - From Bangalore to Vishakhapatnam ( Vizag ) - what may be a better route / way -

A) Bangalore - Tirupati- Nellore-Vizag , OR

B) Bangalore - Hyderabad - Vizag
( Since place of stay may be readily available ( relatives ) so could stay overnight at Hyderabad rather than having to take a hotel at Nellore , etc.

5) Road segments are better in which route ?
And, in case of any problem / breakdown which route offers better respite in terms major / minor towns or facilities nearby - with facilities like
hotel/lodge, mechanics, etc. ?

6) I need to travel to TataNagar or Ranchi or beyond.
Any of you who is a good driver as well & is planning a ride anytime during this month, from Bangalore ?

I plan to hire a driver but have not come across a reliable \ OK-type one, till date, A seasoned driver - who knows the route well and can be helpful in any emergency situation.
One who can backup as an alternate driver when I feel tired of driving.
Most of the driving shall be done by me, perhaps.

In this regards I may consider people who plan to travel on the same route, viz. Bangalore-Vizag-Baripada- Then ( perhaps Bhubaneshwar or Jamshedpur )

In case anyone in Team-BHP forum member is available / knows any reasonable / known / trustworthy people or driver ( one or two people at max. ) to give me company. As I do not want to be driving all the way all alone. ( for safety reasons & maybe as - a backup driver. Since I plan to be
traveling alone + ( perhaps another 1 or 2 people + a driver ) ).

Since I plan to travel alone; In case I get reliable people, I wanted to see the possibility of eliminating the need to hire a driver.

I plan to undertake the journey, perhaps, anytime later this month.

7) Feedback regarding safe unsafe road segments would be really welcome.

8) How soon this journey ( in terms of hours / no. of days ) may be covered ? based on different choices.

9) Any helpful suggestions in regards would be welcome.

10) What may be the route if one has to go to either Tatanager or decides to go to Ranchi ?

11) Where diversion from the GQ needs to be taken in order to enter Jharkhand ?
- keeping in mind the road conditions and the safety factor.

Thanks,
Ram

[hvkumar]

As of now, the road from Ichchapuram (AP-Orissa border) onwards is as good as non-existent and looks like it will take along time to be repaired - diversions, broken bridges, ravaged roads, traffic jams.

Advice is to cancel or postpone this drive.

[romyeo4u]

You don't have to touch Hyd for going to Vizag from Bangalore you can check AKROY's travelogue.
2nd route is good one after Nellore its a breezer NH5 part of the GQ till Vizag its the same.
route info from mapxl




No clue beyond Vizag .
as HVKUMAR said, you might consider your travel plans

[Saurabh M]

Reviving an old thread.

I am planning to drive from Bangalore to Ranchi and back, in Oct this year. I have started the planning process and are restricted by the below factors:

1. I am planning to cover the distance in 2 days (door to door) - one side
2. The car to be used is a Figo (D)
3. Will leave Bangalore by 4am for onward journey

In this regard, I would like to have information regarding the following:
1. Best route to take and road conditions enroute
2. The route needs to be safe as my family will be with me (I would try to avoid driving after sun down, especially on Day 2).
3. Reasonable and safe hotels enroute for the night over
4. Recommended food stops

Please share your inputs and suggestions to help me plan my travel.

Thanks,
Saurabh

[julupani]

Originally Posted by Saurabh M

Reviving an old thread.

I am planning to drive from Bangalore to Ranchi and back, in Oct this year. I have started the planning process and are restricted by the below factors:

1. I am planning to cover the distance in 2 days (door to door) - one side
2. The car to be used is a Figo (D)
3. Will leave Bangalore by 4am for onward journey

In this regard, I would like to have information regarding the following:
1. Best route to take and road conditions enroute
2. The route needs to be safe as my family will be with me (I would try to avoid driving after sun down, especially on Day 2).
3. Reasonable and safe hotels enroute for the night over
4. Recommended food stops

Please share your inputs and suggestions to help me plan my travel.

Thanks,
Saurabh

I dont think it would be advisable to do this in two days. Primarily because of the reason that roads from Baharagora to Ranchi are not good at all. Also security is a concern in parts of this section, even more so after the recent killing of police personnel including an SP in Jharkhand.

For a 2 day journey it will have to be the following.

Day 1: Bangalore-Vizag
Day 2: Vizag-Ranchi

Day two will be a tough drive, due to bad roads in the last 200kms.

My suggestion will be to break this into a 3 day drive.

Day 1: Bangalore - Vijayawada
Day 2: Vijayawada - Balasore
Day 3: Balasore - Ranchi

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by Saurabh M

Reviving an old thread.

I am planning to drive from Bangalore to Ranchi and back, in Oct this year. I have started the planning process and are restricted by the below factors:

1. I am planning to cover the distance in 2 days (door to door) - one side
2. The car to be used is a Figo (D)
3. Will leave Bangalore by 4am for onward journey

In this regard, I would like to have information regarding the following:
1. Best route to take and road conditions enroute
2. The route needs to be safe as my family will be with me (I would try to avoid driving after sun down, especially on Day 2).
3. Reasonable and safe hotels enroute for the night over
4. Recommended food stops

Please share your inputs and suggestions to help me plan my travel.

Thanks,
Saurabh

Still a lot of time to go. Roads will take a beating during the monsoons & we have to re-assess by end-Aug their relative condition.

If you choose to go the East Coast way, then, please note the following:
1. Easier to go via Hyderabad to Vijaywada than via Tirupati & Nellore
2. I would avoid Baharogara route to Ranchi, which is perpetually bad & unsafe. Instead, I would take the Kharagpur-Calcutta-Durgaapur-Purulia route (if road is OK at that time) or better still go via Asansol, Gobindpur, Dhanbad & Chas to Ranchi.

[skumare]

I travelled Vijayawada-Nellore-Vijayawada recently and the double laned roads are dug up, either for expansion or construction of under passes at each intersection. Most of this construction might be over by Aug/Sep (assuming this stretch doesn't get too much rain as usual). Worth checking the latest status in Sep before confirming your route plan.

[julupani]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

1. Easier to go via Hyderabad to Vijaywada than via Tirupati & Nellore

Agreed on this point, considering the 6-laning work that is progressing between Chennai and Vijayawada

Originally Posted by hvkumar

2. I would avoid Baharogara route to Ranchi, which is perpetually bad & unsafe. Instead, I would take the Kharagpur-Calcutta-Durgaapur-Purulia route (if road is OK at that time) or better still go via Asansol, Gobindpur, Dhanbad & Chas to Ranchi.

The routes you have suggested require a huge 300-400kms extra distance and 4-5 hours extra time, which in my view is completely pointless, from both the safety and road condition point of view.

Roads in this section are always bad, so I doubt monsoon can make any significant difference anyway. Also on the safety front, region around Purulia is also considered very unsafe. The Purulia-Chandil section is generally considered the worst of them all.

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by skumare

I travelled Vijayawada-Nellore-Vijayawada recently and the double laned roads are dug up, either for expansion or construction of under passes at each intersection. Most of this construction might be over by Aug/Sep (assuming this stretch doesn't get too much rain as usual). Worth checking the latest status in Sep before confirming your route plan.

With the completion of 4-laning in Bangalore-Hyderabad-Vijaywada, this is the effortless route to get to the East Coast from Bangalore instead of the conventional Nellore route, where road widening is still on, and you have to go on 2-laned roads till Nayudupet from the KA border onwards. Going via Hyderabad (Outer Ring Road) means avoiding the city also.

Originally Posted by julupani

The routes you have suggested require a huge 300-400kms extra distance and 4-5 hours extra time, which in my view is completely pointless, from both the safety and road condition point of view.

Roads in this section are always bad, so I doubt monsoon can make any significant difference anyway. Also on the safety front, region around Purulia is also considered very unsafe. The Purulia-Chandil section is generally considered the worst of them all.

Driving on highways - we don't go by the shortest route but the fastest, better & stress-free routes. Even if you give me a police escort and/ or a military tank, I would not go on the Bahorgara-Jamshedpur-Ranchi route, whose sorry condition has been discussed multiple times in various forums. Not counting the extortion, safety issues, etc. I would go 200 kms+ extra to avoid an unsafe route. Going via Calcutta & Durgapur makes it a stress-free very good-experience, and would get me to Ranchi faster too. I still prefer the Dhanbad route, but may consider the Purulia route if its condition remains good after the rains.

[julupani]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Driving on highways - we don't go by the shortest route but the fastest, better & stress-free routes. Even if you give me a police escort and/ or a military tank, I would not go on the Bahorgara-Jamshedpur-Ranchi route, whose sorry condition has been discussed multiple times in various forums. Not counting the extortion, safety issues, etc. I would go 200 kms+ extra to avoid an unsafe route. Going via Calcutta & Durgapur makes it a stress-free very good-experience, and would get me to Ranchi faster too. I still prefer the Dhanbad route, but may consider the Purulia route if its condition remains good after the rains.

Pray tell me sir, how you will do the 630kms of Balasore-Dankuni-Asansol-Purulia-Ranchi, faster than the 320kms of Balasore-Baharagora-Jamshedpur-Ranchi???

I have myself done Bhubaneswar to Tata numerous times, and travel time is about 7hours. The last 90kms between Baharagora to Jamshedpur takes about 1.5 to 2 hours. Jamshedpur-Ranchi takes about 2.5 to 3 hours.

You are seriously exaggerating the security situation and how bad the roads are.

[Saurabh M]

Thanks a lot for your inputs and suggestions. Let me reassess my plan. Safety is the highest priority on this route.

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by Saurabh M

Reviving an old thread.

I am planning to drive from Bangalore to Ranchi and back, in Oct this year. I have started the planning process and are restricted by the below factors:

1. I am planning to cover the distance in 2 days (door to door) - one side
2. The car to be used is a Figo (D)
3. Will leave Bangalore by 4am for onward journey

In this regard, I would like to have information regarding the following:
1. Best route to take and road conditions enroute
2. The route needs to be safe as my family will be with me (I would try to avoid driving after sun down, especially on Day 2).
3. Reasonable and safe hotels enroute for the night over
4. Recommended food stops

Please share your inputs and suggestions to help me plan my travel.

Thanks,
Saurabh

Day 1:
BLR-HYD:7hrs
Outer Ring Road:45mins
Hyd-VJA:3.5hrs
VJA-VIZAG:5HRS

Day2:
VIZAG-BHUB:6hrs

If you do not want to do after sun down driving,then I would suggest that you do BLR-Vijayawada,VJA-Bhub,Bhub-Ranchi to get to Ranchi on day 3.

[ampere]

Just curious:

How Raipur-Raigarh-Ranchi ? I see that it about 600km. How is the road condition? Because if its any good, then Bangalore-Hyd-Nagpur-Bhilai-Raipur forms a complete 4-lane section.

[julupani]

Originally Posted by ampere

Just curious:

How Raipur-Raigarh-Ranchi ? I see that it about 600km. How is the road condition? Because if its any good, then Bangalore-Hyd-Nagpur-Bhilai-Raipur forms a complete 4-lane section.

Could you elaborate the Raipur-Raigarh-Ranch route.

I had heard of 4-laning of the Raipur to Bilaspur road, though I dont think this project is complete. Other than that no idea about road conditions in Chattisgarh. Also, I dont think the roads approaching Ranchi from the south are any good either.

Overall, I doubt you will get too many good roads between Raipur and Ranchi, which I imagine would be a good 500kms or so.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by julupani

Could you elaborate the Raipur-Raigarh-Ranch route.

Frankly I have no idea about roads in that region. I was just looking at Google maps, I notice : Raipur-Raigad-Sambhalpur-Ranchi.

Hence my questions.