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Old 7th September 2008, 22:15   #1
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Baroda - Surat Road Conditions - Updates

Hai TBHPers,

There are lots of people asking for updates on this section, this is one section which throws man-made plans to the winds on the GQ if conditions are against you. I am sure many of you, like me, are getting PM's / sms and calls for updates here, this thread should benefit all. If the MODS find there is already a thread on this section, please merge / move this. Tnx.

If this secttion is completed, it would take hardly 2 hours to do the 150 kms, now it takes anywhere from 3-5.

Update of today:

I had to go on a personal mission with family and thought it would be useful to those on this route.

Home - A'Bad - 0 km- 745 am
Expressway Entry - 29km - 805
Exit - 116 km- 850am
Baroda BP - 118km - 855am
Nyan Mandir Breakfast stop - 204km - 1030 am- stop for 30 mts
Baruch toll gate - 206 km- 1105am
RT into Surat thro. NH6 - 276km - 1215 pm
Udhna - 298km - 0100 pm
Udna start - Join back on NH8 - 321km - 345 pm
Hotel swagat - 336km - 405pm - coffee stop - 30 mts.
clean neat option, lots of space to park
Expressway entry - 489km - 746 pm
Exit - 576k - 826 pm
Home - 596km - 9 pm.

Road conditions: Lots of improvement, work is goin on pretty fast, still switch-backs and bottlenecks slow you down. Being a holiday, traffic relatively thin,still lots of lumbering truck make you crawl behind them. It's frustrating work to overtake thro left, cut in and out; with an aggressive drive I took 3 hours from Baroda to Surat. There's no traffic block or jam, main junctions were all manned by cops who regulate the traffic, its flowing slowly but smoothly.

On a week-day it would be wise to plan 5 hours to cross this section.

--Ramky
========
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Old 3rd February 2009, 18:09   #2
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Surat - Baroda

I am going from Mumbai to Ahmedabad on Sat 14th Feb.
What are the current Surat to Baroda conditions like?
Planning to leave early from Mumbai, around 5am.
Hearing third hand stories of it taking at 'least 5 hrs' to cross Surat to Baroda and that there are some NEW diversions currently in place?
Any one done the journey in the last week or two?
Thanks
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Old 5th February 2009, 13:00   #3
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Hai Raja,

Work is going on very fast from Baroda to Ankleswar on the L&T road, word is out that this section would be opened up in June 09, similar to / better than Kishangadh - Jaipur model with latest information boards etc., Right now, you need to plan for 5 hours from Surat to Baroda, if you are lucky you'd end of doing it in 3 hours.

Wish you luck,

--Ramky

Quote:
Originally Posted by Raja View Post
I am going from Mumbai to Ahmedabad on Sat 14th Feb.
What are the current Surat to Baroda conditions like?
Planning to leave early from Mumbai, around 5am.
Hearing third hand stories of it taking at 'least 5 hrs' to cross Surat to Baroda and that there are some NEW diversions currently in place?
Any one done the journey in the last week or two?
Thanks
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Old 5th February 2009, 13:25   #4
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Thanx Ramkya sir ji. Would definately help.
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Old 5th February 2009, 14:45   #5
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Thanks Ramkya1, I will try and post a quick report on my experience after the journey. Wish me luck
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Old 13th February 2009, 11:57   #6
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Raja, am planning to do Mumbai-Ahmedabad route on Friday 18th. Please post an update concerning the Surat-Baroda route.
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Old 13th February 2009, 13:56   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dark_horizon View Post
Raja, am planning to do Mumbai-Ahmedabad route on Friday 18th. Please post an update concerning the Surat-Baroda route.
Just came back from Bombay this morning. Baroda - Surat. lots of diversions, UnEven Road Surface. Jammed for almost 1 hour in the morning. around 4 AM. Overtake it from worngside in Jam. and you can escape long queue.
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Old 13th February 2009, 15:21   #8
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I drove thrice to Surat and Twice to Shirdi in last two months

As mentioned by many, average time to consider is @ 4 Hrs. for Surat -Vadodara. (Tolerance is plus minus an hour minimum to your luck)

If you wish to avoid Surat - Vadodara traffic to and from Mumbai, find below alternative route by some added kilometers can be adopted with some pleasant scenery and hassle free drive as bonus.

Be on NH 8 till Navsari Grid Crossing

From Navsari Grid take Right exit to Bardoli.

Navsari - Bardoli
Bardoli - Mandvi
Mandvi - Netrang
Netrang - Rajpipla (Road passing through Rajpipla Jungle)
Rajpipla - Tilakwada (Passing by Sardarsarovar Dam & surrounding Jungle)
Tilakwada - Dabhoi
Dabhoi - Vadodara

On approach to NH8 take right for Ahmedabd.

Road is quite safe to drive for late night drive with family too.

Only mater of concern is do not travel through this road if you are not sure about your vehicle's reliability. Almost no garage is there from Mandvi - Vadodara, except junctions where you find a garage worth repair diesel head only.

All the best...
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Old 14th February 2009, 02:20   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeeper View Post
From Navsari Grid take Right exit to Bardoli.
Navsari - Bardoli
Bardoli - Mandvi
Mandvi - Netrang
Netrang - Rajpipla (Road passing through Rajpipla Jungle)
Rajpipla - Tilakwada (Passing by Sardarsarovar Dam & surrounding Jungle)
Tilakwada - Dabhoi
Dabhoi - Vadodara
On approach to NH8 take right for Ahmedabd.

Road is quite safe to drive for late night drive with family too.

Almost no garage is there from Mandvi - Vadodara.
Thanks for the safety update, Jeeper. Friends of mine driving back on NH8 were stuck there overnight. I knew about this route, but wasn't sure what the safety aspect would be in the middle of the night, so I was apprehensive about diverting them on to this route. In general I've found Gujarat to be very safe for late night trips in the mid-/late-90's, am not too familiar with what the ground realities are after 10-12 years.
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Old 14th February 2009, 17:33   #10
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Thanx for replying @ Nisarg & Jeeper.

My plan is to leave Mumbai on Friday 20th, reach Surat and stay overnight. Next day morning, leave for Patan via Ahmedabad, night stay in Himmatnagar. Sunday morning, leave Himmatnagar for Ambaji darshan, and return back to surat the same day. Monday, back to Mumbai.

My car is Honda City Gxi, and am relatively new to highway driving. Have done Mumbai-Surat-Mumbai earlier, but have never driven beyond Surat in Gujarat. Can the above distances be done in the days allocated ?
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Old 15th February 2009, 11:46   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dark_horizon View Post
Thanx for replying @ Nisarg & Jeeper.

My plan is to leave Mumbai on Friday 20th, reach Surat and stay overnight. Next day morning, leave for Patan via Ahmedabad, night stay in Himmatnagar. Sunday morning, leave Himmatnagar for Ambaji darshan, and return back to surat the same day. Monday, back to Mumbai.

My car is Honda City Gxi, and am relatively new to highway driving. Have done Mumbai-Surat-Mumbai earlier, but have never driven beyond Surat in Gujarat. Can the above distances be done in the days allocated ?
Not to worry, the City will do this very well. In fact, if you leave Mumbai early morning, you can reach reach Haimmatnagar same day; no need to stay in Surat unless you have an agenda there. Except for the Surat Baroda Stretch, the road would be good and you'd make good time.

It would be a good idea to plan for a whole day for Ambaji, on a Sunday, there would be a huge crowd, with a day in hand you don't have to worry about finishing fast and if crowd is less and if lucky, you can cover Shyamalaji also on the return leg.

Happy Driving,

--Ramky
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Old 16th February 2009, 08:45   #12
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Thanks Ramakrishna, will be useful to me during my numerous sorties in the area.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar
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Old 16th February 2009, 14:21   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM View Post
Thanks Ramakrishna, will be useful to me during my numerous sorties in the area.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar
Hai Behram,

Are you planning to ride thro. these parts / joining in with dark_horizon?

It would be the unkindest cut if you don't plan for a short meet on/off the road.

----
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Old 16th February 2009, 17:28   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ramkya1 View Post
Not to worry, the City will do this very well. In fact, if you leave Mumbai early morning, you can reach reach Haimmatnagar same day; no need to stay in Surat unless you have an agenda there. Except for the Surat Baroda Stretch, the road would be good and you'd make good time.

It would be a good idea to plan for a whole day for Ambaji, on a Sunday, there would be a huge crowd, with a day in hand you don't have to worry about finishing fast and if crowd is less and if lucky, you can cover Shyamalaji also on the return leg.

Happy Driving,

--Ramky
-----------
Checking other threads on the forum discussing this route, i found alternatives to surat-baroda route. Apart from the normal route through Bharuch, one goes through Jambusar after Bharuch, and the other
Navsari - Bardoli
Bardoli - Mandvi
Mandvi - Netrang
Netrang - Rajpipla (Road passing through Rajpipla Jungle)
Rajpipla - Tilakwada (Passing by Sardarsarovar Dam & surrounding Jungle)
Tilakwada - Dabhoi
Dabhoi - Vadodara

Which one would you suggest in terms of less traffic and shortest travel ?

And @ Behram, when are you planning to do this trip ?
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Old 17th February 2009, 15:13   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dark_horizon View Post
Checking other threads on the forum discussing this route, i found alternatives to surat-baroda route. Apart from the normal route through Bharuch, one goes through Jambusar after Bharuch, and the other
Navsari - Bardoli
Bardoli - Mandvi
Mandvi - Netrang
Netrang - Rajpipla (Road passing through Rajpipla Jungle)
Rajpipla - Tilakwada (Passing by Sardarsarovar Dam & surrounding Jungle)
Tilakwada - Dabhoi
Dabhoi - Vadodara

Which one would you suggest in terms of less traffic and shortest travel ?

And @ Behram, when are you planning to do this trip ?
If you want FASTEST BET, its Surat-Baroda on NH8, if you're lucky you'd do it in 3 hours, average 3-5 hours, if unlucky you'd get caught in a jam. Have lots of business friends driving to Surat 2/3 times a week, the jams are becoming lesser and lesser because the L&T sections from Baroda to Ankleswer are smooth, more regulated and ready to be handed over in June / July, 09.

If you're driving from A'bad-Mumbai and have a whole day, you can try out all the other alternative routes. They are single track, mostly good with patches of bad roads, more scenic, interesting, twisty, less traffic and would take more or less the same drive time. If you do not know the exact route / turns and don't have a log sheet to follow or a GPS to give you direction guide, don't try, you'd end up taking the wrong turn and waste a whole lot of time. I've done most of these routes and know the pit falls of taking wrong turns.

With your schedule, don't think anything other than NH8, no chance of missing turns, its one straight road.
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