[inder]

Did hyd-ngp today. Started from Gachibowli at 6:30 in the morning.Took the Miyapur route instead of ORR,since it was early morning and traffic was sparse. Took 3 breaks of 10-15 mins each and reached nagpur around 1:45. Maintained speeds of around 100kmph. Car was scorpio.
The road around around Pandharkawda is in a very bad shape. Must be around 25km again between wadner and wadki its patchy with diversions. Rest all its 4 laned.

[varunmukund]

Dear BHPians,

I finished my drive from Bhilai to Bangalore.

Started from Bhilai on 25th early morning at 2 am. Straight away took Durg Byepass. It had a toll of Rs 52/-. I think it is way too much. Anyways from then on till Maharashtra border it was a smooth ride. There was some truck traffic at MH checkpost but nothing troublesome. This was the first time I was doing this route and I thought the road is completely 4 laned till Bhandara. Well 99% of the road is, but there were three spots through a small ghat section where the road is 2 laned and they were definitely minor shockers for me.

From Bhandara till Nagpur Outer ring road lots of road widening work is happening. This section I believe should be avoided at night. This kinda reminded me of the initial days when Avinashi construction was happening. Thankfully truck traffic was kinda less.

At the junction point where the Nagpur outer ring road starts, the cops stopped us. Since all our papers were in place, they couldn't find anything on us. Out of desperation, he even asked whats those boxes in the boot, have you fixed an LPG kit?

That done, we got onto NH7 at Jamtha at 6.50 am. Then on, the 4 lane highway till Hinganghat railway crossing was a breeze. We had breakfast in Hinganghat at some small dhaba.

Now from the railway gate till wadki was pretty bad. Some places there were no clear signs indicating diversion. I got confused at a place on whether I should take the road constructed on the left side or continue on wrong side. After this, again we had 4 lane highway till outskirts of Pandharkawada.

From Pandharkawada till AP border again we have bad roads, but I believe the stretch between H'ghat and Wadki was much more stressful. I wish all TBHPians the best who are going to try this stretch at night time. I think with high power headlights and moderate speed, night driving should be Okay. However I would strictly avoid it.

From Andhra border onwards the quality of roads is excellent. The whole place was extremely hot and I had to face two flat tyres during the course of the journey. Finally got fed up and changed all 4 tyres to Michelin XM2 after reaching Hyderabad. The stock JK 2007 version were not used much and car had ran only 11k, but the drive was getting very wobbly and any speed of 80+ was denting my confidence.

To add, I guess XM2 is a great set of shoes for the car. The in-cabin noise has reduced considerably and the car runs with confidence.

I stayed at Swagath De Royal Hotel, Gachibowli. Must say, quite impressed by the place and their service.

[ranjitp1]

News reports saying chandrapur is flooded and approximately 15000 people displaced in and around Nagpur due to rains.CNN iBN is reporting this

[abhidube]

Diwali time and with long waiting lists in train, looks like it's time for another Bangalore-Bhopal trip.

Saw a post on another thread and things doesn't seems to be positive.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...halsari-6.html .

Last I went on this route, there were 2 bad patches of 20KM each. From the post it looks like, things have gone worse. Can somebody reconfirm if the newly built road also got damaged ?

If end-up travelling, it'll be a Duster and a XUV, so slight bad roads should be fine.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by abhidube

If end-up travelling, it'll be a Duster and a XUV, so slight bad roads should be fine.

Another option can be :

Bangalore-Pune-Nagar-Shirdi-Malegaon-Mhow-Indore-Dewas-Bhopal

Good 4-lane for all round but :

- Heavy traffic from BLR-Nagar
- Pathetic roads around Shirdi around 25km before Shirdi)


But you can work around them by break at Pune for Day1 and start very very early the next day to beat outgoing Pune traffic.

[abhidube]

Thanks Ampere. Definitely an option but 200+ extra KMs. Now need to figure-out what'll take more time :-(.

Hopefully will get some more updates before the travel.

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by abhidube

Thanks Ampere. Definitely an option but 200+ extra KMs. Now need to figure-out what'll take more time :-(. Hopefully will get some more updates before the travel.

Abhi - I would stick to Ampere's recommendation for going to Bhopal. My brother did Bangalore-Bhopal a few months back and according to him, other than the 2 bad stretches b/w HYD and NGP, NH69 is quite bad at places and HORRIBLE after Hoshangabad. He came back via Indore/Pune and confirmed that it was a much better alternative, albeit longer. An added advantage would be that you would avoid going via AP (in case of any agitation that happens at that time, if you are unlucky).

[abhidube]

AP Agitation is definitely a big factor now. Night drive is suggested to avoid road blocks but with kids, usually avoid night drives. In case I decide to take the roads, will update the forum on route taken and condition.

Thanks again for all the inputs.

[nilanjanray]

Folks I will be driving from Bnglr to Nagpur. When I last did this trip, in June 2012, I took the ORR from Shamshabad, then went through Gachibowli - Miyapur crossing - Medak road to hit NH7 near Medchal.

Is the ORR ready to hit NH7 near Medchal, or do I take my earlier route? I will be passing through late at night or very early morning to avoid raasta roko issues.

[hyd_traveller]

Originally Posted by nilanjanray

Is the ORR ready to hit NH7 near Medchal, or do I take my earlier route? I will be passing through late at night or very early morning to avoid raasta roko issues.

The ORR is ready for the stretch you want to cover. Ready as in with some diversions and some work in progress between Patancheru and Medchal so be alert.

Toll is applicable for the whole stretch.

Shamshabad (Bangalore Highway) - Kokapet (do not exit to Gachibowli like last time) - Patancheru (Bombay Highway) - Medchal (Nagpur Highway).

No rasta roko issues anywhere on the ORR or even on the main arterial roads of Hyderabad as yet.

[cool_dube]

What is the latest on HYD-NGP? Are the two notorious bad stretches still a pain in the rear?

[RoadTiger]

Originally Posted by cool_dube

What is the latest on HYD-NGP? Are the two notorious bad stretches still a pain in the rear?

You bet ... still a pain in the rear. I had traveled a few months back and there were some signs of work underway - but perhaps flattered to deceive.

About a fortnight back, my cousin traveled and reported "horrible" roads on both stretches. So no luck :(

Complete mismanagement by NHAI over the years !!!

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by RoadTiger

About a fortnight back, my cousin traveled and reported "horrible" roads on both stretches.

This is really frustrating. Wonder what is holding it up! But for these 2 stretches, BLR-NGP can be done in 12 hours flat now that bypassing HYD is a breeze!!

[Freebird82]

Did this stretch on Nov 1, 2013. I think "absolutely horrible" would be an apt way to describe the road conditions from Maharashtra border till Hinganghat railway crossing.

Just to set context, Medchal to Maharashtra border took about 4.5 hours (distance of 310 kms), and then border to Nagpur ORR took 4.5 hours (distance of 190 kms). There is a total distance of approx 40-45 km which is pathetic (dug-up, no asphalt, very uneven) and another 50 kms approx of okay to bad roads. What also worsens the situation is that the dug-up and non dug-up roads keep alternating with no clear signages. In my opinion, night driving should be totally avoided, lest a random stone damage the underbody and there is no help around.

Originally Posted by cool_dube

What is the latest on HYD-NGP? Are the two notorious bad stretches still a pain in the rear?

[nilanjanray]

I did this stretch in October. Took me 6 hrs 15 mins to do Hyd - Nagpur (crossed the bad stretches in the morning), and 7 hrs 15 min to do Nagpur - Hyd. While coming back it was night and it was drizzling, and the potholes were covered with water when I went through the bad stretches. Entered wrong/closed lanes a few times before deciding that I will always go where trucks are going or coming from. Went over some nasty potholes at decent speed - they appear suddenly at times, and their depth can be deceptive. My windscreen and side windows were full of mud and dirty water, had to get down to clean the headlights.

I was driving a 4WD SUV, if you are driving a sedan or hatch, you might want to avoid those bad stretches in the dark, especially if it is raining. When I was crossing the border in the morning (during my onward journey), I saw quite a few folks who looked like ruffians. Won't be good to get stuck in the night near the MH side of the border.