[sachinpk]

Originally Posted by arjithin

Here is the permanent closure verdict by Supreme court ( from todays news paper)

The court had also made remarks (orally) on the importance of leaving the forests to its original inhabitants, i.e the wild animals and other tribals who stay in the forest. Looks like this is an "open & shut" case at least for the time being. Improving the road via Gonikoppal & Kutta seems to be the only way out.

A quick question. There is a less known route via Kanjanhad->Panathoor->Madikeri. I had travelled through this route. Currently heavy vehicles would not be able to go easily on the road, but smaller vehicles can. The night travel ban also does NOT seem to have an effect on this road.

If these alternate roads are made better, then passenger traffic can be allowed through them. Commercial traffic and bigger vehicles would have to depend on the bigger highways or broader roads.

[kala]

Originally Posted by sachinpk

A quick question. There is a less known route via Kanjanhad->Panathoor->Madikeri. I had travelled through this route. Currently heavy vehicles would not be able to go easily on the road, but smaller vehicles can. The night travel ban also does NOT seem to have an effect on this road.

If these alternate roads are made better, then passenger traffic can be allowed through them. Commercial traffic and bigger vehicles would have to depend on the bigger highways or broader roads.

I've travelled through the Madikeri-Bhagamandala-Panathur route several times, and it goes through absolutely deserted virgin forest for about 25-30 kms. Have never encountered any wildlife on that route, but it's a really fantastic drive - especially during the monsoon season when there are a myriad of waterfalls all through the route.

But I don't think it is a viable alternative for travel to Calicut, the distance would be much higher compared to the Gonikoppal-Kutta route. If you are travelling to some place north of Kannur this might be a decent option, but again since the road is almost deserted even during the day, travelling during the night might be a tad risky because if you encounter a breakdown in the middle of the forest help would be hard to come by (And a lot of that stretch has no mobile network coverage as well which makes it even worse).

[coolclouds]

Did Kochi-Calicut-Mysore today. Good surface all the way. Road widening work started between forest exit towards Nanjangud.

[binand]

Going to Calicut on Friday (13/2). Thinking of Malavalli-Talakadu-T. Narasipura and then Nanjangud-Hampapura-Mananthavady. Is the Nanjangud railway crossing a problem? I don't see any trains reaching Nanjangud between 8:15 and 9:45 (which is when I expect to cross the town). Anyone knows how T. Narasipura-Nanjangud-Hampapura is?

[kala]

Originally Posted by binand

Going to Calicut on Friday (13/2). Thinking of Malavalli-Talakadu-T. Narasipura and then Nanjangud-Hampapura-Mananthavady. Is the Nanjangud railway crossing a problem? I don't see any trains reaching Nanjangud between 8:15 and 9:45 (which is when I expect to cross the town). Anyone knows how T. Narasipura-Nanjangud-Hampapura is?

T.Narsipura-Nanjangud had about 5-6 kms of bad sections when I travelled that way a few months ago. No idea about the Nanjangud-Hampapura road.

A relative of mine who travelled to Wayanad via Mysore last weekend told me SH17 in the Bangalore to Mysore direction has undergone resurfacing in a lot of areas and so the number of speed breakers had come down considerably. (Not sure whether it is only temporary and they had removed them only for the purpose of resurfacing and would put them back again). But he also said the return direction was still as bad as before. So may be worth taking a chance on SH17 when going to Calicut. it's much easier to get on to the Mananthavady road from Mysore (as you'd probably know anyway).

If going via T.Narsipur, make sure you don't take the shorter route from Purigaali to T.Narsipur vis Sosale. I tried it last weekend and found that the bad stretches on that section has increased considerably and you have to traverse potholed roads for at least 3-4 kms now. The road via Talakad remains decent (though longer by about 6-7 kms)

The Malavalli-Purigaali section (via Marenahalli lake) also has some road work going on, so you'll encounter a couple of stretches of gravel track (reasonably short - say 100 meters each) where they haven't completed the tarring.

By the way the Chamarajnagar-Gundlupet road has undergone a facelift and it's now fresh tarmac all through till Terakanambi. The remaining portions still have a few rough patches, but much better than it was before.

[tomchacks]

Originally Posted by kala

If going via T.Narsipur, make sure you don't take the shorter route from Purigaali to T.Narsipur vis Sosale. I tried it last weekend and found that the bad stretches on that section has increased considerably and you have to traverse potholed roads for at least 3-4 kms now. The road via Talakad remains decent (though longer by about 6-7 kms)

The Malavalli-Purigaali section (via Marenahalli lake) also has some road work going on, so you'll encounter a couple of stretches of gravel track (reasonably short - say 100 meters each) where they haven't completed the tarring.

On Feb 4th I had travelled on the Purigaali to T.Narsipur via Sosale since I wanted to visit Somnathpura heritage site which is 6 kms off the route. The roads are bad for about 4 kms after Purigaali, with no tarred surfaces. Beyond that the roads are in good condition all the way till Chamarajnagar.

[Rajeevraj]

Drove to Calicut today via Mysore-Nanjangud-Gundlepet. Was expecting it to be uneventful drive from road conditions perspective. But was surprised to see the road widening/4 laning between Nanjangud-Gundlepet-Forest checkpost has really kicked into high gear. When I drove beginning of Jan there was some basic work happening on the road shoulders. But now it is full fledged. This has resulted in several diversions and driving on mud lanes. Below is a clip from my dash cam that that shows one of these diversions. At this time there are 2-3 as you approach Gundlepet and a couple post that.

I think this is going to increase further. Expect it to add 20-30 min to the drive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EUn...ature=youtu.be

[binand]

I eventually ended up going via BM Road, since I managed to start from Bangalore at 3 AM and figured there is no point in taking any of the alternatives that early in the day. I think I managed Bangalore (NICE Road junction) - Mysore (Ring Road junction) in approx. 2 hours. I was well into Mananthavady road by daybreak.

But then the problem started - fog. Soon after Mysore city limits visibility started to reduce. By the time I was about 25 km out of Mysore it had come down to < 15m. Somehow managed till Handpost, where I parked the vehicle, set an alarm and caught up on my sleep. When I woke up at 8 AM the fog had lifted somewhat (visibility restored to 100m+), so overall loss due to fog I'd peg at 1.5 hours. Rest of the journey was uneventful; reached home in Calicut at around 12 noon.

Decided to check out some alternatives on my way back on Sunday. First, took Calicut-Kuttiady-Mananthavady route. This road is quite well-maintained for the most part and at that time of the day, hardly any traffic. In fact the Kuttiady churam is butter-smooth, and the overall Calicut-Mananthavady distance is shorter by about 10-15 km. Though there are two things going against this route:

- It is quite narrow and hence ought to be only used when there is no traffic. In fact at places it is barely wide enough for two cars to pass.
- The final 20 km - from a village called Niravilpuzha - has pretty bad surface. Quite a bumpy ride.

I reached Mananthavady in about 2 hours (5 AM to 7 AM) which is quite commendable. My best times on NH 212 is closer to 2.5 hours.

From Kattikulam I turned towards Kutta and then via the Nagarhole National Park. Unlike other forest entry points, here I was made to enter my name, vehicle number etc. into a register. The road through Nagarhole alternates between new surface and bad surface; very narrow (about a Traveller's-width) that you have to worry about your ORVM but does not allow buses or trucks through. I was entering Hunsur by 8:30 or so.

Beyond Hunsur it is the Mysore-Madikeri road; wide and good but with all sorts of madmen behind the wheels. Once the dual carriageway started one could breath a bit easy (though the wrong-side drivers still make the drive rather miserable).

At Yelwal I turned off towards Srirangapatnam; the milestones said 20km. After about 5km the road abruptly ended. It seemed to be closed to build a railway overbridge at this point: https://goo.gl/maps/c1Cvi

I didn't want to turn back so opened up Google Maps on my phone which directed me through Hebbal Industrial Area to Mysore Ring Road. Three incomplete railway underpasses later I was at Columbia Asia and B-M Road again. After a brief stop at the A2B for "brunch", I reached home at around 1 PM.

[sachinpk]

Originally Posted by binand

The final 20 km - from a village called Niravilpuzha - has pretty bad surface. Quite a bumpy ride.

If I am not mistaken from Niravilpuzha the district changes. Till then it is Calicut Rural Dt, and after Niravilpuzha bridge it is Wayanad Dt. Generally from this point till the NH at Meenangadi the roads are not very good. I have travelled on this route at around 0400hrs in 2013 December. The fog is very very heavy here at that point of time. But it was a good drive.

After about 5km the road abruptly ended. It seemed to be closed to build a railway overbridge at this point

Could be part of the ongoing Mysore-Bangalore line doubling. The work seems to have reaced Srirangapatna side, but delay due to the requirement to move Tippu's Armoury.

[binand]

Originally Posted by sachinpk

If I am not mistaken from Niravilpuzha the district changes. Till then it is Calicut Rural Dt, and after Niravilpuzha bridge it is Wayanad Dt.

The boundary between Calicut (not Calicut Rural) and Wayanad districts is several kilometres prior to Niravilpuzha. I recall seeing the Thank-you and Welcome boards while on the churam itself, definitely before I reached the earlier village of Mattilayam.

Originally Posted by sachinpk

Could be part of the ongoing Mysore-Bangalore line doubling. The work seems to have reaced Srirangapatna side, but delay due to the requirement to move Tippu's Armoury.

The line in question is the Mysore-Mangalore line via Hassan, which is not being doubled at the moment. I'm quite certain the road closure is due to overbridge construction (there was evidence of digging for pillars).

[Rajeevraj]

Returned from Calicut today. After a very long time, took the Mysore route on the return. Since it was the middle of the week, expected traffic to be less and rightly so. Traffic was quite minimal all the way to Bangalore. Even the humps did not seem bothersome, the number seems to have reduced, they are all clearly marked and apart from 2-3 rumble strips, they are all decently made. In addition felt that the humps are now at main junctions and in the towns where one would naturally slow down. In addition it was a welcome relief to have plenty of food/rest room break options. Stopped at the complex called 'Best Break In'( OR something of that sort-Forgot the name) and had food from the Adyar Ananda Bhavan that has opened there. Overall, if I am returning non-peak times, I guess I will take Mysore Road here on.

The 4 laning between forest exit and Gundlepet seems to have really taken off. Any idea why it is being done so fast and what exactly is the plan? Going by the rate of work, it looks like several sections will be ready in a few months.

[ampere]

[quote=Rajeevraj
The 4 laning between forest exit and Gundlepet seems to have really taken off. Any idea why it is being done so fast and what exactly is the plan? Going by the rate of work, it looks like several sections will be ready in a few months.[/QUOTE]

I think thats the NH212 4-laning plan. Dont know whats happening on Kollegal-T Narasipura - Mysore section as well.

[kala]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

The 4 laning between forest exit and Gundlepet seems to have really taken off. Any idea why it is being done so fast and what exactly is the plan? Going by the rate of work, it looks like several sections will be ready in a few months.

A case of priorities being absolutely wrong. The stretch in question was already quite wide, tarmac in excellent condition, and has very sparse traffic - so being a 2 lane road was never a problem. The only issues were the trenches dug across the road in several places which have been around for months now, and no one in NHAI seem to have bothered about them - Instead they've now dug up the entire road in several sections and seem to be lowering the level ?

Looks like there was money allocated which had to be spent before March, and they want to spend it in places where it's easier to do it rather than where it is required to be done.

[binand]

Originally Posted by kala

A case of priorities being absolutely wrong. The stretch in question was already quite wide, tarmac in excellent condition, and has very sparse traffic - so being a 2 lane road was never a problem.

I was thinking this widening came none too late, having seen pretty heavy traffic on this route. Skipping Kollegal - Mysore for the moment, do we disagree that Mysore - Gundlupet and Calicut - Bathery deserve to be upgraded? The court will no allow construction inside the forest, but everything else needs the upgrade in my opinion.

[kala]

Originally Posted by binand

I was thinking this widening came none too late, having seen pretty heavy traffic on this route. Skipping Kollegal - Mysore for the moment, do we disagree that Mysore - Gundlupet and Calicut - Bathery deserve to be upgraded? The court will no allow construction inside the forest, but everything else needs the upgrade in my opinion.

Mysore-Gundlupet - yes, that road has quite heavy traffic, and is narrower than the 15 km stretch from Gundlupet to the forest entrance. I was talking only about the latter section where the traffic has always been very sparse in my experience. (Probably because the majority of the traffic on the Mysore-Gundlupet stretch is Gudalur/Ooty bound ?). And there was nothing wrong with the road surface either except for the trenches which should have been filled in a long long time ago.

Widening the Kerala section from Muthanga to Calicut will probably be as difficult as the forest stretch as is the case with any road in Kerala - land acquisitions being the major bottleneck.