[manim]

Originally Posted by fiery enzyme

Also what are the best routes from Madurai to Tuticorin? Never done that stretch before.

1) Via Arrupukotai, 140 kms, 4-laning work on full swing, so very irritating to drive.
2) Via Virudunagar, Kovilpatti, 160 kms, great 4-lane roads till Kovilpatti.

I would prefer option 2 till 4 laning gets completed in option 1.

[manim]

I am planning to drive from Tuticorin to Chennai (after a gap of six years!) soon. (There were not much 4-lanes during those old times!).

Will post details on this thread then.

[fiery enzyme]

THanks for all the info guys. I will be taking a break in Madurai as are picking up someone there. So I will have to enter the city.

The part I hate in these drives is where you to enter a city where you dont know directions and find the way out.

Anyway, I will post details on the road conditions once I'm back.

@Manim, how far is it from Kovilpatti to Tuticorin.

Is touching Tirunelveli a round about route?

[manim]

Originally Posted by fiery enzyme

1) how far is it from Kovilpatti to Tuticorin.

2) Is touching Tirunelveli a round about route?

1) Madurai to Kovilpatti is around 100 kms of new 4-lane road, great to drive.
Kovilpatti to Tuticorin: first 15 kms to Ettayapuram is reasonable two-lane road and you join the regular Arrupukottai road there. 45 kms from Ettayapuram to Tuticorin is irritating since 4-lane work is currently going on (Though some stretches are good, roads get extremely bad as you get nearer to Tuticorin).

2) Via Tirunelveli, is 60 kms more. Tirunelveli to Tuticorin is two-lane road with lots and lots of speed-breakers and very narrow-bridges, and I would not advise unless you have some work at Tirunelveli. (4-laning had started five years back and has been completely stopped).

[manim]

Will be driving Tuticorin to Madurai tomorrow via Arrupukottai road (140 kms).
Hope they have finished much of 4-laning and new bye-passes.
When I did this a few months ago a lot of work had not been completed yet.
Will post the road conditions after this drive.

I am planning for a Tuticorin-Chennai drive next week (600 kms).
I will be starting at 5 am in the morning and hope to reach Chennai by late-lunch/evening.
I am confused on buying Mymapindia navigator (LX for Rs.12K) for driving inside Chennai.
Is it worth it? Is it available in shops in Chennai?

[gajadonga]

Please update and post the road conditions after this drive.It will be of immense help.Thanks

[jraj]

Did Chennai - Tuticorin yesterday.

Started post tankingup at Shell Velachery by 6:40AM.Have to encounter traffic on GST.Its only after you cross SRM University at Katangulathur the traffic eases.Then on till Trichy its a dream drive.

Reached Trichy by-pass flyover consruction site at 10:30AM.Be very careful here and try to keep as much distance possible from the vehicle ahead of you.This will help you avoid craters on this road.With rains in TN,this place is full of slush too.Also you have to go through a lot deviations to merge on NH45B.

These diversions are marked but you have only small green boards.You have to be really careful else you will miss them.Also be rest assured that some truck \ banner will be over this boards hiding them from your eyes.

I rejoined NH45B around 11:30 after a hapless 1 hour navigating those diversions.The road work is completed in Trichy - Madurai sector.Reached the BP Ghar at Melur by 12:40.Stopped there for refuelling and lunch.You have to take a U-turn to reach BP and its almost 1 km ahead.The other option is to stop at HP right opposite BP itself.While starting from BP go ahead 400meters and you have a opening to rejoin NH45B to Tuticorin

Madurai - Tuticorin stretch is not completed yet.While returning on 28th,I am thinking of taking the Tuticorin - Kovilpatti - Thirumangalam - Madurai - Trichy - Chennai route

I believe return stretch in the Trichy by-pass is easy as they are allowing one way traffic through those under construction roads.

Hope this info was helpful

[manim]

Originally Posted by jraj

Hope this info was helpful

Thanks!
Your info was very helpful.
Now I am too thinking of taking the Kovilpatti-route instead of Arrupukottai-route.
However Ettayapuram-Kovilpatti is bad at present (20 kms).
But it is Heaven once we hit the 4-lane at Kovilpatti!

[manim]

In just a few hours I will start on a Tuticorin -> Chennai drive . (Civic-AT).
Will post the latest road conditions after my return in about six days.

[Surprise]

Originally Posted by jraj

Tuticorin - Kovilpatti - Thirumangalam - Madurai - Trichy - Chennai route

I believe return stretch in the Trichy by-pass is easy as they are allowing one way traffic through those under construction roads.

Hope this info was helpful

Definitely better option. As you rightly pointed out they are allowing one way (towards Chennai) & should not be an issue

[manim]

I have just completed Tuticorin->Chennai->Tuticorin round trip covering 1,318 kms Successfully.

Car is Civic-AT.
Overall FE 11.8 kmpl. (bad, could not restrain myself on the four lanes ).

Will post road conditions tomorrow (need a good rest!).

[manim]

On my return, started at 4:30 am at Chennai (Alwarpet) and reached Tuticorin at 2 pm, with a long 1.5 hour break at Trichy for breakfast at Jenneys-Residency.

Chennai -> Trichy - fully 4-lane, great! Cruised at 120-130 kmph.

Trichy by-pass still not yet completed, so a bottle-neck with traffic jams and huge craters.

Trichy -> Madurai - 4-lane nearly completed with minor work going on at a few places.

Madurai -> Tuticorin (via Arrupukottai) - I think it might take a few more years for the 4-lane work to get completed. Very bad experience.

[gopikb]

Hi Manim, I did the Bangalore - Tuticorin route last week as well. The 4-lane is fully complete except for 5 bridges between Bangalore to Kovilpatti. So it was a dream to drive and not tiring at all. But post kovilpatti till Tuticorin, the road is pretty bad with Ettayapuram-Tuticorin 4 laning almost seem to going on forever with no end. I did Tuticorin-Bangalore in 11 hours including 2 hours break at Salem. But the best part was the driving was not tiring at all.

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by manim

Madurai -> Tuticorin (via Arrupukottai) - I think it might take a few more years for the 4-lane work to get completed. Very bad experience.

manim, is the 4-laning of Madurai-Tuticorin complete ?

[gopikb]

narayans80, yes. It is very much complete now and absolutely wonderful to drive. I drove the stretch from Madurai to Tuticorin 2 weeks ago. All major towns / villages are bypassed and it took just about 2 hours to cover this distance driving at 90km/hr speed in a Tata Sumo.

With a good car where you can do consistent 110km/ hour speed, you should be able to cover it in 90 minutes max. Traffic was very sparse in the Sunday afternoon when I drove.