[VT-RNS]

Originally Posted by tanwaramit

I am not sure if this is answered here earlier, with the DME, will it bypass Baroda - Ahmedabad Expressway with a separate road for DME Or will the Baroda Ahmedabad Expressway become a subset (part) of DME once DME is opened ?

The DME has a crossing (goes above) with the Baroda-Ahmedabad Expy, and thats how we connected directly to it while coming from Bharuch on the DME.

Thus, there is no overlap between the two. they form a X of sorts. What will happen is that the Bharuch to Baroda part, which is only till Baroda-Ahmd Expy today, will continue ahead towards Godhra & Dahod to join the NE4 (DME) that is open slightly north of Dahod.

Honestly, if even this stretch opens up (Baroda to Dahod), we can do the Baroda to Delhi drive in 12-14 hours basically in 1 day easily.

Hope this helps!

[BABABOT]

Originally Posted by Archisman

Planning on Vadodara-Dehradun road trip with the wife and two kids. Planning to take night halts at Kota and Delhi.
Need suggestions for good moderately priced hotels (~Rs 3000 ish) at Kota and good places to see at Kota in the evening.
Are there decent resting places on NE4 between Kota and Delhi?

At Kota you can visit the Chambal River front. It has been done wonderfully. The whole family will enjoy it

[Annibaddh]

Very detailed write-up VT-RNS. Have done both of these stretches multiple times - and I must agree. Rajasthan’s and recently even MP are just a league apart when it comes to highway quality. Even the SHs in Raj (although riddled with ridiculous rumblers) are excellent quality in terms of tarmac. Have driven extensively in RJ (right up to Tanot and Longewala) and was amazed at the roads. Just a joy! MP also is rapidly building infra. On the other hand GJ roads are becoming worse by the day. And MH has simply lost it.

On the Indore - Dhule section you can literally see the difference in the road quality from a distance as the MH border approaches. And then it remains poor till about 30-40 kms before Dhule.

And worsens again as you cross Nashik. Too many junctions, with poorly planned speed beakers make it hell for any kind of rhythm driving. For context I used to manage (with comfortable driving), MH-Indore in about 9 hrs driving time. My last trip took 14! Enough said about Mumbai - Surat anyway.

Cannot wait for DME! And despite what Gadkari keeps claiming don’t see it completing in 3 years even.

[Yogibaba]

From Baroda, it's better to take the Halol bypass towards Godhra and go to Shyamlaji and connect with the Udaipur highway. Less traffic and good roads....shorter distance.

Originally Posted by VT-RNS

Hi Folks,

[sinharishi]

Originally Posted by Yogibaba

From Baroda, it's better to take the Halol bypass towards Godhra and go to Shyamlaji and connect with the Udaipur highway. Less traffic and good roads....shorter distance.

Not anymore. It was our default choice till 2023. The travel time is much faster via ADI. Also, with NE4 open, you connect directly to NE1. The only painful stretch is ADI RR but I see this as an advantage as you get some clean restaurants + toilets.

Udaipur bypass has been open for a while, we took it for the first time in Dec 2023! We stopped staying at Udaipur and Nathdwara TMC is now our default choice. Roads are getting better everywhere except MH.

[Mgdoodler]

Originally Posted by VT-RNS

This post documents the Delhi NCR to Mumbai return leg of the journey.

Overview: Delhi NCR - NE4 (Sawai Madhopur) - Kota - NE4 (Ratlam) - Dhar - via Agra-Mumbai NH - Dhule - Nasik - Thane - Powai - Mumbai Western Suburbs

Pay the toll as you approach DME & off you go towards Mumbai.

We stopped once just after toll on 148NA (the connector link) — lack of washrooms is a pain! Not even at toll booth.

We make our first pit stop is near Alwar. Till Jaipur/Dausa, there is plenty of traffic & rest stops. Should only get better from here. Road quality is good. We keep ourselves in 2/3 lane and at 100 kmph.

Given the quick progress we were making, we decided to skip Kota and zeroed in on Ratlam for the overnight halt. The Lalsot exit (NH23 crossing that goes to Tonk) approaches quickly, where we had joined last time around when coming from Mumbai. Let's see this other way to reach Kota this time around.

A quick word on this crossing as it was a weird one where everyone was asked to exit the Expy & rejoin again if going towards Baroda.
On the Twitter thread, I have posted the map which exhibits how one pays an exit toll once, takes the roundabout & then scan the tag again to join the #NE4 100 mts ahead! When asked, they said it’s two different contractors & to track better. Short term solution I believe!

The NE4 was brilliant from here on & devoid of traffic! Worth the minor inconvenience I guess
As the traffic really thins out, some "fancy" cars zoom past, most likely on way to Ranthambore.
This stretch of NE4 is till Sawai Madhopur exit only and we halt for lunch at Sharma's Dhabha, soon after exiting. You won't have much options, and this place suffices.

From here on, its pretty much a two lane non-divided SH all along. First its SH1 & then you join SH29 at Indergarh onwards to Kota outskirts.
Dunno why take the toll, road is nothing to speak about (its not bad!), & lots of speed breakers. Toll disease is too much! Sigh!
This also explains why my uncle had suggested the alternative route via Tonk to join at Lalsot junction of NE4 on our way to Delhi. It is a tad bit longer, but driving is comfortable.

Since it was Sat afternoon, GMaps showed same time via Kota city as against the NH27 bypass to reach the Jhalawar road NH52 exit. This NH52 to Jhalawar road is concrete, good, but also very busy. Lots of truck traffic. We crossed Mukundara Hills ghat at sunset, just in time if you ask me. I won't want to be driving there late at night even if you can expect traffic here at this crossing always.

Just after the ghat, GMap shows an alternative route, strictly for (small) cars in my opinion, through villages Pipalda & Bholoo. We went through in the dark as we were convoy of cars.
But, I suggest to take NH52 & take right towards Morak & Modak as its a proper NH & join NE4 again.

The NE4 Delhi Mumbai Expressway from here is basically empty, incredibly smooth & a joy to drive. Stick to your lane, keep an eye for stray animals (yes, they do come!) and the occasional 2W from the villages nearby.
We made quick time here & reached Ratlam exit by 9 pm! Our stay for the night was at Balaji Central Hotel.
Considering Ratlam, it was a very nice room! Paid a high price (4k) as it was sat night & wedding season. But theek hai, dinner & breakfast was yum (b/f included). I had poha with accompaniments that you only get in this part, so very good!



Literally, no highway that connects Mumbai is good !! FFS!!


To conclude,
1) DME NE4 Expressway is a game-changer! Can't wait for Delhi-Baroda stretch to open at the earliest, while we wait longer for the Baroda-Mumbai section.

@VT-RNS. Many thanks, your report has come just in time as I was planning my year end trip north. Was confused if I should take on the DME from Gujrat via Dahod or later at Lalsot via Udaipur / Jaipur. Now I will be taking it from Thandla.

Thanks & happy driving
Mgdoodler

[Roan J]

Took NH 48 from Mumbai to Bharuch on the afternoon of 3 Jan 2025. Approached the route with trepidation since I've read a lot of reviews on the bad road conditions. Started from Vasai at about 12.00 pm. There were intermittent bad stretches and construction on, but these were very short stretches. Heavy truck traffic but could still maintain speeds of 70-80 kmph. Reached Palsana in the evening and then there were many jams due to local traffic on roads crossing the highway but these cleared quickly. Reached Bharuch at 7.00 pm. This was enroute to Statue of Unity, which we visited the next day.

[Sa!lor]

Originally Posted by VT-RNS

Thus, there is no overlap between the two. they form a X of sorts. What will happen is that the Bharuch to Baroda part, which is only till Baroda-Ahmd Expy today, will continue ahead towards Godhra & Dahod to join the NE4 (DME) that is open slightly north of Dahod.

Hi I am travelling for Baroda to Panna national park and route shown on Google map is taking NE4 from Dahod till Modak.
I wanted to know if this section is completely operational as I can see some yellow sections on Google map on NE4.

[Roan J]

Originally Posted by Sa!lor

Hi I am travelling for Baroda to Panna national park and route shown on Google map is taking NE4 from Dahod till Modak.
I wanted to know if this section is completely operational as I can see some yellow sections on Google map on NE4.

To my understanding, the DME can only be used between Thandla (an hour from Dahod) and Chechat (about 15 minutes from Modak). I drove on this section two weeks back (coming from Statue of Unity and heading to Delhi).

[Sa!lor]

Originally Posted by Roan J

To my understanding, the DME can only be used between Thandla (an hour from Dahod) and Chechat (about 15 minutes from Modak). I drove on this section two weeks back (coming from Statue of Unity and heading to Delhi).

Yes you are right, I entered DME from Thandla and took exit from Chechat after which I drove towards Jhansi and reached Panna.

[PGNarain]

We finally completed our Mumbai - Delhi - Haridwar Trip over the Christmas Break.

We had two cars in our small convoy, a total of 4 adults and one kid.

Thanks to all the inputs here, we decided to take the following route to and from Delhi - Haridwar.

Mumbai to Haridwar: Navi Mumbai > Nashik > Indore (Night Stay) > Ratlam > Joined DME at the Nayapura Interchange > Chechat Exit > Morak > Joined DME at the Gopalpur Interchange (Phata Khera) > Laban Exit > Kota > Tonk > Jaipur (Night Stay) > Dausa > Joined DME at the Dausa Interchange > Exited DME and joined Delhi EPE at Khalilpur Interchange > Exited Delhi EPE and joined NE3 / Delhi Meerut EW at Rasulpur Interchange > Meerut By-Pass Muzaffarnagar > Roorkee > Haridwar

Mumbai to Indore: Started 0430hrs and reached Fairfield Indore at 1700hrs. Roads were ok-ok till Maharashtra border and better after that. Lots of traffic almost all the way.

Indore to Jaipur: Started 0450hrs and reached Raja Garden, Jaipur at 1600hrs. Good Roads and the DME is just marvelous. We only encountered bad traffic near Jaipur.

Jaipur to Haridwar: Started 0400hrs and reached Haridwar at 1300hrs. Easiest day of driving with a large section driven by my wife, while i slept. Mostly E-Ways barring bad / unruly traffic on the Meerut By-Pass.

Haridwar to Mumbai: Haridwar > Roorkee > Meerut By-Pass > Delhi Preet Vihar (Night Stay) > Noida - Dadri Main Road > Joined the DND-KMP EW at the Maha Maya Flyover > Faridabad > Joined the DME at the Khalilpur Interchange > Exit Sawai Madhopur > Indergarh > Kacholiya > Morak / Modak Village (not via Bholoo Village as per Gmaps) > Joined DME at the Chechat Interchange > Bhuteda Exit > Ujjain > Indore (Night Stay) > Nashik > Igatpuri > Thane > Navi Mumbai

Haridwar to Delhi: No sweat really, and easy going. Started from Haridwar around 1215pm and reached Delhi at 1600hrs.

Delhi to Indore: We had initially planned to stop at Kota but decided to continue to Indore as we needed to get back to Mumbai sooner than initially planned. Started 0545hrs and reached Indore 1930hrs. The last about 100Kms took us close to 3 hours due to traffic approaching Ujjain and from Ujjain to Indore.

Indore to Navi Mumbai: The last and unfortunately the worst day of driving. Started Indore at 0730hrs and reached Belapur, Navi Mumbai at 2130hrs. Traffic from Indore was busy all the way till Igatpuri, after which it kept getting worse and worse and worse.
Entry into Mumbai had bad-bad and slow-slow moving traffic, on road diversions. To make matters worse, while entering Thane, Gmaps showed an alternate route, which i mistook for the Kalwa-Airoli route, but took us through Mumbra! We lost a good 30-45mins in what can only be described as slit-your-wrist traffic, especially since we were already on the road for 12+hours.

Nevertheless, it was a great road trip. Had a lot of fun and the hats-off to the DME! It is a game changer and a real, viable alternative to flying north to Delhi / Meerut / Agra etc if you are a family of more than 4 persons, and have time at hand. Once complete, i reckon Mum-Del is going to be an easy two days journey and expect a lot of people to do this in one day flat.

Just hope that roads / utilities are maintained, and people drive sensibly!

[akanad16]

Originally Posted by PGNarain

We finally completed our Mumbai - Delhi - Haridwar Trip over the Christmas Break.

We had two cars in our small convoy, a total of 4 adults and one kid.

Thanks to all the inputs here, we decided to take the following route to and from Delhi - Haridwar.

How is the road after you take the exit in between? I mean is the road condition good?

[PGNarain]

Originally Posted by akanad16

How is the road after you take the exit in between? I mean is the road condition good?

The best that I can recall, roads are average to good throughout, with bad sections only between Mumbai and Igatpuri, and which gets compounded due to traffic. On the way out of Mumbai, we were lucky and did not get too much traffic so it was ok. On the way back, it was bad and made worse by traffic!

Roads between entry / exit in MP, Rajasthan are otherwise in good to very good condition - especially in Rajasthan, and with very few, short sections potholed and / or rutted. Most roads alternating between single carriageway or double-carriageway.

Besides this section, you just need to watch out for shortcuts / alternate routes that Gmaps might keep pushing you onto, we constantly and deliberately stuck to main roads / highways even if the time taken was slightly longer.

Besides this, on a long journey always be prepared for the unexpected. For us, it was when we took the Bhuteda Interchange for Ujjain on the way back. We would have travelled 5-6kms, and the road ahead was completely blocked as a truck had overturned perhaps just 5-10mins before we reached. It forced us into the heart of a village market place and we would have lost 20-30mins crawling through a busy street, dodging people and bikes with cms to spare!

[libranof1987]

My parents recently travelled from Pune to Delhi, and back. While the journey to Delhi was planned in a way to get there without any detours, the return journey included elaborate sightseeing in MP.

The to route taken is as follows: Pune - Gurgaon

Day 1: Pune - Nashik - Ojhar - Sendhwa - Thibgaon (near Dhamnod)

Between Nashik - Pimpalgaon Baswant, there were frequent diversions with two/four lanes blocked for repairs. From Pimpalgaon Baswant - Thibgaon, there were no diversions.

Day 2: Thibgaon - Dhar - Ratlam - Kota - Sawai Madhopur

- Thibgaon - Chechat toll plaza via NH156 and NE4: road condition is very good
- From Chechat toll to the next stretch of NE4 near Mandana, the road is two-lane undivided with two bottlenecks, one where there allow only one lane at a time to cross the railway under bridge
- Mandana to Lakheri is NE4 with very good roads
- Lakheri to Sawai Madhopur is two-lane undivided with good roads

Day 3: Sawai Madhopur to Gurgaon, via NE4, superb roads

On the return journey, they did Gurgaon - Ujjain - Indore - Mandu - Maheshwar - Raverkheda - Pune

a) Gurgaon to Ujjain

- same route traced back until Varni, after Mukundara Tiger Reserve
- After Varni, Ujjain - Garoth road until Ujjain (~125 kms): very good roads (no toll plaza but Rs. 600 toll charged - found out the next day)

Ujjain - Indore: the usual highway

b) Indore - Mandu: via Dhar, good roads but lots of traffic (esp. upto 30kms outside Indore)

c) Mandu - Maheshwar: internal roads, good condition

d) Maheshwar - Raverkhed (Bajirao Peshwe samadhi): very good roads

e) Raverkhed - Dhamnod - Sendhwa - Nashik - Pune: as above

Total kms: ~ 2,960 kms
Total toll: Rs. 3,364
Total fuel: Rs. ~ 19,000

[Blue_Silver]

Hi All,

Need guidance on the best route to travel between Pune to Ahmedabad. How is the road condition on the Mumbai Ahmedabad highway? Is there any alternate route for this section?

Regards.