Team-BHP - Mumbai - Nashik : Route Queries

Quote:

Originally Posted by doga (Post 5814200)

After reading this thread I hurried to my email inbox to check cancellation rules of my Sula Vinyard stay in 2nd last week of Aug. I was mortified to read the 100% cancellation charges which basically means I am now stuck with the reservation. Any chance the Samruddhi Mahamarg will be open before the 22nd of Aug? Reading the posts in here, I am certain my Vento is going to have a hard time. Any suggestions to avoid the torture?

As a resident of Nashik, based on earlier experience I don’t expect the highway conditions to improve before mid-September.
I suggest that you take the train - there are two Vande Bharat trains between CSTM and Nashik Road which stop at Dadar, Thane and Kalyan en-route. Reliable and good time keeping. Dadar-Nashik in around 3 hours.
4 other trains with AC Chair car also operate on this route.
Nashik Road is about 45 minutes from Sula. Sula could arrange a taxi for you. Ola also operates in Nashik.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Suprit (Post 5816398)

Thanks for the suggestion, if I was visiting just Sula then I'd have hopped on the Vande Bharat surely, however, I have plans to travel on to Indore from there, and then on to Ujjain. I do not fancy too many train changes.
What are your thoughts on this detour?

Kalyan->Murbad->Malshej->Otur->Kotul->Sangamner->Sinnar->Nashik

Is it any good?

Quote:

Originally Posted by doga (Post 5817324)

If it helps, IndiGo flies from Nashik to Indore Tue/Thu/Sat, 1105-1220.

I plotted your route on Google Maps - Kalyan to Sula per that route is around 273kms, of which 45kms is on a State Highway. By NH160 it is 142kms.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Suprit (Post 5817387)

Yes, this route is 100 km longer however if surface is good and congestion is lot lesser, I will not mind at all. But agreed, generally most are, not only on here but other social media, discouraging road travel to Nashik in the rains. I really need to sit down and ponder over my plans now. Indore bookings are fortunately still refundable!

Since we do this trip every 14 days, we did this yesterday too and here is an update.

Firstly, its impossible to do this journey in the night unless you own a 407 or a Jonga or something which is a truck, miss one or two potholes and even your Thar Or Fortuner will be standing on the side of the road, they are that massive and deep.

We started at 1.45 from Ghatkopar East which is non peak hours when it comes to Mumbai traffic, reached Thane bridge which bifurcates into Nashik Highway and Ghodbunder in 35 minutes after which the mayhem starts.

Traffic with a huge jam just before a bridge which is before the Bhiwandi bypass. Almost 30 minutes gone in one jam. Ahead there are some more diversions from bridge constructions and slip roads are bad, so 1-2 kmph speeds with long line of vehicles going slowly.

The bridge near Shapur which is one way for both sides of traffic had practically no jam from our end to Nashik but had a 3 to 4 kilometer jam on the other side with repair work going on the side which is working too, so you can imagine.

Then comes the Toll Naka and from there starts the random potholes on the highway, huge and extremely deep. We drove at 60-70 almost till Dharamachakra some 20 kilometers from Nashik. One such pothole I almost went into had to take the car off track on the extreme side of the road to avoid it.

Reached Nashik at 7.30, making it an almost 6 hour journey.

If anyone wants to go Nashik, either do it super early morning or early afternoon when the world is at office or sleeping. Can't be done at night and in heavy rains.

The return journey from Nashik was yesterday and here is another story which is different from the one while going.

We left at 7.30 in the morning from Nashik, the potholes were even bigger while coming back. Some bridges were constructed but not opened by the administration but by the highway users themselves as the roads below were not motarable even at 1 kmph. These bridges have almost step like structures in between, so at night if you drive and think you can just drive fast on them, you will be in for a rude shock, drive slowly on these structures during the day too as these steps just suddenly appear.

The bridge overpassing the railway crossing at Shahpur had no traffic on our side luckily this time but the other side had a 4 to 5 km jam. Near Vasindh, google maps turned full red on our side till I could see and people were U turning and taking some left roads etc. The jam seemed 4 to 5 kilometers and was hardly moving. I found a left turn which Google maps was showing as an alternative and as I entered, the size of the Crysta and the size of the road was the same but I ploughed through and small towns were passed with horrible interior roads. When I came back on the highway, I realised what the jam was about. The under construction bridge near Vasindh had the slip roads which was the highway now and in such bad shape that people were crawling at 1 kmph with just one lane operational. This was what was causing the kilometres of traffic jam.

Some more jams ahead later, we reached home at 2 o clock @ Ghatkopar East, a 6-nd half hour drive for just 170 kilometers.

I posted this on Instagram and one user commented this, please let me know if you guys know this route, copying his message in entirety

"If you are coming from the Nashik side, then take the left to Shapur, there is a way to connect Samruddhi highway and then take Samruddhi from the wrong side till Thane and in between there is a road connecting to Padhga, it goes to that town and then opens to the regular Mumbai-Nashik Highway. You will miss this long traffic jam, but you need to ask other people as the highway is still under construction and local people drive through Samruddhi and they know this road, so you will need to follow them through here"

I think the entire state government, road and transport minister, local administration should resign and the contractors who have built these roads heavily fined and jailed.
Its just lack of empathy towards road users as well as corruption at the highest level which is causing all of this.

140 rupees toll is charged for this nonsense.

Quote:

Originally Posted by krrisdrive (Post 5823915)

Hi Friends,

Planning to go to Ajanta starting from Panvel around 10 PM tonight. GMAP is suggesting Mumbai-Nasik route only so as to join Sammrudhi EH at Igatpuri and not suggesting via Chakan to join Sammrudhi EH near Sinnar.

I know that Thane till Igatpuri is in total mess. Any suggestion from recent traveler to take this gamble to save 30 mis approx (that too at night).

Thanks in advance

Sorry, Looks Like I missed your post. Mumbai - Nashik is deadly at night, would not recommend but looks like you already did it ( do share your experience)

Also, looks like I am the only one posting updates on this thread these days, so here goesrl:

We left yesterday at 4 from Mumbai, Mom had her pet scan today morning at 6.30. What a big jam near Shapur because everyone was coming from the on going lane and blocked the whole highway.

Potholes and bad roads have become even more worse. Unfortunately for us, it started raining and became very dark by 6 ish and we had around 110 kilometers more left. Drove at 60-65 all the way till Nashik with both hands on the steering wheel and Ninja reflexes if a pothole was spotted, they could be measured in feet like last time. The bridge work ahead of Goti which says 'Take right for Samruddhi Expressway' has a bridge which is under construction and the road below cannot be driven at more than 1 kmph and this goes on for 600-700 meters. :Frustrati

We got the pet scan results and we had to come back in the night as we have an oncologist appointment tomorrow afternoon. Drove again at 60-65 with massive potholes, if you miss, tata to your tyre/rim. Took us 5nd half hours as because of Janmasthami there was no traffic jam at Shahpur or Padgha. What a stressful journey though.

Nitin Gadkari is a reel minister only and should resign. If after months of news papers/online media and news channels running campaigns, users tagging him all the time on instagram, twitter and facebook with pictures and complains of roads being bad, he is still not able to do anything to this highway, then he is not fit to be in his role.

All entry points to Mumbai except the Pune one are in tatters, do we even have a government?

Guys, I was just thinking, has anyone tried this Navi Mumbai--Old Mumbai--Pune highway till Chouk--Karjat--Neral--Murbad--Shahpur route for doing Mumbai--Nasik ?? This route seems longer involving internal state highways but one can avoid the present horrible mess on NH3 from Thane till Shahpur. Timing wise it seems slightly higher, but one can have mental peace while driving, avoiding all the horrible roads and heavy traffic at least until Shahpur. Anyways, I am going to try this detour soon, so will get back and update.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vivek95 (Post 5830579)

Guys, I was just thinking, has anyone tried this Navi Mumbai--Old Mumbai--Pune highway till Chouk--Karjat--Neral--Murbad--Shahpur route for doing Mumbai--Nasik ??

Have used this route a month back. The road from Chowk to Karjat is full of road works but post that it is much better. A long stretch before Murbad is concrete (not good levelling) with intermittent parts of mud and gravel roads.

Post Murbad got stuck in a jam due to diversions for road works. And then there was another Jam where the road meets the Mumbai Nashik highway as the intersection was jammed with cars coming from the wrong side on either lane.

Leaving Mumbai from any direction is the worst thing one can think of doing. The state of roads in Maharashtra are pathetic. It’s Shameful that we pay such high taxes and are forced to deal with such poor roads. And these situations bring out the worst in us. Driving in the oncoming lanes of the highway besides the median and also the shoulder is a main cause of the traffic jams.