[singhsid]

Folks, I traveled from Hyd to Pune recently (mid Apr) on my bike (07 Enfield Electra), the road from Hyd to Solapur is fine but beyond Solapur it's a mess. There are potholes, the road is being widened so all the construction has left only two usable lanes and there is no concrete divider so you have to battle the oncoming traffic as well.

The traffic was pretty heavy on the road with a lot of buses & tractors but a friend of mine informed me that the tractor traffic peaks only when sugarcane is being transported so it may have eased a bit now.

In conclusion - the road is not too good but with a good car it should be doable, but I would advice people to cover this stretch during the day when there is light - simply not advisable to risk this road in the dark.

[ranjitp1]

I am a regular on this circuit,but offlate I have just stopped driving this stretch,it is that bad between Solapur bypass all the way till Loni(before Pune).It is just one big mess and with absolutely no road shoulder whatsoever.

IMHO,Mumbai people,take the Duronto Express,its excellent and Pune folks take the Shatabdi,easiest way to reach these places till the 4laning is completed.I dont see the 4 laning being completed atleast for the next 18-20months.

[adityarao]

Sorry, I had posted incorrectly on this thread instead of Hyderabad - Bangalore stretch which I did couple of days ago.

I did this stretch last month (Sholapur - Pune May 11/12) to visit my sister at Pune at Magarpatta and the situation here is horrible, its almost impossible to negotiate the oncoming trucks.

[ASHISHPALLOD]

I recommend,
if anyone travelling from solapur to pune via NH9 is not comfortable with heavy traffic between this stretch, can take solapur-nh9-indapur-left turn-12mati-morgaon-jejuri-saswad-hadpsar-pune route.
Though this route is 2lane road with some potholes here and there, the route is safe as far as heavy traffic is concerned.
the stretch between jejuri and saswad is repaired, the stretch between indapur and 12mati is repaired.
Anyone can cruise with speed of 80 from indapur to pune on this route.

[Dicky_GT]

Recent Update: Avoid the NH9 as much as possible completed mumbai- tuljapur-mumbai-yesterday, took the nh9 route that is only good for the first 35 kms where you find the 4 lane. post that there are odd good stretches but with loads of truck traffic. we were stuck at one of the train crossings for a good 30-40 mins even after me going off road and sliding in one of the gaps way ahead of the pile. There were trucks easily in excess of 200 that were stuck on both the sides of the road. (trust me i counted). Not to mention the worst and i mean the WORST st drivers on that route. The road towards tuljapur fro Solapur is nice with comparatively less traffic. People who get advised to take the Barshi -Tamurni to skip Solapur you will end up screwing your suspensions and taking double the time. The only good part through the route is the landscape all around you and the monsoons make it all the more beautiful.

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by ASHISHPALLOD

I recommend,
if anyone travelling from solapur to pune via NH9 is not comfortable with heavy traffic between this stretch, can take solapur-nh9-indapur-left turn-12mati-morgaon-jejuri-saswad-hadpsar-pune route.
Though this route is 2lane road with some potholes here and there, the route is safe as far as heavy traffic is concerned.
the stretch between jejuri and saswad is repaired, the stretch between indapur and 12mati is repaired.
Anyone can cruise with speed of 80 from indapur to pune on this route.

Lovely news Ashish,I hope more people dont get this idea else the 12mati road is going to be as congested as NH9

[ranjitp1]

IRCTC is all set to open their 1st food plaza outlet between Solapur & Pune on NH9,they have tied up with HPCL to open up food plazas in their outlets.Good news!

[ASHISHPALLOD]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

IRCTC is all set to open their 1st food plaza outlet between Solapur & Pune on NH9,they have tied up with HPCL to open up food plazas in their outlets.Good news!

I hope, IRCTC will provide eatable food rather than that famous, tasty, good looking rail meal.

[RoadTiger]

Will be planning Hyd-Mumbai in 2-3 weeks time, all day-time driving. A question for the gurus of this route:

Which is the better route given traffic and current road condition
1. Solapur - Indapur - Baramati - Jejuri - Sasvad - Khed/ Kapurhol - NH4 - Pune bypass
2. Solapur - Tembhurni - Akluj - Phaltan - Lonand - Loni - Shirwal - NH4 - Pune bypass
3. Solapur - Mohol - Pandharpur - Phaltan - Lonand - Loni - Shirwal - NH4 - Pune bypass

Also, when on NH4 approaching Pune, are there any landmarks to know the right direction to head onto the Pune-Mumbai expressway?

Thanks in advance. Appreciate your help !

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by RoadTiger

Will be planning Hyd-Mumbai in 2-3 weeks time, all day-time driving. A question for the gurus of this route:

Which is the better route given traffic and current road condition
1. Solapur - Indapur - Baramati - Jejuri - Sasvad - Khed/ Kapurhol - NH4 - Pune bypass
2. Solapur - Tembhurni - Akluj - Phaltan - Lonand - Loni - Shirwal - NH4 - Pune bypass
3. Solapur - Mohol - Pandharpur - Phaltan - Lonand - Loni - Shirwal - NH4 - Pune bypass

Also, when on NH4 approaching Pune, are there any landmarks to know the right direction to head onto the Pune-Mumbai expressway?

Thanks in advance. Appreciate your help !

The landmark would be an approaching flyover at Hadpsar. Take the left from below the flyover and turn left and follow that road and it goes out on other side of the road that leads to Panvel and MPEW

When I did this route in Dec-2010, that particular stretch was little bad.

You can read this post for more details :-

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...ml#post2207157

[RoadTiger]

That was one helluva travelog, mobike008 .... its a drive i'd love to do someday ! Thanks for the hadapsar flyover tip.

Though, am wondering if I need to go towards Hadapsar from NH4 side (B'lore highway side) ... I believe there is a bye-pass road that actually allows you to bye-pass pune and get on to the EW.

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by mobike008

The landmark would be an approaching flyover at Hadpsar. Take the left from below the flyover and turn left and follow that road and it goes out on other side of the road that leads to Panvel and MPEW

When I did this route in Dec-2010, that particular stretch was little bad.

You can read this post for more details :-

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...ml#post2207157

Avi dont bother with this route anymore,its gone bad and traffic is crazy,this is the Saswad road that you are talking about.

Originally Posted by RoadTiger

That was one helluva travelog, mobike008 .... its a drive i'd love to do someday ! Thanks for the hadapsar flyover tip.

Though, am wondering if I need to go towards Hadapsar from NH4 side (B'lore highway side) ... I believe there is a bye-pass road that actually allows you to bye-pass pune and get on to the EW.

The best route at the moment is Hyd-Solapur-Indapur-After the bustand take a left towards Baramati(via junction)-Baramati-Morgaon-Jejuri-Saswad-Kapurhole-NH4-Take a right-New Katraj tunnel-Mumbai bypass road-Dehu Road-MPEW.

This is the best route at the moment.This route also takes you through some interesting temples of saswad,morgaon,the jejuri khandoba,the balaji temple made by venkys(exact replica of tirupati).

4 laning is still in progress in between indapur and pune.I drove the nh9 partially till solapur on saturday,road conditions are ok till solapur,some rough patches but would take you around 5 hours to reach solapur and another 5 hours to reach pune and then 1 hour to reach the mpew,1.5hours to reach Panvel and from thereon totally dependent on mumbai city traffic conditions

[RoadTiger]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

4 laning is still in progress in between indapur and pune.I drove the nh9 partially till solapur on saturday,road conditions are ok till solapur,some rough patches but would take you around 5 hours to reach solapur and another 5 hours to reach pune and then 1 hour to reach the mpew,1.5hours to reach Panvel and from thereon totally dependent on mumbai city traffic conditions

Thanks, ranjitp1 - this is great info.

I figure it would take at least 12 hours to get from hyd-navi mumbai ... i think most overnight volvos that ply on this route take 12-13 hours as well for hyd-vashi incl. 2 breaks of 30 mins

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by RoadTiger

Thanks, ranjitp1 - this is great info.

I figure it would take at least 12 hours to get from hyd-navi mumbai ... i think most overnight volvos that ply on this route take 12-13 hours as well for hyd-vashi incl. 2 breaks of 30 mins

Yes I do Sainikpuri to Borivali in around 15hours with a total of 30-45mins break.

If you are driving through Pune,then just continue on NH9 all the way till Swargate Bus stand,where teh road ends,take a left there and go all the way upto Katraj,where you take a right onto the Mumbai bypass road and continue till Dehu road.

Best is to leave Hyd by 330,reach Solapur by 830,Pune by 3pm.Breakfast stop at solapur,lunch stop on the expressway.The second food court is better than the first one,more options.You should be in Panvel by 5pm.ofcourse traffic jams are something you cannot predict,especially on the solapur-pune stretch,you would find the entire country's truck traffic on that road as the road serves as an important link between the north and south(trucks going to delhi and beyond take the Temburni-Karmala-Nagar route to Agra to save on the GQ tolls)

There are no eateries enroute absolutely,so carry your breakfast.Also carry your original car documents as solapur cops are notorious when it comes to AP registered vehicles.

[RoadTiger]

Cant thank you enough, ranjitp1

If I make the trip, will start around 430 or so and hope to reach Palm Beach road in Navi Mumbai by 6-ish.

Is doing Sasvad-NH4-Pune bypass a better option than going through Pune city (via swargate) ??

I have done Hyd-Mohol-Pandharpur earlier. Am familiar with the Solapur route - but seems the worst part of the trip from Indapur to Pune.