[PGNarain]

Went to Kashid over the weekend and though the place was as good as ever - though crowded, the roads are in a mess and traffic worse.

Barring a short stretch just before Alibaug, the roads are either potholed or totally rutted making driving a torturous affair for both the car and occupants.

Heavy truck / trailers just added to the pain and will suggest to anyone travelling to leave early which will at least avoid traffic.

[Engine_Roars]

Hi Guys,

I am planning to drive down to Kashid from Pune on the 13th of Feb. Any updates on road & driving condition would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Ashish

[ragh_bhushan]

Did this route last week. Pune - Expressway - Khalapur Exit - Pen - Vadkhal - Poynad - Kihim / Alibaug / Kashid.

• Only the notorious NH66 (Mumbai - Goa highway) was a painful drive. Slow moving traffic with loads of trucks with overtaking almost impossible.
• Thal road (SH89) should be avoided. Terrible surface.
• Sai Inn Resort on Alibaug - Revas is good place to stay with / without family

Keep revvin'

[libranof1987]

Went to Kashid this past weekend.

Having been to Tamhini last month, I knew first hand how broken those roads are; so, decided to go via Expressway - Pen.

The Expressway was the usual weekend drive, took the Lonavala exit and drove until Khopoli on the old highway. Then got back on the Expressway, took the Khalapur exit - Pen - Vadkhal - Poynad -Kashid.

The roads are horrible once you exit the Expressway, the monsoon has taken its toll. There's only a few patches with good roads but those are far and between.

The roads within the towns in Konkan are backbreaking.

[atnyia]

We'll be travelling with some relatives from Delhi during the first weekend of Januray to Kashid.

I would like to take the Tahmini ghat because it's quite scenic and return via expressway. The Tahmini ghat is definitely doable but I am not sure how good or bad is MIDC-Roha.

Has anything improved in Konkan?

[atnyia]

Originally Posted by atnyia

Has anything improved in Konkan?

I am back from the trip and happy to inform that the road work is ongoing and major pain points are relieved. Everything will be fine within 1 month or so.
We did Pune-Kashid in 4.15 hours both ways.

[cyberwhizs]

Originally Posted by atnyia

I am back from the trip and happy to inform that the road work is ongoing and major pain points are relieved. Everything will be fine within 1 month or so.
We did Pune-Kashid in 4.15 hours both ways.

Thanks, could you kindly elaborate on the road condition on Pen - Alibaug - Kashid section and on the Khalapur - Pen section if you traveled on those sections.

Am planning to travel this weekend.

[atnyia]

Originally Posted by cyberwhizs

kindly elaborate on the road condition on Pen - Alibaug - Kashid section and on the Khalapur - Pen section

When we travelled via expressway and got off at Khopoli:
1) Initial few kilometers on the Khopoli-Pen were not good, but not extremely bad. We did this in mostly third gear with some area in second
2) After four five KMs, road opened up and we were able to consistently drive in the fourth.
3) After cross highway, road till Alibaug was good. Alibaug to Kashid was a mixed bag with some (worst patches) repaired and a few small bad patches. However, there were constant repairs going on up to Murud and everything should be fine by now.
I expect a smooth sailing all the way for you.

[libranof1987]

Went to Kashid this past weekend:

Took the Khalapur exit and then checked Google Maps for the fastest route. While we had gone through Pen last year, Google showed the route via Durshet faster by half n hour.

So, we did Khalapur - Durshet - Pali - Roha - Phansad - Kashid. The problem with the roads is, a) earlier potholes have just been patched up so the road is littered with patches and hence, the ride is not smooth, b) road widening at some places and only a tight single lane road is operational so if you're stuck behind a slow-moving bus/truck, there will be a pile-up.

With a half n hour break both ways, we did Audi (Sus bridge) to Kashid in a little over four hours.

[cyberwhizs]

So Kashid it was over the last weekend.

Mumbai - Airoli - Kalamboli - JNPT road (Panvel bypass) - NH17(or NH66 Goa road) - Wadkal - Alibaug bypass - Kashid.

One halt at trimurti snacks - food is ok, washrooms also just about ok. 150 Km in 5 hours and 30 minutes, NH17 is a pain to drive especially if you are used to dual carriageways, Some parts of the roads in alibaug - kashid stretch have been recently relaid so there are plenty of good stretches and a few bad ones thrown in between so you cannot speed.

On the way back, traffic near wadkal was diverted through a dirt road fit for a 4X4 adventure group. I tried to maneuver to the best of my abilities but the car took a few under body hits courtesy the big rocks and trench/hillock created by trucks passing through the area. I was lucky to get home in one piece. One i10 was not so lucky, it had it's tailpipe hanging out and stranded in the middle of nowhere.

It is approximately around 3 to 4 km stretch. This so called road bypasses wadkal naka and directly connects to NH17. Overall it took 5 hours and 30 minutes on the way back but without any halts.

The beach is clean and good, For the pure veggies out there, there is only one small place next to kashid bus stand/hanuman temple.


PS: Is there a thread which illustrates how to negotiate the typical truck ruts/dirt roads without scrapping the under body for us non 4X4 folks.

[atnyia]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Took the Khalapur exit and then checked Google Maps for the fastest route. While we had gone through Pen last year, Google showed the route via Durshet faster by half n hour.

I think its worth adding that we beat the Google map by 35-40 minutes both ways. It weird because we weren't really driving fast.

In theory, route via Roha should never be faster, unless there is a blockage towards Pen.

[ajay0912]

Hi All,

I am planning to travel to Alibaug (Nagaon) from Pune on 8th November with my famaily. Google maps is showing 2 routes

1. Via Expressway and then Khopoli exit and via Pen
2. Via Tamhini ghat -> Kolad -> kashid

Any suggestions which would be a preferable route in terms of road quality would be very helpful.

Thanks,
Ajay Mahajan

[libranof1987]

Did a Pune - Kashid trip this past weekend:

Pune - Expressway - Khalapur exit - Pen - Alibag - Kashid: roads are good up to Alibag after which it is pure misery. Our airbnb was about 17km further down south from Kashid and it took us two hours from Alibag. We baby'd the car way to minimize bumps so it won't take that long for everyone.

On the return journey, we took misguided advice and did Murud - Roha - Pali - Durshet - Khalapur - Expressway - Pune and the entire stretch until the Expressway was even more painful misery. The roads are broken and there's road widening in progress after Roha which makes things worse.

[libranof1987]

Did another Pune - Kashid trip last few days.

The roads are absolutely destroyed. Our airbnb's caretaker advised us to take the EW exit - Pali - Roha - Kashid route (passes through Durshet), which was just plain awful. On the return leg, came via Pen. This route isn't any better.

The other route from Pune, via Tamhini, doesn't exist anymore. It's that bad.

Overall, it is disgusting how bad the roads are in the region. Consistently. I've been going there last four years and it's been a pain every time. The locals have voted for a different party (than that was in power for the last 15 years); but we all know, we can't expect any better.

I've begun to wonder why I put myself through this misery.

[Torq]

All the roads leading to Western Maharashtra from North to South are in bad to very bad state right now.
Mumbai-Goa NH17 Expressway after Khalapur exit or Khopoli exit, Tamhini Ghat, Varandh Ghat, Amba Ghat, Mahabaleshwar road, Gaganbawda all are pothole ridden and at times non-existent.
Its like Konkan is systematically being made distant and difficult to reach.

Work on Pali-Khopoli road has been going on towards making it a 4 lane highway for about 2 years now. No significant progress yet.
Tamhini Ghat has a similar story, except that recently the repair pace has picked up.
Ambenali Ghat (Mahabaleshwar) - just yesterday a bus fell down 60feet in valley. A repeat of what happened last year when another bus fell in valley with 45 passengers (all from Dapoli Agri Uni) died. Nothing is being done to make it safer.


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