[SideView]

Originally Posted by JohnnyBoss

I am planning to drive to Hyderabad in the first week of September from Kochi. The plan is to start by 2 pm and stay at Salem on the first day and reach Hyderabad by next day evening.

I will be at Bangalore by the peak traffic hours on the second day, so thinking to bypass it through either of the following routes suggested by Gmaps.

1. Attibele-Varthur-Hoskote-Sullibele-Devanahalli-Chikkaballapur
2. Hosur-Chikatiurpathi-Hoskote-Devanahalli-Chikkaballapur
3. Hosur-Baglur-Malur-Hoskote- Devanahalli-Chikkaballapur
4. Shoolagiri-Athimugam-Berigai-Malur-Hoskote- Devanahalli-Chikkaballapur

Solicit comments on the above routes or suggestions for alternative routes for bypassing Bangalore.

Thanks in advance.

Attibele-varthur stretch was horrible one month back. (Imagine bus having to slow down bad, forget cars)

[airguitar]

Hoskote-Tumkur road zone

After a long while took the erstwhile NH207. The stretch between Hosakote and Sulibele is a highly patched and not in great shape, but doable. It took us 50 mins from Hoskote to Devanahalli (which used to be 30 mins ish a few years ago). On the return we took the Devanahalli - Gangawara - Kammasandra - Hoskote route which bypasses Sulibele. This road isn't great either, but somewhat faster due to less traffic. The junction of Hoskote Devanahalli road at Hoskote is a mess - due to the Hoskote bus stop etc right at that junction ( In fact, both the Hoskote town and Devanahalli town junctions are a big mess currently) . So for now, Hoskote - Budigere cross - Budigere - Devanahalli - DB Pur - Dobbespet turns out faster.

Separately, recently tried Nelamangala - Rajanakunte - Bagalur(KA)- Hoskote to bypass bangalore city from Tumkur road to Old Madras Road - not much time saved as a lot of time was lost near Railway Gollahalli and it's traffic jams. So this doesn't provide any time advantage atleast as of now. The upside was driving through IIHR road near Hesaraghatta. Was a bliss late evening with the greenery.

The 4 laning work as we all know between DB Pur and Hoskote is highly active/progressing ( btw, not sure if this IS the PRR, can soeone confirm ?) but looking forward for a day when we can do Hoskote-DBPur-Dobbespet inside an hour (85 kms).


Hoskote-Chikkaballapur zone
Hoskote - Jangamakote - Sidlaghatta - Chikkaballapur is the fastest if you want to go to Hyderabad road / CBP from Hoskote side or from Old Madras Road side.


Hoskote-Sarjapur zone
For those that need a traffic free corridor from Hoskote to Sarjapur, you may use this road : Hoskote - Thirumalashettyhalli cross - Bodhanahosahalli - Muthkur - Gonighattipura - Ittangur - Sarjapur. There are a small bad stretch near Gonighattipura - but it's a zero traffic route with some nice greenery, especially after Muthkur as well as after Ittangur. Worth a try and is the quickest (and any day better than going through Whitefield traffic and shorter than going via chikkatirupathi ).


Hoskote-Shoolagiri zone
The Hoskote Malur stretch despite being a 4 lane is a highly-pothole ridden road now. Avoid at night or if driving when you are tired. While it's still the fastest, you have to really mind the potholes and unmarked speed breakers. Malur to Masthi stretch is good now. Masthi to Berigai has good stretches and bad stretches. Berigai - Athimugam - Shoolagiri is good.

OMR-Hoskote-Varthur
The Hoskote flyover - Katamnallur - Kadugodi - Hopefarm - Varthur sees a lot of traffic at multiple places.

If you want a free run and want to get to Varthur from before Hoskote/OMR, the below is a good option. For all purposes please avoid the "College road" inside Hoskote in a bid to reach Whitefield - you will lose a few minutes due to traffic jams that the town is seening of late.

Use this always for Hoskote to Varthur, it's a "well-hedged" option:
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/MVJ+...hur,+Karnataka

[airguitar]

Glimpses of the STRR between Jadigenahalli and Kattigenahalli on the Hoskote-Malur stretch. I initially (incorrectly) thought that it was the new expressway, but upon closer look it felt like the STRR. Indeed progressing well, but also looks a little inundated.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by JohnnyBoss

I am planning to drive to Hyderabad in the first week of September from Kochi. The plan is to start by 2 pm and stay at Salem on the first day and reach Hyderabad by next day evening.

I will be at Bangalore by the peak traffic hours on the second day, so thinking to bypass it through either of the following routes suggested by Gmaps.

Not worth all this headache which you have penned down.

Just come along on the Hosur Bangalore stretch.
Use the Electronic City elevated expressway. Use the Silk Board flyover to Koramangala.
Maybe you can stop for coffee at Starbucks Koramangala or similar.
Keep straight till you pass Adugodi and hit town Museum Road and Koshys and all. Stop in that area for some time and have a cuppa tea and relax a bit.

(An option is to go down Richmond Road and around Kanteerava Stadium and out through Cubbon Park to the high grounds).

Or from the Koshys area hit the road again - MG road, Cubbon Park corner, Chinnaswamy Stadium, left towards Raj Bhavan, right at high grounds, left at the Bangalore golf club till the Windsor Manor underpass and sweep past the Palace and on towards the veterinary college and hit the Hebbal Flyover and escape to the Airport flyover and out towards Hyderabad on the fast Bangalore Airport highway.

Yes there willl be traffic if you’re in peak hour. But thats still a 100 times better than trying to bypass the city on far away unpredictable and unknown roads.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by airguitar

Glimpses of the STRR between Jadigenahalli and Kattigenahalli on the Hoskote-Malur stretch. I initially (incorrectly) thought that it was the new expressway, but upon closer look it felt like the STRR. Indeed progressing well, but also looks a little inundated.

I thought the STRR runs along the new expressway for some distance and takes off towards Malur while there express takes a 90 degree turn.

[airguitar]

Originally Posted by ampere

I thought the STRR runns along the new expressway for some distance and takes off towards Malur while there express takes a 90 degree turn.

Unclear to me then - let me look it up to understand better.

[JohnnyBoss]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Not worth all this headache which you have penned down.

I did the trip cutting through the city. Stayed at Hosur on the first day and started at 6 am the next day and at Nandi Upachar, Devanahally by 8 am. It was effortless.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by JohnnyBoss

I did the trip cutting through the city. Stayed at Hosur on the first day and started at 6 am the next day and at Nandi Upachar, Devanahally by 8 am. It was effortless.

Thats actually the best option given NH207 is being upgraded to STRR. So its easier to just time your arrival in Bangalore make a fast exit. What you did was perfect.

[sanchari]

One can also take the NICE road from electronic city till Tumkur road exit, and then just drive few kms within the city to reach NH-44 at Hebbal to go onwards to Hyderabad, assuming all the repair works are done on the NICE road

[binand]

Originally Posted by sanchari

One can also take the NICE road from electronic city till Tumkur road exit, and then just drive few kms within the city to reach NH-44 at Hebbal to go onwards to Hyderabad, assuming all the repair works are done on the NICE road

I'm not sure if this is such a great idea. That ingress road (NH 48) is in my experience the most congested entry into Bangalore city by far.

If you are bypassing Bangalore via NICE Road then perhaps better is to go via Nelamangala-Doddaballapura-Chikkaballapura to reach the outbound NH 44. This is going to be very circuitous and unless there are extenuating circumstances, take a lot more time than the route through the city via Madiwala-MG Road-Mekhri Circle.

[airguitar]

Returned on a weekday from Kundapura to Bangalore (whitefield). It's a struggle between Tumkur and BICE road entrance at Makali/Nelamangala.

I ended up taking the Bice entrance after Nelamangala and then exiting at Electronic city and taking the Chandapura route to Whitefield. Crazy as it sounds, it was done in 1.5 hours with zero traffic once I entered BICE. However, the damage was already done driving from Tumkur-Dabbaspet-Makali : 4 lane roads chok-a-block on a weekday due to both car and truck traffic. This stretch really needs an uplift. Until then, is there a better way to get to Hoskote/Whitefield side from say Hosadurga or Sira directly without even having to get to Tumkur or Nelamangala?

I was looking at Sira - Madhugiri - Thondebavi - Doddaballapur - Bagalur - Budigere cross - Whitefield but no wins there. Kunigal - Magadi - Nice road - Electronic city - Whitefield is also not a win.


Left with only two options

1. Sira - Chikballapur - Vijayapura - Hoskote - Whitefield : is a 'hedged' option - meaning there is no big win, but it caps your loss and you don't have to deal with the nonsense between Tumkur and Makali ( not Makalidurg )
   
2. Otherwise, take the hit between Tumkur and Makali ( 40 kms ) and then take the NICE road route, exit at electronic city, then Huskur gate/Huskur and then join Dommasandra and then varthur/whitefield.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by airguitar

Returned on a weekday from Kundapura to Bangalore (whitefield). It's a struggle between Tumkur and BICE road entrance at Makali/Nelamangala.

.[/list]

All these routes seem like pure torture.
Sincerely will this impasse of traffic ever be alleviated I wonder.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by airguitar

I was looking at Sira - Madhugiri - Thondebavi - Doddaballapur - Bagalur - Budigere cross - Whitefield but no wins there. Kunigal - Magadi - Nice road - Electronic city - Whitefield is also not a win.

I had taken this route last month when we returned from Dandeli on a Sunday evening and it took us exactly 2 hours to reach Yelahanka from Sira, in bliss! Roads in general remain good to very good. There was a religious rally in Sira town that did take some time as we navigated through alternate roads to get to the other side. Google maps may show longer time via this route but once you exit Sira town (you will need to cross this town), time starts reducing as roads get better and you gain time due to increased pace.

This is the second time I took this route in last 18 months mainly because it was a Sunday and I hate driving on Tumkur Nelemangala stretch for similar reasons that you have mentioned.

In fact, if I am returning from Hassan side, despite of the back breaking 4 km ride between Nelamangala Town till Golahalli (which is part of Nelamangala Doddaballapura expansion), I love the rest of the section from Golahalli to Yelahanka via Hesarghatta.

The other option is Dabaspet to Doddaballapura which reduces the pain by a margin, but this one too is undergoing massive expansion work and hence its a combination of well done to work in progress roads but nothing really painful.

[airguitar]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Google maps may show longer time via this route but once you exit Sira town (you will need to cross this town), time starts reducing as roads get better and you gain time due to increased pace.
.

Good to note that this is one of those non-highway stretches where we fare better than Gmaps.

Originally Posted by paragsachania

The other option is Dabaspet to Doddaballapura which reduces the pain by a margin, but this one too is undergoing massive expansion work and hence its a combination of well done to work in progress roads but nothing really painful.

I have been a regular user of the erstwhile NH207, the entire stretch as you may spot some posts from me from 2010 - in addition to the expansion work you mention, the stretch between Devanahalli and Hoskote - either via Sulibele or via Gangawara are both disasters - it takes 45 mins to 60 mins on a bad day from Devanahalli to Hoskote - a lot of potholes. I stick to Budigere Cross route. It's also good that you are in Yelahanka, the routes you mention would work well. I have taken the Nelamangala-Hesaraghatta-IIHR-Rajanakunte-Bagalur-Budigere cross road previously but no benefits for a Whitefielder, too long + at Railway Gollahalli there is a lot of congestion and confusion that eats up a few mins and I remember that the road isn't in great shape either at many places.

How does this look?

1) From Hassan side will stick to this at peak weekend return time (5PM-10PM): Hassan - Nelamangala - Madavara NICE road - Electronic city - Huskur Gate or Chandapura - Varthur - Whitefield if weekend. ( Avoids the terrible KRP railway station area and even the Phoenix market city areas and their traffic situations but catches you at Varthur Sunday Market; so one could take a diversion from Gunjur - Halasahalli - Nagondanahalli - Whitefield, all this might sound like much ado about nothing, but for regulars we always know what's a worthwhile 'jam' to be in and what is not, an extra few kms or some poor stretches of road are any day better than an eternal traffic jam or a frenzied stretch of returnees on a weekend)

2) From Chitradurga: Chitradurga - Sira - Madhugiri - Tondebavi - Chikkaballapur - Jangamakote - Hoskote - Katamnallur cross - Whitefield

3) From Shimoga: Shimoga - Tarikere - Arsikere - CR Patna - Nelamangala and then the rest the same as (1). Where are the bad stretches on the BH road currently, between Tarikere and Arsikere or after Arsikere when coming from Shimoga?

[ampere]

Originally Posted by airguitar

I was looking at Sira - Madhugiri - Thondebavi - Doddaballapur - Bagalur - Budigere cross - Whitefield but no wins there. Kunigal - Magadi - Nice road - Electronic city - Whitefield is also not a win.

Originally Posted by paragsachania

I had taken this route last month when we returned from Dandeli on a Sunday evening and it took us exactly 2 hours to reach Yelahanka from Sira, in bliss! Roads in general remain good to very good. There was a religious rally in Sira town that did take some time as we navigated through alternate roads to get to the other side. Google maps may show longer time via this route but once you exit Sira town (you will need to cross this town), time starts reducing as roads get better and you gain time due to increased pace.

Absolutely worth it. Given it bypass the Bangalore-Tumkur totally. Also Doddaballapur road is now expanded its easy to drive all the way till Madhugiri. I have not taken the Sira road. But expect this should also be great!