[sdp1975]

Did the return journey from Kolkata to Bangalore.

Started Oct 16 at 2pm from Kolkata, reached Vijayawada at 2:30pm next day.

Stopped for a day at Vijayawada, started from Vijayawada at 10:30am on Oct 18. Reached home at around 12:40am on Oct 19 via Hyderabad.

Did not face any problems anywhere, apart from the high traffic in Vijayawada and on the Vizag-Vijayawada GQ stretch that took 8 hrs to cover.

[sdp1975]

Some pictures of the picturesque NH5 while approaching Bhubaneswar.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by sdp1975

Did the return journey from Kolkata to Bangalore. Started Oct 16 at 2pm from Kolkata, reached Vijayawada at 2:30pm next day. Stopped for a day at Vijayawada, started from Vijayawada at 10:30am on Oct 18. Reached home at around 12:40am on Oct 19 via Hyderabad. Did not face any problems anywhere, apart from the high traffic in Vijayawada and on the Vizag-Vijayawada GQ stretch that took 8 hrs to cover.

Congrats. Can you post info on road condition and driving time, city to city? Also places for night halt and food.

[sdp1975]

Kolkata ( 2 pm ) - Kharagpur ( 4:30 pm ) - WB/OR Border( 7 pm) - Cuttack ( 11pm) - Vizag( 6 am) - Vijayawada ( 2:30 pm).

Kolkata-KGP good, with 3-4 diversions. KGP-Balasore , 2 laned with ongoing repair work, not good. Balasore-Cuttack , good.

Entry to Cuttack - massive traffic jam after Mahanadi barrage, heavy traffic till Bhubaneswar in daytime.

Bhubaneswar to Vizag, excellent scenic roads , with some stretches very desolate at night.Vizag-Vijayawada, 2 wheelers, auto ricks, buses slow you down. Heavy traffic at Vijayawada.

Vijayawada ( 10:30 am)- Suryapet ( 12:30pm)-Hyderabad ORR entry ( 2:50pm)-ORR exit(3:20 pm)-Manavpad BP Ghar Dhaba before Kurnool ( 6pm)-Devanahalli(11:30pm).

Excellent roads from Vijayawada-Hyd-Blr.

Stayed in Vijayawada at APTDC Berm Park. Beautiful place right on the banks of river Krishna and on NH9 itself.

There are plenty of food options provided one is allright with roadside dhabas/restaurants . There are several Ghar dhabas also.

The overall road conditions are good ,apart from the 2 lane KGP-Balasore stretch. The problem is with the entry to towns like Vijayawada, Vizag,Cuttack etc. where one loses time in heavy traffic.

[Redeemer8]

Originally Posted by sdp1975

Kolkata-KGP good, with 3-4 diversions. KGP-Balasore , 2 laned with ongoing repair work, not good. Balasore-Cuttack , good.

The overall road conditions are good ,apart from the 2 lane KGP-Balasore stretch. The problem is with the entry to towns like Vijayawada, Vizag,Cuttack etc. where one loses time in heavy traffic.

It is reported that on NH60 (between Balasore to KGP) the flood affected people have taken shelter on the road & therefore it might take a long time to traverse on this stretch. Did you also experience this en-route or was the delay only due to 2 lane & repair work?

[sdp1975]

The delay was due to the repair work only, I did not see anyone having taken shelter on NH60 the day I crossed Balasore-KGP.

[Judemayne]

Originally Posted by sdp1975

The delay was due to the repair work only, I did not see anyone having taken shelter on NH60 the day I crossed Balasore-KGP.

Dear Sdp,

Why via Hyderabad and not the usual Vijaywada- Nellore-Tirupati-Bangalore, please? secondly the condition of NH from Balasore to Kharagpur?

Regards,

jude

[xuvian]

Originally Posted by Judemayne

Dear Sdp,

Why via Hyderabad and not the usual Vijaywada- Nellore-Tirupati-Bangalore, please? secondly the condition of NH from Balasore to Kharagpur?

Regards,

jude

Yeah I am curious too. I do Vijayawada-bangalore route once in 3 months on an average. There is lot of 6-lane effort on Vijayawada to Nellore NH but most places are done already and once we cross Guntur, its smooth ride until Naidupet where we go off from NH.
But I must admit, I was tempted to do via Hyderabad route especially after Hyd-Vijayawada route is doen recently. But what I realized is, it takes same time in both routes and we have to do approx 200km more through Hyd route. Just that the lesser truck traffic on Bangalore-Hyderabad NH makes the journey faster and easier.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by Judemayne

Dear Sdp,

Why via Hyderabad and not the usual Vijaywada- Nellore-Tirupati-Bangalore, please? secondly the condition of NH from Balasore to Kharagpur?

Regards,

jude

People who traveled the longer route via Hyderabad posted on the prior pages that the driving time was the same, though it was around 186 kms longer. And the drive is a lot less stressful, given the fantastic NH7 to Hyd, the super-fantastic ORR that helps bypass Hyderabad completely, and the fabulous NH9 to Vijaywada that has been recently 4-laned.

Any plans in the offing, Colonel?

[samish_g]

Originally Posted by sdp1975

Kolkata-KGP good, with 3-4 diversions. KGP-Balasore , 2 laned with ongoing repair work, not good. Balasore-Cuttack , good.

Entry to Cuttack - massive traffic jam after Mahanadi barrage, heavy traffic till Bhubaneswar in daytime.

Vizag-Vijayawada, 2 wheelers, auto ricks, buses slow you down. Heavy traffic at Vijayawada.

@sdp, is there any road to bypass cuttack and bhuvaneshwar? Does NH5 pass through these towns? When is the Vijayawada traffic relatively less?

Regards,

Samish

[Judemayne]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

People who traveled the longer route via Hyderabad posted on the prior pages that the driving time was the same, though it was around 186 kms longer. And the drive is a lot less stressful, given the fantastic NH7 to Hyd, the super-fantastic ORR that helps bypass Hyderabad completely, and the fabulous NH9 to Vijaywada that has been recently 4-laned.

Any plans in the offing, Colonel?

Hi there,

Yes but keeping the fingers crossed as there were two long trips planned and started but had to abort enroute due medical emergencies at home. Bhutan in Mar and leh in Aug. Trying to do Bhutan again, starting on 05 Nov from Bangalore only worried about the Seemandhra issue-will it flare again? What the staying options at Rajahmundry, closer to the NH as planned to halt there for the first night from Bangalore?? Or will Eluru be a better halt?

Regards

jude

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by Judemayne

Hi there,

Yes but keeping the fingers crossed as there were two long trips planned and started but had to abort enroute due medical emergencies at home. Bhutan in Mar and leh in Aug. Trying to do Bhutan again, starting on 05 Nov from Bangalore only worried about the Seemandhra issue-will it flare again? What the staying options at Rajahmundry, closer to the NH as planned to halt there for the first night from Bangalore?? Or will Eluru be a better halt?

Regards

jude

Wow, that's one heck of a trip you're planning. Seemandhra issues are not there now, but you never know, given the turbulence that keeps brewing up on and off. But I don't think it will be at a scale that we witnessed last month.

I think somebody posted about a hotel at Rajahmundry on this thread. If not, I'll get the info for you. Eluru is hardly 60 to 70 kms from Vijaywada, so depending on where you want to halt, it could be either place.

Edit: Post 152 speaks of Hotel Anand Regency in Rajahmundry. You can PM the member for additional details.

[sdp1975]

Originally Posted by Judemayne

Dear Sdp,

Why via Hyderabad and not the usual Vijaywada- Nellore-Tirupati-Bangalore, please? secondly the condition of NH from Balasore to Kharagpur?

Regards,

jude

As others have stated , the road conditions are better via Hyderabad. The overall time taken is the same via Tirupati. While going from Blr->Kolkata I took the Tirupati road and I found it OK. If you're staying close to KR Puram in Bangalore, the Tirupati route would be preferable , whereas for those staying close to Hebbal the Hyd route will be a better choice. Also follow the newspapers closely ( Hindu and Deccan herald), for Seemandhra issues; although I don't expect it to flare again.

Balasore to KGP is a 2 lane road in most stretches now. The other 2 lanes are under repair. There are some diversions , and some culverts where the approach is rough and you need to slow down. Apart form that, the roads are in good condition and the traffic was sparse both times I crossed this stretch, so you can do 60-80kph at daytime. Doing this at night took more time for me.

Originally Posted by samish_g

@sdp, is there any road to bypass cuttack and bhuvaneshwar? Does NH5 pass through these towns? When is the Vijayawada traffic relatively less?

Regards,

Samish

NH5 passes through Cuttack and Bhubaneswar. I'm not aware of a bypass, perhaps others can comment on it. I crossed Vijayawada around 4:30 pm on Oct 2 while going from Bangalore to Kolkata, and the traffic was sparse probably because it was Gandhi Jayanti. However, got caught in heavy traffic during return.

I would suggest planning your travel to cross these cities during odd hours - late night or early morning . I crossed Cuttack and Bhubaneswar after 11pm , and while the regular traffic was less, the truck traffic made up for it. Note that heavy vehicles are not allowed entry in Cuttack/Bhubaneswar from 10pm-6am.

[sriswe]

Did a trip to Srikakulam from Hyderabad in 1st week of October. NH-9 is in excellent condition all the way from Hyderabad to Vijayawada. It took 4.5 hours from Miyapur to Vijaywada (using ORR from Gachibowli) for distance of around 320 KM's.

NH-5 is not in good shape between Eluru and Tanuku i.e for about 70 KM's. The road is not smooth and some pot holes are big to unsettle the vehicle and cause problems. During night we should be careful on this stretch. On my return asked the Toll Gate guy about such bad conditions. He simply said that they reported this to NHAI and many complaints were already registered.

Thanks,
Srinivas.R

[Redeemer8]

What is the current status at Ichchapuram? I believe the NH on this stretch is flooded as per news reports