[autoweirdo]

Just finished my Pune Bangalore trip with a break at Davangere. Door to door distance was 905km and overall time was 14hrs (hardly touched triple digits since was travelling with family which includes my 9 month old daughter).

Road conditions:
Pune-Satara: multiple diversions till Shirwal, road conditions also not that great.
Satara- Kolhapur: 4 lane so you will have to jostle with slow moving traffic but road conditions very good.
Kolhapur-Hubli: very good road with hardly any broken patch.
Hubli-Chitradurga: too many diversions due to 6 laning of highway and the service road is having huge craters due to rains along with speed breakers.
Chitradurga-Tumkur: it was best experience of trip, proper 6 lane well tarred road.
Tumkur-Bangalore: bit of heavy traffic and few stretch is 4 laned with no service road so average speed takes a hit.

I stayed at Southern Star Davangere, the rooms were very clean and hospitality was quite good, very good option if you are planning to take a break. Was stopped by cops at Hubli toll gate but as soon they noticed kids they allowed us to go without checking any documents.

Originally Posted by Pam81

I am planning Pune - Hosur - Rajapalayam on Oct 2.


I would like to know, approx how many diversions between Hubli - Chitradurga and how many hours it would add to due disruptions in otherwise normal driving hours considering legal max speeds?

It took me around 3.5 hrs from Hubli to Davangere as it was raining all the way. From Davangere to Chitradurga is approx 1hr drive. Chitradurga to Nice road you can easily do in 3-3.5hrs.

[Pam81]

Originally Posted by shivshanker

@Pam81, I did this Hubli -BLR, last in Mar 2020, before the Rains and the lock down, the 225 odd kms will take you at least 4 hours.

Considering it is 2nd Oct, a public holiday and that offices in that part of the world only start at 11:00 am, with a breakfast hole before Haveri should get you to Tumkuru by around 1:30.

Thanks a lot, this helps!

Originally Posted by shivshanker

I normally use the Kamat Upchar for Jollad Rotti Oota (meals) Near Dobaspet, National Highway 4, Nelamangala Taluk, Tumkur Road, Nelamangala, Bengaluru 562111, KA.

Try not to miss this, as in my case I have not found a decent place to eat after this before I hit Bangalore City.

I hope you are taking the NICE Road upon entering Bangalore to exit at Electronic City.

Little wary to stop in a restaurant given the COVID situation.
Yes, I am taking NICE road to get to Electronic City.

Originally Posted by autoweirdo

It took me around 3.5 hrs from Hubli to Davangere as it was raining all the way. From Davangere to Chitradurga is approx 1hr drive. Chitradurga to Nice road you can easily do in 3-3.5hrs.

This helps to achieve my plan. Seems fairly possible to reach Hosur by 5pm or earlier. Thanks!

[yd_gli]

Originally Posted by autoweirdo

Just finished my Pune Bangalore trip with a break at Davangere.
I stayed at Southern Star Davangere, the rooms were very clean and hospitality was quite good, very good option if you are planning to take a break. Was stopped by cops at Hubli toll gate but as soon they noticed kids they allowed us to go without checking any documents.

So, I am planning on driving down to Kabini next month and it's an 18 hour drive from Pune. I have done this drive in pre-covid times with an overnight halt at Kamat Hubli. But now with Covid, the family is a little apprehensive about overnight halts. The resort at Kabini should be fine but it's the overnight halt which is causing doubts. How is the Southern Star in terms of hygiene and safety? Would you recommend it? I plan on getting a non-AC room. Any precautions I should follow in terms of pillows, bedsheets etc or are they not something to worry about?

Also, what are the cops in Hubli pulling cars over for? I am assuming its for documents and not e-passes. Are e-passes required in KA?

[autoweirdo]

Originally Posted by yd_gli

Would you recommend it? I plan on getting a non-AC room. Any precautions I should follow in terms of pillows, bedsheets etc or are they not something to worry about?

Also, what are the cops in Hubli pulling cars over for? I am assuming its for documents and not e-passes. Are e-passes required in KA?

I am not sure if they have non AC rooms, but in terms of hygiene and cleanliness they were quite good and so far I have not faced any health related issue post my trip. I also carried bedsheet with me and used it as a precautionary measure. Additionally I sprayed savlon anti bacterial spray on key touch points.
Regarding cops pulling over is mainly for documents, no pass required. Also with latest order I hope they will even accept digital documents.

[rakesh_r]

Recently travelled from Palakkad (Kerala) to Pune.
Route taken- Palakkad- Coimbatore-Salem-NICE road- Tumkur- Davangere- Belgaum- Kolhapur-Satara-Pune
Halt for the night- Southern Star, Davangere, good option since they have ample parking space, plus rooms were neat and pretty big.

Palakkad till Nice Road exit- Super dense traffic, felt the traffic to be much higher than pre covid conditions
Nice Road to Tumkur- Heavy traffic at Nice Road entry point
Post Tumkur- Low density Traffic, hence was quickly able to cover the distance.
Cops stopped me at Hubli for "Document checking"
Lunch at kolhapur- Spend two hours at Mc Donalds Kolhapur since dine in was yet to start (we would have bought a parcel/take away), drive thru counter was crowded, spent close to two hours.
Kolhapur to Satara- Roads are smooth as usual
Satara to Pune- Pathetic roads as usual
Tumkur- Pune- KA side Toll counters were very less crowded, Mh as usual was a Mayhem.
The infamous Chitradurga-Davangere-Hubli stretch have multiple by pass sections which were in a mess, some sections have smooth roads.

[Pam81]

Originally Posted by rakesh_r

Cops stopped me at Hubli for "Document checking"

Curios to know if you had the actual papers or did you use digital like digilocker or mparivahan app?

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by Pam81

Curios to know if you had the actual papers or did you use digital like digilocker or mparivahan app?

Last year itself I had shown vehicle documents via mParivahan at two places on MH. So forget about the new rule, it was very well accepted before that itself and cops let me go.

It was only hard copy of PUC that I had to show since KA RTO doesn't integrate PUC details in mParivahan as yet.

[rakesh_r]

Originally Posted by Pam81

Curios to know if you had the actual papers or did you use digital like digilocker or mparivahan app?

I showed them the hard copies, they let me go in a jiffy.

[vivek95]

I did an urgent Mumbai to Manipal drive yesterday via Pune--Belgaum--Ankola. Hubli--Dharwad bypass is now Fastag enabled although I ended up paying manually due to scanner issue.

Was pulled over at Khed Shivapur toll, Pune for document checking and upon casual enquiry when I said that I am a Covid ICU Doctor in Mumbai, was instantly let gone without any checking or anything with what respect from that humble cop Felt nice.

[maheshsm12]

Completed BLR-Pune drive today. Total time taken 12 hrs with breaks for breakfast and lunch (packed from home).

Road conditions
Until Chitradurga was awesome
Chitradurga to Hubli - had to drive on Service road at many locations (reached Hubli in 6 hrs)
MH side : Heavy traffic near Kolhapur
Roads near Satara are pathetic as pointed by rakesh_r
4 hours from MH border to Pune.

Heavy rains at few places which added to the drive time.
Would update on the next leg from Pune-Bom tomorrow, was not given permission to drive all the way to BOM by Home Minister.

[Pam81]

Originally Posted by Pam81

I am planning Pune - Hosur - Rajapalayam on Oct 2.

Just wanted to post an update. I ended up moving my drive from Oct 2 to Oct 10th owing to multiple constraints at work.

Left from east end of Pune at 2.45am and reached Belgaum at 8.30am and took break for breakfast. Stopped for coffee break at 11.30am somewhere after Dharwad. There were cops in Hubli but were busy in stopping trucks and never cared even though my car has MH plate.

Drove on till I reached BPCL @ Sira (thanks to Parag's list of Fuel Outlets) by 3.15pm and Hosur via NICE road at 7pm (too much traffic, too many trucks).

[jkrishnakj]

Looks like you did a very relaxed drive Pam81. When I read that you left Pune at 2.45 am, I was thinking that you would have reached Hosur before 5 pm actually. It seem you got slowed down post Belgaum.

[Pam81]

Originally Posted by jkrishnakj

Looks like you did a very relaxed drive Pam81. When I read that you left Pune at 2.45 am, I was thinking that you would have reached Hosur before 5 pm actually. It seem you got slowed down post Belgaum.

True. Maintained speed around 80, plus 15 ~20 at some good stretches. I am driving a 2012 i20 diesel. I spotted lots of sticky dust in rear left side shock, kind of dust that usually seen when oil leaks happen. It's not a major concern as there was no difference in ride height (static, at rest) but still did not want to push it beyond 100 to avoid any issue in highway.

Another thing, at the entry point in KA - TN border, no police did stop us for checking of the E-pass!

[maheshsm12]

Completed the Pune-BOM stretch today. Too much of traffic from Vashi to Bandra, post that was a breeze on the WEH.
Good scenic view on the way due to the unseasonal rains.
Traffic in BOM seems to have come back to pre-Covid time, infact more due to the Metro construction everywhere

[vivek95]

Drove Mumbai to Manipal and back to Mumbai from 10th to 12th October 2020 ( vehicle - VW Polo 1.2 MPI Petrol, 1834 kms round trip ). Onward was the standard Mumbai--Pune--Belgaum--Hubli--Yellapur--Arabail ghat--Ankola--Kundapur--Udupi--Manipal route. (Arabail ghat has severely deteriorated at many places, damaged my front bumper a bit ). Return took Manipal--Kundapur--Ankola--Karwar--Madgaon--Mollem--Anmod ghat--Bhimgad WLS--Khanapur--Belgaum--NH4--Mumbai. ( Return route assured good roads all throughout, Anmod is in the best condition ). Did a full tank at Goa.

Updating road conditions for Mumbai--Pune--Belgaum--Dharwad--Hubli on this thread :-

1. Mumbai--Pune Expressway -> Awesome as always ! Potholes that had recently cropped up nearby Lonavala have been filled up.

2. Pune city bypass -> mostly good, but at few places the top layer has come off.

3. Pune--Satara -> Between Pune and Shirwal, the road conditions have deteriorated post monsoons but more than rains, blame the shoddy quality of work. There are random potholes, rough bumpy sectors, huge craters near the entry and exit of diversions. These are easily manageable during daylight. Night time warrants extra caution, one is sure to run into potholes at night. Entire Pune--Satara sector will deteriorate further with another installment of rains next year, take it from me, the quality of road is pathetic 9 years and the construction seems never ending !!

Shirwal--Khambatki ghat--Satara -> mostly good and smooth with intermittent rough patches. But as just mentioned, how long will this last is very doubtful.

Opposite carriageway Satara--Pune has equally deteriorated. The moment you touch the 6 lane, initial 300 metres or so is absolutely horrible. Rough patches are more in number going towards Pune.

4. Satara--Karad--Kolhapur -> super awesome smooth concrete stretch. ( Opposite carriageway remains the usual nice smooth tarmac that has withstood the rains well ). Best stretch that is absolutely fun to drive.


5. Kolhapur--Belgaum -> fabulously smooth as always, both carriageways.

6. Belgaum--Dharwad -> Awesome 6 lane as usual, both carriageways.

7. Dharwad--Hubli bypass -> smooth 2 lane surface but with irritating speed breakers in between further slowing down the 2 lane truck traffic. By the way, Hubli--Dharwad bypass is now Fastag enabled. Scanner had an issue, so I ended up paying manually. However it should be up and running by now.

Traffic was high from Mumbai to Kolhapur during onward journey and that on the return picked up from Satara to Mumbai. On the return, I was able to do Bhagyanagar, Belgaum to Mulund West, Mumbai 482 kms non-stop in 7 hours. ( 21:45 to 4:45 ). Fastag worked seemlessly at all the tolls.

Pic taken at Expressway food mall