[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by vivek95

1. The journey time between Mumbai and Belgaum had gone up by straight 1 hour since last 4-5 months due to full fledged road widening work from 4 to 6 lanes from Satara to Belgaum and the ever traffic snarl prone Mumbai--Pune Expressway. Pune bypass was another pain many a times. Now add another 1 hour in these rains.

Does this means the Bangalore - Bijapur - Solapur- Pune is a recommended alternative? I just hope this stretch doesn't get subjected to the lane widening too.

I am damn curious as to why the 2 lanes road between Dharwad and Hubli are not taken up on fast track basis although could see some construction happening during the last trip.

[rakesh_r]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Bangalore - Bijapur - Solapur- Pune

Any idea on the road conditions?

[paragsachania]

We returned yesterday from our 2023 Edition of Monsoon Drive and here are some updates that should help. For the benefit of the readers, the onward route was till Shirwal (Bhor Turn-off) while the return was from Kolhapur towards Bangalore. This means it pretty much covers Bangalore-Pune route overall.

• Bangalore - Tumkur:6 Lane work is moving at snail's pace and will take its own time but it doesn't change the fact that morons exist in maximum numbers on this stretch. Road conditions good, including Tumkur bypass that gets a fresh layer of tarmac. However, depending on the time of the day, be aware that there is overbridge work in progress at Khyatasandra Junction and this adds up to the time if you happen to cross this at peak hours or returning on a Sunday, more so towards Bangalore. Narrow roads around here coupled with impatient drivers and local traffic makes it a messy and a time consuming affair
  
  
• Tumkur Chitradurga Davanagere:Remains absolutely perfect and fast
  
  
• Davanagere Haveri Hubli:Has quite a few sections with deep to very deep potholes on the main carriageway in both directions and the size of this can be categorized as rim benders. If you are driving along with traffic with vehicles occupying all the lanes ahead, chances are high that you will end up jumping a few of these. The best way to avoid this is to take up these sections at odd hours of the day/night or maintain good distance while you are in a situation where you have to tail the traffic for a while before overtaking. On return direction (towards Bangalore), the diversion after Motebennur is in shambles and has super large potholes.
  
  
• Hubli Dharwad Bypass:Nothing great to report. Expansion work is in progress but for sure will take a long time the way few sections hinted that no work has started at all
  
  
• Dharwad Belgaum:Remains good, majorly due to most of the sections concretized here
  
  
• Belgaum Nippani Kolhapur:6 lane work in progress post Industrial area of Belgaum all the way till Satara. A longish overbridge work in progress at Vantarmuri Ghat before Sankeshwar. Diversions are in place and more will come up as work will progress. We covered this section between 5 and 6am during the onward and 9 and 11am during return with a breakfast stop. Traffic obviously increases during the day and so do the 2 wheelers who do not have shoulders to ride and that means trucks will occupy the right lane while 2 wheelers will hold on to the first lane, thus reducing every chance to overtake. Also note that there are quite a lot of potholes on sections where expansion work hasn't started. I must say that this section was one of the best maintained ones on the whole of NH48 and spotless but potholes are a normal affair now between Kagal and Belgaum, including what we witnessed last year as well
  
  
• Kolhapur Karad Satara:6 lane work continues on this stretch with increased local traffic as the day progresses. Since most of the NH48 on this stretch is urbanized, it also means that the diversions are literally rubbing shoulders with the buildings and commercial establishments of Karad, Umbraj, Shirwal etc. The diversions are in bad shape and have developed large potholes

Summary: While our onward journey was hardly different from our regular timings, the return journey did add couple of extra minutes as we covered this on a Sunday morning. We had rains in both directions and intense and yet this did not dither the 2 wheelers on a Sunday morning riding with full rain gear and hogging the left lane.

Now coming to the question asked here if Sholapur route is any good over Pune route If destination is Mumbai despite these latest conditions, my answer doesn't change from what I had posted few days back. Kolhapur Pune still works best for Mumbai.

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Also, please remember that Sholapur route makes sense as an alternate only if one is headed to easterly suburbs of Pune (Hadapsar, Viman Nagar, Wagholi etc and not a viable option if you are headed north of Pune, especially Lonavala/Mumbai etc. This is neither ideal nor preferred given the fact that one has to cross Pune from one corner to another.

On how much extra time one must budget for Pune alone while taking Kolhapur route:

• 20 minutes extra if driving Pune-Kolhapur (or reverse) between 4 and 7 am
• 45 minutes extra if driving Pune-Kolhapur (or reverse) between 7 and 10am

On an average, you will consume anywhere from 30-45 minutes extra on a regular day to do Pune-Kolhapur (or reverse). It can be 60 minutes too, if you are driving down on a Sunday and doing this after 8am.

Apart from this, add another 20-40 minutes for Belgaum-Kolhapur if done after 8am in both directions.

Hence, for Pune to Bangalore, you are looking at 1.5-2 hours extra compared to your regular timings if you are doing this drive during the day. If you are driving night, then this reduces to say 30-45 minutes.

Does this still make it a better choice over the other route via Sholapur that includes crossing Pune city from one end to another? - Hell yes!

[vivek95]

Cross posting


I drove from Mumbai to Belgaum recently on 27th July and here are my observations on road conditions in these monsoons. Being a regular on this route, I quickly pick up the differences. Started at 4:30pm from Chembur, Mumbai and drove in the dark after Pune till Karad. Halted for the night at Karad at friend's place and continued to Belgaum next day morning.

1. Mumbai--Pune Expressway :- 21 years now for this awesome piece of a road, consider the brunt it has faced in the form of heavy rains and heavy traffic for two decades, the expressway remains in very good condition. Surface is very smooth all throughout. Hotel "Udupi 2 Mumbai" is my regular stop on Expressway foodmalls ever since they opened up since 2 years ( I have tried all of their outlets in and around Mumbai. There are 3 on Mumbai--Pune Expressway itself, 2 on Mumbai--Nasik NH3 )

2. Pune city bypass :- -Good roads, but it took full 2 hours to cross the 36 kms stretch because of evening bumper to bumper traffic and some construction work near Warje bridge.

3. Pune--Satara :- To be honest, the surface is over 90% very good. Undulations exist but the ride is decent and fast. Lighting on the flyovers is working at most places. Here are there, some odd potholes are scattered in all the lanes but at only 2 stretches - one between Kapurhol and Shirwal and then over the last 6-7 kms nearing Satara. These potholes aren't that deep too, like the dangerous ones that are occasionally seen on the brand new Hubli--Davangere 6 lane road ( I am driving Belgaum--Bangalore with a pit stop at Davangere currently ). Khambatki ghat top to bottom is excellent. Surely Pune--Satara is best avoided for night for occasional travellers, but most regulars like me, @paragsachania @comfortablynumb and many others will find it easy during night too because we have seen the worst days of Pune--Satara, so the present version seems 100 times better and fast.

4. Satara--Karad--Kolhapur -- excellent 4 lane road except for the diversions. The jam at Karad city diversion ( Malkapur) is very time consuming but other diversions were better.

5. Kolhapur--Belgaum :- Many diversions due to 6 laning work that slows down traffic, these diversions have good surface though. Bumpy ride between Nipani and Hattargi continues. All the other untouched segments have very good roads.

Overall, added 2 hours to my usual timings. Was caught up in bad jam at Pune city bypass, Karad and Vantamuri ghat near Belgaum.

[Bigzero]

I drove from Bangalore to Pune on 30/7 (Sunday).

Started at around 7 am from near Electronic City, and my ETA was shown as around 10 pm at my residence near the Pune Airport.

I had done the Pune-Kerala stretch a week back and I knew the road conditions (quite in line with what has been reported in the posts above), and I must admit, I wasn't really looking forward to the drive after Belgaum all the way to Pune, because of the roadworks plus the fact that we will be approaching Pune on a Sunday evening, which means that we will join the hordes of cars returning after their weekend trips.

I had not checked the actual google recommendation as I proceeded beyond Tumkur (I usually keep the navigation on, gives me an idea of ETA), and I realized that google is diverting me via Hospet, when I approached the Chitradurga bypass. A quick decision (and a curiosity to try the route) and I opted for the Hospet -Bijapur-Solapur route.

The route is overall quite nice as it has significantly less traffic than the regular route - till Solapur. On the plus side, it gives you much less stress levels for the drive till Solapur - however, on the negative side, the frequency and quality of roadside eateries (and toilets) are much worse.

The road surface mostly after Bijapur was also a bit patchy, with potholes having opened up (probably after the rains), and also uneven because of the weight of the trucks causing some parts of the road to sink here and there. The Solapur bypass was quite wide and empty, though not the perfect surface.

After Solapur however, the traffic picked up significantly and we joined the stream of cars towards Pune. The progress from there was considerably slower. We knew that we could not avoid the rush getting into Pune anyway. However, to get to the airport side, it was easier for us to turn off at Hadapsar and pass behind Magarpatta. For me the last hour getting into Pune from Bangalore road is always the most painful as I pretty much need to cross the city. We reached home at around 10.15 pm, after a few generous breaks.

Overall, its a good alternate option if you are on the east or north side of Pune - till the time the Kolhapur-Belgaum stretch gets converted to six lane, and the new tunnels open up.

[mpksuhas]

Did Bangalore - Kolhapur and return last weekend.

Road conditions are good till Chitradurga byepass exit. Past that, at two places, one has to take service road due to ongoing 6 laning work. Rest of the section, till Hubbali byepass is mostly done. However, few locations, left lane work is incomplete, hence be careful if you doing any left lane overtaking / driving during night etc.

This section of road is considerably uneven, though not as bouncy as it used to be before the 6 laning commenced.

Hubli - Dharwad byepass is the same, thankfully widening over here seems to be progressing.

Till Belgaum, again good roads and then past Belgaum to Nipani one will encounter road widening again. Some long diversions here.

Onward, started from home at HSR layout at 3.18 AM, took route via town and avoided NICE road.

Reached Ganesh hotel at 7.44 AM and started at 8.30 AM past breakfast.

Stopped at newly opened BP COCO past Belgaum at 10.10 AM for around 10 minutes.

Then Reached Kolhapur McDonalds / Haldiram / Starbucks food court 11.35 AM.

There was nothing to eat as such in Haldiram as such strangely - No tea, no snacks. So continued and exited the NH and headed towards Anuskura ghats.

Return was on 14 Aug in day time.

Reached Kolhapur and stopped at Dehaati for a late lunch around 3.30 PM, they were just about to close down and thankfully our friends were able to hold the seat for us.

Past that, started at 4.35 PM from there, stopped at Nipani BP COCO at 5.10 PM for fuelling up and then at Shell past Hubli (Shell Pale) for a tea break of 30 mins from 8.00 PM.

Reached Shetty lunch home at Sira at 11.00 PM, the place was almost empty, just one table was occupied. Service and food was great though. Also, they are one of the few major restaurants around there which is opened past midnight.

Started at 12.15 AM and reached home at HSR layout by 02.30 AM.

[vagabond128]

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

Shetty lunch home at Sira

Not able to find it Google Maps

[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by vagabond128

Not able to find it Google Maps

This is the place. There is a exit and entry from service road just before and after this place too.

https://goo.gl/maps/9MLDKVVm5PVk82Fc6

[ghodlur]

Folks,

I will be travelling from Bangalore to Pune next week Friday and wanted to know the latest status of the road conditions beyond Hattargi till Karad. Any improvement in the road works?

Also any new restaurants on the route from Bangalore to Pune? Esp closer to Davangere or immediately after Chitradurga for breakfast halt and after Kolhapur for lunch halt. Also need the BPCL COCO after Belgaum but within Karnataka state for refuel.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Folks,

I will be travelling from Bangalore to Pune next week Friday and wanted to know the latest status of the road conditions beyond Hattargi till Karad. Any improvement in the road works?

Don't expect a drastic change as the flyover work at Vantamuri Ghat is still in progress and will take a long time.

Also any new restaurants on the route from Bangalore to Pune? Esp closer to Davangere or immediately after Chitradurga for breakfast halt

Immediately after Chitradurga means Mysore Cafe next to Nijalingappa Memorial. This is very easily approachable from old Chitradurga bypass itself and then you can merge with new bypass in less than 1 km. Closer to Davanagere means Apoorva Resorts.

and after Kolhapur for lunch halt.

Sai International will be closest and soon after Kini toll. After this Karad has few options including Fern and Saffron.

Also need the BPCL COCO after Belgaum but within Karnataka state for refuel.

Please go through the first post on this thread. There is a BPCL COCO that I have listed right before entering MH and located in Karnataka.

[RoadSurfer]

A friend is planning to travel Bangalore to Pune on Thursday morning. When checked for the route, Google maps is suggesting Hosapete-Solapur route and not the usual Belagavi-Kolhapur one. Not even as an option. Anyone knows the reason why is it so?

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by RoadSurfer

A friend is planning to travel Bangalore to Pune on Thursday morning. When checked for the route, Google maps is suggesting Hosapete-Solapur route and not the usual Belagavi-Kolhapur one. Not even as an option. Anyone knows the reason why is it so?

Google Maps has just gone crazy on this route since about July. As I mentioned in my July report above, it was giving me this longer route via Karad-Bijapur-Hosapete-Bangalore (which was 4 hours longer than the main highway) and was insisting I take that.

Since then, I have done 2 more road trips to Pune, and each time, Google Maps kept on only suggesting the Bijapur road even though that was 4 hours slower.

In reality, the main NH48 (Bangalore-Belgavi-Kolahpur-Pune) is still the fastest road, in spite of all the road widening and construction work happening. The road widening adds about one hour to this road than what it used to take earlier. But even then, this is still the fastest road. For some reasons, Google Maps just does not give this road even as an option any more. The alternative roads Google Maps keeps on insisting on are about 3-4 hours slower.

My suggestion is to just ignore Google Maps and drive on the main highway (NH48) all the way to Pune.

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

Onward, started from home at HSR layout at 3.18 AM, took route via town and avoided NICE road.

Reached Ganesh hotel at 7.44 AM and started at 8.30 AM past breakfast.

Stopped at newly opened BP COCO past Belgaum at 10.10 AM for around 10 minutes.

You reached from your place to Ganesh Hotel in 3.5 hrs since the google maps shoes 6.5 hrs. Is this correct? What speeds did you do to reach in such short time?

Pls share the google link of the BP COCO if available.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by Dr.AD

In reality, the main NH48 (Bangalore-Belgavi-Kolahpur-Pune) is still the fastest road, in spite of all the road widening and construction work happening.

Agree totally! Travelers must stick to NH48 for Bangalore - Pune/Mumbai trips. This is the best option for now.

However, thanks to increasing traffic in Pune off late, the Sholapur option will work out for those who stay in the eastern suburbs of Pune and will also take similar time, and thankfully, Googlemaps is not acting over smart here when you select 2 common way point for both the routes. The additional distance if one takes Sholapur option for Hadapsar (as an example) is mere 18 km.



Again, in summary, the Hospet Sholapur option is viable only if you stay in eastern suburbs of Pune. It is not recommended of either Western suburbs of Pune or for that matter Mumbai. You won't save any time by taking Sholapur route for Mumbai as it will take you at least 2+ hours to cross Pune from east to west even during non-peak hours these days.

The Kolhapur Sangli Sangola Sholapur is also a fantastic 4 lane highway, mostly concrete if anyone wants to try while doing a temple run between Kolhapur, Pandharpur and Tuljapur

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Again, in summary, the Hospet Sholapur option is viable only if you stay in eastern suburbs of Pune.

Thanks for highlighting this. Agree 100%.

If someone's destination is Hadapsar side of Pune (Eastern side of Pune), then Bijapur-Solapur-Pune is a viable alternative.

However, in my experience (not sure if it was just me), in the last two trips, Google Maps did even worse. It did not suggest that proper alternative route too. It suggested a mix of two routes. It suggested that I drive till Karad from Pune (maybe because I was starting from Western side of Pune), and then take some state highways from Karad to Bijapur, and then drive Bijapur to Bangalore. That just makes no sense, and that suggested route was 4 hours slower. It kept on insisting on that route.

So in summary, take one of the two routes illustrated by Parag (depending on your destination location in Pune). But please do not take a mix of the two routes, regardless of what Google Maps suggests. A mix of these two routes is going to be much slower than either of the two!