[gururaj r]

@paragsachania: I used to drive my Premier Padmini from Mumbai to Madurai via Bangalore in "98 when the highway was not there. I used to break at Belgaum for the night (first) then at Bangalore (second) and the third day would reach Madurai. Also driven alone with my one month Labrador only for company all the way.
Also, covered once about a year ago in my i10 the same distance. Now itching to do the same again.

Thank you for your inputs. You are a great traveler.

[Fauji]

Gururaj,

Beware of heavy truck traffic after Chitradurga till Bangalore specially after 5 PM. These guys are very careless and you have to be cautious. Have a safe trip.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by Fauji

Gururaj,

Beware of heavy truck traffic after Chitradurga till Bangalore specially after 5 PM. These guys are very careless and you have to be cautious. Have a safe trip.

agree with tou totally. Also if you've noticed, it is right from Chitradurga onwards all the way till Bangalore where these truckers wouldnt move left to be allowed to get overtaken. Isn't it? This stretch is even more horrible after 12am till 5am when Govt and Pvt long haul buses apply salt to the wounds. They always stick to fast lane unlike the folks in between Kolhapur-Pune post 12am who are oblizing when one flashes beams to overtake and move left. It is indeed a mix of driving discipline and indiscipline on this 850kms stretch at different times and different sections.

@Gururaj, I am sure your drive this time around will be delighting due to better road conditions now.

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by docaxe

Hey Highway Kumar, I am planning a trip from Mulund Mumbai to Shimoga on the 3rd of june will like to have your tips on the trip route and halts. Will be driving an innova.

Quite a simple route. Turn off NH4 at Harihar and go via Honnali. From there, one of two routes is bad, choose the right road leading out of town for the better route.

If you leave early morning, you should be in Shimoga by late afternoon or early evening. You could have a lunch halt at Hubli bypass.

[Limpid]

I am planning for a road trip from Bangalore to Pune in the first week of May. Last time I drove on NH4 was in May 2010. Could you please help me out on latest road conditions especially following points.

1. I will start from Old Madras Road (near Big Bazar). Due to road condition after Yeshwantpur, I used to take Doddaballapur -Dobbspet road. Is it still advisable to take this road?

2. Is Ranebennur bypass ready or we still have to go via Ranebennur city?

3. How is the road condition from Ranebennur till Haveri now?

4. I drove Bangalore Pune in 13 hours last summer, should I expect any time reduction keeping same driving speed and start time ( 4AM) as last year?

I drove Pune to Bangalore on 4/5 December 2010. Here are the answers to your queries:

Originally Posted by Limpid

1. I will start from Old Madras Road (near Big Bazar). Due to road condition after Yeshwantpur, I used to take Doddaballapur -Dobbspet road. Is it still advisable to take this road?

The Nelamangala flyover is completed now. So, you can go on NH 4 itself.

2. Is Ranebennur bypass ready or we still have to go via Ranebennur city?

Ranebennur bypass is also completed. There is no need to go through the town.

3. How is the road condition from Ranebennur till Haveri now?

Except for those two railway level crossings, the rest is fine. Near Davangere, there were some diversions, but easily manageable.

[gururaj r]

Originally Posted by Fauji

Gururaj,

Beware of heavy truck traffic after Chitradurga till Bangalore specially after 5 PM. These guys are very careless and you have to be cautious. Have a safe trip.

Thank you all for the inputs. Would start tomorrow morning. As my son is also accompanying me, I can afford to post some pictures also. (He is a good Photographer). The uncompleted Ranibennur OB, Davangere byepass diversion, speed breakers etc all would be there after my return.

[litesaber]

I drove an Innova-2006. If one leaves earlier than 4am or drives through the night you can achieve even better timings. Kolhapur - Pune becomes the bottleneck due to high traffic during the day.

On the way back from Mumbai you will see the difference if you leave early.

Originally Posted by gururaj r

@litesaber: You have not mentioned the Car in which you were able to make this time. Nice to hear about the road conditions. I would be leaving on Friday morning to Bangalore from Mumbai Andheri East.

[gururaj r]

I was nowhere near the timing achieved by any of you. I left Mumbai at 3.30 am and was able to reach Bangalore by 6 pm Neelamangala toll bridge end and took another 2 hours to reach my destination at Jayanagar. The roads are good throughout except for 4 kms or so in the whole journey. Unfinished bridges at Haveri and Ranebennur snaps are attached.

While returning back, was able to start only by 8 am on sunday. Though I was able to come out of the city without much traffic, till Tumkur the two wheelers gave me jitters and most of them were driving in the rightmost part of the road making progress slow. Was caught up in Ranebennur level cross for a good part of 40 minutes and there was a heavy traffic jam. Plan trips so as not to cross Haveri - Ranebennur by 12 Noon.

Did not have time to work out mileage etc would do in my next post.

Once again thanking you all.not able to upload pics. would do it soon.

[chetans]

there is market day on sundays at rannebenur. however we cant avoid that stretch untill the bypass is ready. there was some related post on bypass which i am unable to point to here.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by chetans

there is market day on sundays at rannebenur. however we cant avoid that stretch untill the bypass is ready. there was some related post on bypass which i am unable to point to here.

The Ranebennur bypass has been fully functional since more than 6 months now.

[ranjith.rajaram]

I did my third trip between Pune-Bangalore, On March 2011. It seems that all the bypass are ready now. NH4 is getting into a real good shape. Only the two railway gates in Rannebenur is yet to complete.

All in all 7 out of 10. Pune-BLR now can be done easily with in 12 hours including breaks.

[vij4all]

Getting excited to plan and do my 3rd Thane - Bangalore roadtrip (the earlier ones were Chennai - Bangalore - Thane - Bangalore - Chennai & Chennai - Bangalore - Thane). Ofcourse, this is my 4th drive on the NH4 beyond Pune (the last was Thane - Kolhapur - Nippani - Amboli - Goa).

The plan is to leave on the afternoon of the 26th of May (half day at work). I work at Navi Mumbai so plan to leave at 1 pm and touch Pune, Hinjewadi around 4:30 pm, cross the bypass and touch the Katraj side around 5: 15 pm. From there, I plan to touch Kolhapur around 8 pm and then onto Belgaum @ 9 :30 pm for dinner and overnight halt at Sankam.

Leave around 7ish the next morning and touch Bangalore around 3ish in the afternoon. I'm not rushing it this time as the idea is to relax and have a leisurely drive.

Any lunch options for the next day around 1 pm if I leave Belgaum between 7 and 8 AM?

The return is going to be a non stop thingy as we will start off the journey close to midnight from Bangalore after a concert (the purpose of going) on the night of the 29th and then again stop at Sankam for breakfast and a little nap in the car.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by vij4all

Any lunch options for the next day around 1 pm if I leave Belgaum between 7 and 8 AM?

If you leave Belgaum at 7-00AM, under normal speeds, you ll be passing Davanagere around 10-30am and Chitradurga (11-30am), Hiriyur (12-15pm), Sira (1-00Pm). You can opt for Kamat at Sira for Lunch and from then It will be another good 2 Hours to Nelamangala.

The return is going to be a non stop thingy as we will start off the journey close to midnight from Bangalore after a concert (the purpose of going) on the night of the 29th and then again stop at Sankam for breakfast and a little nap in the car.

Your return timing is going to be awesome and I am sure you will enjoy your all night drive like the way I did that last year on so many occasions. You will be blown away by the road manners on the same stretch of NH4 in the night but yes, you'll still have to pass Kolhapur-Pune section during the day and beat that traffic through.

[ranjith.rajaram]

Originally Posted by vij4all

Any lunch options for the next day around 1 pm if I leave Belgaum between 7 and 8 AM?

Say if you start by 7/8 AM you can reach Hotel Upachar Kamat & IOC Pump to the Left after 400 Kms from Sangam and its near after Sira.