[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Spot on! We were discussing as on how badly even the runway like road between Chitradurga and Tumkur has been designed with low medians and absolutely no barriers to block oncoming glare. At times, you can easily get confused (along a curve) whether the oncoming traffic is heading right into your lane!
.

They should ideally grow shrubs and then barricade off the median from both sides with wire meshes leaving openings enough for people to cross the road- so that cows and buffaloes dont graze on the medians.Else these open medians are death traps as cows and buffaloes graze on the shrubs and grass and just suddenly jump onto the roads

Given the height of the shrubs the drivers just cant see these animals as they are always camoflouaged by the greenery.Speaking from a personal 40,000inr experience thanks to this nonsense of letting animals to graze on the median and then people throwing stones at the poor animals and the animals are confused which side of the road to jump and before you know,lo behold the animal is on your bonnet.

[rpunwani]

IMHO there should be no humans or animals allowed on the highway. Sufficient underpasses or overpasses should be considered when building highways.

When the Mumbai - Pune Expressway was built, there was a fence running on both sides which prevented humans and animals to access the highway (unless they are in an automobile). I now observe that the fence has been compromised in many places thereby giving access to humans & animals.

On my last trip from Bangalore to Pune, a monkey darted out in front of my car from the median bushes. Fortunately, I was at about 90 -100 and was able to avoid it from coming under the car, but I probably went over its tail.

At the end of the day, we need to educate people regarding basic safety on the road/s. The attitude pedestrians have here is that they have the right of the way and that it is the responsibility of the person in the car to avoid contact. The television can be a great way to constantly promote safety culture in our lives.

[blackstallion27]

Hi, I drove down from Mumbai to Bangalore on 23-24 Jul in heavy downpour. The stretch from Pune to Satara is far from a cruise with the top layer of the road missing in a lot of places. In a number of diversions around the under construction flyovers/road repairs, the roads have been replaced by pot holes.

[asdon]

Drove back to Bangalore from Juhu last night..

Road Condition - Pune to Satara, bad roads with divertions. Else very good.

Mumbai - Pune Expressway - Weekend groups standing on the road, taking selfies/ groupies and waht not. No one is bothered about the ones who are driving, causing multiple traffic blocks.

Hotel Manas - Just before Satara is a good option for lunch. Good service and good food.

[ndalal02]

Originally Posted by blackstallion27

Hi, I drove from Mumbai to Bangalore on 23-24 Jul in heavy downpour. The road between Pune and Satara is bad with the top layer of the road missing in a lot of places. The diversions around under construction flyovers/road repairs add to the pain as most of them are filled with potholes.

Can all the users in this group tweet Mr Gadkari (Road Transport Minister) on the condition of Pune - Satara stretch which is in works since long.
Not sure if this works, but guess if lots of us do it, may be someone will hear us.

Thanks,
Nirav.

[vinjosep]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

There are BPCL, HCPL and IOCL COCOs (Both sides) soon after Dharwad bypass and they remain open 24 hours and this location is ideal as its halfway between Mumbai/Pune -Bangalore.

How do we make out these COCOs?

Will be doing a Bangalore - Pune tomorrow, hence the q. Thanks.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by vinjosep

How do we make out these COCOs?

Will be doing a Bangalore - Pune tomorrow, hence the q. Thanks.

Soon after you get onto the Dharwad-Belgaum section (After the bypass), you need to drive for around 4kms. You will first notice a well managed (good looking) HPCL On the left and as you continue, you will begin to see Tall pole with the BPCL logo on it. When you get very closer to this, the main carriageway actually continues on the elevated section and this is exactly where you need to be careful and slow down to take the service lane.

If you miss this, you ca get down the elevated section and make a Left handed U Turn onto the service lane and access this.

EDIT: There are chances that we may meet or pass each other tomorrow as I am tentatively planning to drive to Pune too :-)

[siddutta]

I am planning to drive down from Bengaluru to Lonavala. I plan to stay there and then drive down to Mumbai for 2-3 days. Now
1) what are the place to see in and around Mumbai ?
2) is there some good tourist places between Mumbai and Bengaluru, where I can stay overnight ? A serene riverside place or small hills would do ..

[ampere]

Originally Posted by siddutta

is there some good tourist places between Mumbai and Bengaluru, where I can stay overnight ? A serene riverside place or small hills would do ..

Try Satara. You can drive to Kaas. Or Try Belgaum. You can drive to Gokak.

[siddutta]

Originally Posted by ampere

Try Satara. You can drive to Kaas. .

Kaas seems to be better . Should I stay in Kaas or Satara ? I would require a decent family acco resort / hotel.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by siddutta

Kaas seems to be better . Should I stay in Kaas or Satara ? I would require a decent family acco resort / hotel.

Kaas is a valley and its wilderness. You will have to stay in Satara. Amazing time to go now. All the water bodies would be full. The flowering season would be on just now. There are many place. The most known place is Mahendra Exective. There is one on the Kaas road called Nivant.

[siddutta]

Thanks a ton,Ampere! yes i could find only Nivant resort at Kaas. Shall book once I confirm my dates. As of now the plan is do Mumbai, Lonavala, Pune, Kaas, Gokarna and Jog falls.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by siddutta

Thanks a ton,Ampere! yes i could find only Nivant resort at Kaas. Shall book once I confirm my dates. As of now the plan is do Mumbai, Lonavala, Pune, Kaas, Gokarna and Jog falls.

I have stayed at Nivant decent place with decent rooms.

But its location is very good. Also note the hotel is in Satara. Kaas is about 30 km from this hotel.

[siddutta]

Thanks for correcting me. Nivant is in Kaas Road , not Kaas. Apparently there are no hotels in Kaas.

[us.dash]

Mumbai - Chennai - Mumbai plan
I am thinking of driving down to Chennai and back over the 5 day weekend. My co-passengers would be my wife, who drives, and my son who is 1.5, who thinks he can drive.
1st question, am I being stupid? Would everyone be on the road as it is such a long weekend. The Independence Day weekend saw jams for hours on the expressway. I am sure it was true for other highways also.
2nd question, how bad is the Pune Satara stretch and the Pune bypass stretch.
3rd question, are the roads in Karnataka as good as before

And one more thing ...
I have been reading posts on team-bhp for years now. Yesterday, after we finally decided to cancel our Srinagar trip, my wife asked me for some alternative destinations. When I dithered she became angry and told me that she would look up that bhp site I was always hooked on to and find something herself. I had a long laugh and am now thinking of driving to my in-laws place in Chennai.