[paragsachania]

News paper articles and locals have been telling us loud over the last few weeks that closure of Shiradi may not happen at all.

I am wondering how will those 400 buses manage with an alternate route while its closed!!

Hence, till we have concrete information coming up again, I guess travelers can breath easy.

The Sakleshpur route also has been repaired barring few sections between Kadmane Tea estate and Gundya (Reported unk9ja today who rode to Udupi) .

Overall, Shiradi is a viable bet for those who do not want to take Charmadi.

[belvaisudheer]

Had been to Karkala from Bangalore Last week. It doesn't look like they are going to do any major repairs on the road (No heavy machinery or any survey happening). On my way back I stopped somewhere in the middle of the ghat where the repair work was going on and questioned the supervisor. He said the it would be only patchwork this time and the entire ghat section (Upto Sakleshpur town) patch work to be completed by December.

BTW anybody has any idea about the timings when these Bullet tankers are allowed to ply on these roads. I could see a lot of them on my way back and was surprised. they were in sheer nos.
PS: I take this route atleast once a month on my Figo petrol.

[paragsachania]

What ToI says today, Dec 25th is the D-Day!

[JMaruru]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

What ToI says today, Dec 25th is the D-Day!

Attachment 1320185

'May be' is the operative word. No one is sure what is happening. I fear, whether alternatives will be up and running when they actually do what they say. Lots of ceremonies and functions lined up around end December and January. Fingers crossed.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

What ToI says today, Dec 25th is the D-Day!

Such a date is really stupid. The traffic between 25th and 4th will be truly overwhelming due to the holidays. That is when they want to close?

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by JMaruru

'May be' is the operative word. No one is sure what is happening. I fear, whether alternatives will be up and running when they actually do what they say. Lots of ceremonies and functions lined up around end December and January. Fingers crossed.

Most of the concerned folks here have been advised to take Shiradi only due to the "may be" part in all the reports over this closure since past few months .

[anup7649]

I have a drive planned from 25th to 28th towards Mangalore and Bekal. Looks like I will have to watch on this thread closely

[NPV]

Originally Posted by anup7649

I have a drive planned from 25th to 28th towards Mangalore and Bekal. Looks like I will have to watch on this thread closely

If Shiradi is closed, consider this route:
Bangalore-Nelamangala-Channrayapatna-Holenarasipura-Arkalgud-Shanivarasanthe-Somwarpet-Madikeri-Sampaje-Sullia-Cherkala-Bekal.
Some road widening work on Sampaje-Sullia stretch.
Or go via Kanhangad - Hunsur - Madikeri - Bhagamandala - Panathur - Kanhangad - Bekal. Details in this post Here.

[anup7649]

Originally Posted by NPV

If Shiradi is closed, consider this route:
Bangalore-Nelamangala-Channrayapatna-Holenarasipura-Arkalgud-Shanivarasanthe-Somwarpet-Madikeri-Sampaje-Sullia-Cherkala-Bekal.
Some road widening work on Sampaje-Sullia stretch.
Or go via Kanhangad - Hunsur - Madikeri - Bhagamandala - Panathur - Kanhangad - Bekal. Details in this post Here.

Thanks NPV. My first stop will be Mangalore, so guess I will take the Charmadi ghat route enroute. However while coming it will be Bekal - Jalsoor - Kukke. Then Kukke- Sullia- Madikeri- Bangalore

[NPV]

Originally Posted by anup7649

However while coming it will be Bekal - Jalsoor - Kukke. Then Kukke- Sullia- Madikeri- Bangalore

You don't have to come back all the way to Kukke, somewhere near Jalsoor, (Doddathota I think) you can turn towards Sullia. See this post for more details - Here.

[anup7649]

Originally Posted by NPV

You don't have to come back all the way to Kukke, somewhere near Jalsoor, (Doddathota I think) you can turn towards Sullia. See this post for more details - Here.

Yes. Thanks. However I plan to visit temple in Kukke. So that route

[unk9ja]

Update on road condition, Bangalore to Udupi. This was done on my bike.


Started at 1115 from the my office in Adugodi
Reached Udupi at 1830 with a lone stop at IOCL, Shakleshpur for a refill.


Within Bangalore: Traffic at its best or worst for that matter. Added to this traffic signals. Took about an hour to reach Yeshwanthpur


Bangalore to Hassan: Butter smooth roads with scarce traffic. The third and fourth toll on the Bangalore-Mangalore highway needs to be bypassed by the two wheelers off road since the lane for the bikes were blocked. Don't know why. Can easily cruise at triple digit speeds. Hirisave is the only place where the stretch of about a km is bad due to overbridge construction.


Hassan to Sakleshpur: Good 2 lane roads where a decent 60kmph can be achieved. All the potholes are mended but your butt knows it better when you ride on this stretch. Look out for morons who overtake on the curves. I encountered about 4 TN registered vehicles doing this on this stretch.


Sakleshpur to Gundya: The roads are fine till the Kadmane tea outlet after which there are some broken stretches. About 3 kms stretch is bad and vehicle with low GC need to be cautious. STC buses are the culprits on this stretch trying to overtake slower lorries/ tankers going both ways. The 30km stretch can be covered in approximately 45 minutes.


Gundya to Mangalore: Good to excellent roads. Traffic starts to build up from here. Post the BC road, local transport gets you on the nerves, especially the would be Rossis and Marquezes on their bikes.


Mangalore to Udupi: Mix of good and bad roads. Lot of diversions and heavy traffic. Overtaking possible where the roads are 6 laned. Not an opportunity in other places. Private buses are added nuisance here to the already slow moving traffic. Looks like the work has restarted on the 6 lane.


Returned back today morning in a bus. Planning a drive next wednesday through Mysore-Sampaje-Mangalore-Udupi. Will update the same after return.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by unk9ja

Update on road condition, Bangalore to Udupi. This was done on my bike.

Was waiting for you to come here and post as you recently rode. This report really helps than reading the newspapers .

Somewhere earlier in previous posts, I have referred your trip and provided a brief update.

Thank you!

[Falcon_blr]

People planning to go from Kukke to Dharmasthala or the other way round are better off taking the Gundya check post route though it is an additional 20 odd kilometers. The usual short route between these two places is in very poor condition. The road is literally non-existent. I was lucky that I was in a Duster and it took most of the bad roads in it's stride. Hatchbacks and sedans might find it very difficult. My trip was a couple of weeks back.

[TheTeacher]

Will be driving to Udupi from Bangalore on the 25th morning. Looks like Hassan - Charmadi - Ujire - Bajegoli - Karkala - Udupi is the best bet. Samurai's route mentioned in his post # 5589 is the same distance (417 km)and takes the same number of hours (7). Would appreciate feedback / comments.

An acquaintance recommended Bangalore - Chitradurga - Shimoga - Thirthahalli - Agumbe - Hebri - Udupi. He had taken that route a couple of weeks ago and he vouched for good roads. But the Google God says distance would be 475 km and time taken 8.5 hours. I have no desire to spend an additional hour and a half on the road!

Will be driving to Mangalore morning of the 26th, and leaving Mangalore for Bangalore morning of the 27th. Return will certainly be via Charmady because we need to visit a temple in Ujire.

Thanks.