[ampere]

Originally Posted by prabhuferrari

Thanks. How is it from Vikravandi to Chidambaram by pass? Currently am before dindivanam. Have stopped for breakfast.

Its OK. You can do 60-70. A couple of rough sections till Sethiyarthope.

Check this :

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route...ml#post4211501 (Bangalore - Chidambaram : Route Queries)

Chidambaram - Sethiyathope (SH70) and then Vadalur - Panruti (NH 36) stretch is not that bad. Patch works done at many places, but no potholes and moderate traffic. Speeds of 60-70 Kmph can be easily maintained.

There is an over bridge construction work going on at Panruti which resulted in diversions and some off roading, resulting in time delay, but that's about it.

Panruti till Kurinjipadi (NH 36) was smooth overall but traffic was on the higher side and quite unruly. Got to be careful on the stretch of road for about 5 Km or so, after crossing Panruti, were huge crater like potholes were found in the middle of an otherwise smooth road, a nasty combination in my opinion.

[prabhuferrari]

Thanks. Reached mayavaram at 12. Five hour driving time from chennai. They are constructing a bridge at Panruti. Small crazy detour there due to narrow roads but good otherwise. I guess I missed the diversion for this Panruti flyover construction. From there went via sethiyathope bhuvanagiri chidambaram bypass...

[ampere]

Originally Posted by prabhuferrari

Thanks. Reached mayavaram at 12. Five hour driving time from chennai. They are constructing a bridge at Panruti. Small crazy detour there due to narrow roads but good otherwise. I guess I missed the diversion for this Panruti flyover construction. From there went via sethiyathope bhuvanagiri chidambaram bypass...

How is Sethiyarthope to Chidambaram? That section of NH532 was getting re-laid/re-surfaced.

[prabhuferrari]

Originally Posted by ampere

How Sethiyarthope to Chidambaram? That section of NH532 was getting re-laid/re-surfaced.

Bit of work happening and uneven for initial stretch. Then crowded near Bhuvanagiri. Manageable though!

[ampere]

Originally Posted by prabhuferrari

Bit of work happening and uneven for initial stretch. Then crowded near Bhuvanagiri. Manageable though!

I tried an alternative option via Kattumannarkovil when driving into this section from Veppur. It works well. But stuck with no roads for some distance once you cross the Kollidam bridge. But yes it avoids the crowd.

Veppur-Vridhachalam-Jayamkondam-Meensurutti-Kattumannarkovil-Villiyanallur-Mayavaram

I am sure Kattumannarkovil-Villiyanallur-Mayavaram section will see some improvement especially since the bridge on Kollidam is wide and heavily under utilized.

It might worth a try when you go back. Just go via the Veeranam lake to Sethiyarthope. The option helps cut Sirkazi/Chidambaram at the cost of road condition at many places.

[swiftdiesel]

Guys, I need to travel from Chennai to Pattukottai this evening. I need the shortest route possible and G Maps is suggesting a route through ECR Pondy - Vadalur - Kumbakonam - Pattukottai. Is this road well paved? I understand it's a 2 way road but is it good to drive at night? Or should I stick to NH albeit doing a 100 kms extra and not to mention the toll. Kindly advise.

Attaching a G Map route suggestion for reference.

https://goo.gl/maps/FVqhpA2XcTD2

[DWind]

Originally Posted by swiftdiesel

Guys, I need to travel from Chennai to Pattukottai this evening. I need the shortest route possible and G Maps is suggesting a route through ECR Pondy - Vadalur - Kumbakonam - Pattukottai. Is this road well paved?

If you want to fastest please take the Chennai-Trichy-Thanjavur route and from there continue on to Pattukottai via Orthanadu.

[swiftdiesel]

Originally Posted by DWind

If you want to fastest please take the Chennai-Trichy-Thanjavur route and from there continue on to Pattukottai via Orthanadu.

Thank you DWind. That's the route another friend suggests too and I'm taking that route.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by swiftdiesel

Guys, I need to travel from Chennai to Pattukottai this evening. I need the shortest route possible and G Maps is suggesting a route through ECR Pondy - Vadalur - Kumbakonam - Pattukottai. Is this road well paved? I understand it's a 2 way road but is it good to drive at night? Or should I stick to NH albeit doing a 100 kms extra and not to mention the toll. Kindly advise.

Agree on the Trichy-Tanjur option. Drive till Vallam on Trichy-Tanjore road and head to Pattukottai.

[hserus]

Originally Posted by ampere

Agree on the Trichy-Tanjur option. Drive till Vallam on Trichy-Tanjore road and head to Pattukottai.

To answer the other question ECR beyond Pondy and Cuddalore is a narrow and winding road with pretty heavy bus and truck traffic. It is a pleasure to drive early in the morning when there is no traffic but not at peak hours and definitely please don't try it at night, you will at best end up stuck in mud in a field.

[ampere]

ECR in my opinion should be used more for point to point connections rather than a long distance drive especially on the Chennai-Pondicherry-Cuddalore-Chidambaram-Srikazi-Karaikal-Velankanni sector. Further down south it gets easier to drive. But then lack of facilities will be a downer.

[Yieldway17]

Originally Posted by ampere

I tried an alternative option via Kattumannarkovil when driving into this section from Veppur. It works well. But stuck with no roads for some distance once you cross the Kollidam bridge. But yes it avoids the crowd.

Veppur-Vridhachalam-Jayamkondam-Meensurutti-Kattumannarkovil-Villiyanallur-Mayavaram

I am sure Kattumannarkovil-Villiyanallur-Mayavaram section will see some improvement especially since the bridge on Kollidam is wide and heavily under utilized.

It might worth a try when you go back. Just go via the Veeranam lake to Sethiyarthope. The option helps cut Sirkazi/Chidambaram at the cost of road condition at many places.

Recently traveled to Vridachalam from Chennai and the SH from Veppur to Vridachhalam was excellent.

I'm planning to drive to Mayavaram (near Peralam to be exact) next weekend and wonder if I should take this road instead of the regular Vikravandi-Cuddalore-Chidambaram route.

Do you by any chance know how is the road condition beyond Vridachalam by-pass via Jayamkondam and Gangai Konda Cholapuram?

I'm interested in this route to be specific.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Yieldway17

Recently traveled to Vridachalam from Chennai and the SH from Veppur to Vridachhalam was excellent.

Thats the NH532. I think its still getting relaid beyond Vridhachalam to Chidambaram. But the Thalaivasal-Veppur-Vridhachalam bypass is fantastic!

I'm planning to drive to Mayavaram (near Peralam to be exact) next weekend and wonder if I should take this road instead of the regular Vikravandi-Cuddalore-Chidambaram route.

The road till Anaikarai (Veppur-Vridhachalam bypass - Jayamkondam-Meensurutty-Anakarai) is brilliant. But what I dont know is when they stop traffic on Anaikarai stating a weak bridge.
A safer option can be : Jayamkondan-T Palur-Kumbakonam Bypass - Kollumangudi-Peralam.Route Link

Do you by any chance know how is the road condition beyond Vridachalam by-pass via Jayamkondam and Gangai Konda Cholapuram?

Its brilliant. But its the Anaikarai bridge which can be the spoilsport. Go via T Palur and Kumabakonam byass. Roads are very good. Some humps yes and there is truck traffic till Kumbakonam; but it moves. Also the Kumbakonam bypass is clean done and the road to Kollumangudi is brilliant. No trucks and buses; as they are mostly ply the main Kumbakonam Mayavaram road.

Hope that helps.

[Yieldway17]

Originally Posted by ampere

Thats the NH532. I think its still getting relaid beyond Vridhachalam to Chidambaram. But the Thalaivasal-Veppur-Vridhachalam bypass is fantastic!

Didn't know it was a NH!! Pretty sure the entire Salem-Vridachalam stretch used to be a SH a while back.

Its brilliant. But its the Anaikarai bridge which can be the spoilsport. Go via T Palur and Kumabakonam byass. Roads are very good. Some humps yes and there is truck traffic till Kumbakonam; but it moves. Also the Kumbakonam bypass is clean done and the road to Kollumangudi is brilliant. No trucks and buses; as they are mostly ply the main Kumbakonam Mayavaram road.

Hope that helps.

Thanks again! Will try T.Palur - Kumbakonam - Kollumangudi route and update here. I could be traveling once a month to Mayavaram from now on for a while and I want to explore the routes available and their conditions based on time and traffic.

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by Yieldway17

Didn't know it was a NH!! Pretty sure the entire Salem-Vridachalam stretch used to be a SH a while back.

To clarify. NH 532 is V Koot Road-Veppur-Vriddachalam-Neyveli-Cuddalore. Ulundurpet-Kallakurichi-Chinna Salem-Athur-Salem has been an NH for quite a while now (atleast 30 years). It was NH68 in the past and NH79 now.