[narayans80]

Originally Posted by keshav1426

Hows the resurfacing work there ? Is it motorable ?

Rest of the sections are good enough to do 80, the diversions are smooth and are hardly a bother. When I drove, the work was happening about 8 km from the OMR. By now it should be more closer to Kelambakkam.

[RGK]

Originally Posted by venki.bala

Ulunduperpet - Veppur is a breeze and also good restaurants are lined up in this stretch.

Originally Posted by ampere

Also Vppur saves the hassle of getting into the town at Ulundurpet and also Vridhachalam. You directly reach Vridhachalam bypass.

Originally Posted by RGK

Both of your replies are bit tempting.... Let me try during the next trip probably in December. Thanks.

Did a trip to Kumbakonam (Chennai - Villupuram - Ulundurpet - VEPPUR - Jayamkondam - Gangaikonda Cholapuram - Anaikarai). As mentioned by you it is a breeze drive.

The time-consuming part is the delay faced in crossing the Anaikarai bridge and the traffic slowness due to Kumbakonam-Sethiathoppu road widening.
I feel it is better to take the T Palur route even though it is curvy and narrow till the road widening is complete.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by RGK

Did a trip to Kumbakonam (Chennai - Villupuram - Ulundurpet - VEPPUR - Jayamkondam - Gangaikonda Cholapuram - Anaikarai). As mentioned by you it is a breeze drive.

If you want to head to Kumbakonam you could have gone straight from Jaymkondam to T Palur onto Kumabakonam instead of Anaikarai. Thats round about option.

(Route Link)

[venki.bala]

Originally Posted by ampere

If you want to head to Kumbakonam you could have gone straight from Jaymkondam to T Palur onto Kumabakonam instead of Anaikarai. Thats round about option.

(Route Link)

Absolutely true. Head straight as ampere mentioned and it joins the bypass. You can go to all directions from there.

[narayans80]

Kumbakonam bypass to Jayamkondam now has innumerable speed breakers. Only saving grace is bypass to T. Palur is now smooth tarmac. Given that Vikravandi-Panruti-Neyveli route is being worked on, KMU bypass-Jayamkondam-Vriddachalam bypass-Veppur is still the route to take.

One worthy find from this trip, is this Navadhanya restaurant in Kumbakonam bypass (location). The service is tad slow, but the food is excellent. For anyone passing through, but don't want to enter town. This is a good option.

Originally Posted by ampere

If you want to head to Kumbakonam you could have gone straight from Jaymkondam to T Palur onto Kumabakonam instead of Anaikarai.

He probably went to Gangaikondacholapuram, which is close to Meensuritty than it is to Jayamkondam.

[anandharamanp]

i am from a place called Vadalur, which is bang on the Vikravandi - Kumbakonam six lane project eagerly waiting for this project completion - Where can i find details about the project - like which company is working on the road expansion, estimated completion date, new toll location, status updates etc - tried locating them online but very few info available.

[Yieldway17]

Originally Posted by anandharamanp

i am from a place called Vadalur, which is bang on the Vikravandi - Kumbakonam six lane project eagerly waiting for this project completion - Where can i find details about the project - like which company is working on the road expansion, estimated completion date, new toll location, status updates etc - tried locating them online but very few info available.

Keep an eye on Skyscrapercity forum's 'Tamilnadu Highway Projects' thread. All the news items and individual observations on various highway projects in the state gets posted there but not very frequently though. You can even register and post this question and someone who knows the latest update will reply.

Edit: Mods, hope it's not against the forum rules to ask to check another forum which specializes in this area. If not, please do remove the comment.

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by anandharamanp

i am from a place called Vadalur, which is bang on the Vikravandi - Kumbakonam six lane project eagerly waiting for this project completion

I don't think it's a 6-lane project, looks like 4-lane at best. There's hardly been any progress in the last 2 years.

Going by this pace and the step-motherly treatment this stretch gets, I expect it'll be completed by the time by 4-year old gets his drivers' license

[Nimalan]

Originally Posted by anandharamanp

i am from a place called Vadalur, which is bang on the Vikravandi - Kumbakonam six lane project eagerly waiting for this project completion

Originally Posted by narayans80

I don't think it's a 6-lane project, looks like 4-lane at best. There's hardly been any progress in the last 2 years.

It's definitely a 4 lane project, 116km long covering Vikravandi-Sethiathope-Cholapuram-Thanjavur of NH36. Foundation stones for this project was laid by the PM in March 2019. The pace of the project is really good after that. This project has been divided into three sections. Work is being done by reliance(1st section-Vikravandi to Sethiathope) and Patel(rest 2 sections) groups. News about the project in Tamil dailies are positive till now.

1. http://tamil.thehindu.com/tamilnadu/article26977538.ece
2. http://www.dailythanthi.com/News/Dis...Vikarwandi.vpf

Originally Posted by narayans80

I didn't try SH68 (maybe on a later trip), only SH9.

BIG THANKS to narayans80 for your route find. My mother's hometown is Thilaiyadi near Thirukadaiyur. Your route find has been very helpful for me in avoiding the pondy to cuddalore traffic. I use SH68 instead of SH9 to reach Panruti from GST. The road is good. But the road becomes narrow and congested for a small section in Panruti town before reaching the Panruti junction. I guess this will be the case for SH9 too.

[anandharamanp]

Originally Posted by Nimalan

Work is being done by reliance(1st section-Vikravandi to Sethiathope) and Patel(rest 2 sections) groups. News about the project in Tamil dailies are positive till now.

1. http://tamil.thehindu.com/tamilnadu/article26977538.ece
2. http://www.dailythanthi.com/News/Dis...Vikarwandi.vpf

Thanks for sharing the info shared by local dailies - very helpful to understand in detail.

[venki.bala]

Originally Posted by Nimalan

It's definitely a 4 lane project, 116km long covering Vikravandi-Sethiathope-Cholapuram-Thanjavur of NH36. Foundation stones for this project was laid by the PM in March 2019. The pace of the project is really good after that. This project has been divided into three sections. Work is being done by reliance(1st section-Vikravandi to Sethiathope) and Patel(rest 2 sections) groups. News about the project in Tamil dailies are positive till now.

Went to Kumbakonam over the weekend and came back to Chennai today. Onwards took Veppur - Virudachalam bypass - T.Palur - Kumabakonam Road. I think road is fantastic. The relaid surface after Jaymkondam is very good. Return was through Anaikarai - Sethiyathope - Vadalur - Panruti - Vikravandi. Thirupanandal - Anaikarai - Meensurity, you donot see any signs of construction. Meensurity onwards till Sethiyathope you will see mini mountains of sand on both sides of the road. But surface in the middle is very good and you can maintain 70-90 KMPH easily. Then onwards till Vadalur you dont see any construction activity till Neyveli. Surface is bad and speed drops down to 40 - 50 KMPH. After Neyveli till Panruti the surface is good with no signs of construction. After the newly opened Railway bridge at Panruti, you start seeing the construction activity in full pace till Vikravandi with the road surface in very bad condition. It took 2.45 hours from Anaikarai till I joined the NH45 at Vikravandi. I would not recommend this road till the construction is over and a strict no during night drives. At this pace I don't see this road getting ready for another 2 years eventhough the deadline in the news article says by 2020 the widening should be complete.

[Yieldway17]

After taking various routes to Peralam (frequent being Veppur-Anaikarai route) over the last 2 years, I took the Tindivanam-Pondicherry-Cuddalore-Chidambaram-Mayavaram route again today.

Except for road surface improvements in some stretches (especially inside Cuddalore town), it was a frustrating drive as expected.

Pondicherry to Cuddalore is so treacherous with two wheeler traffic, it’s like driving in a city for 25-30km. Cuddalore to Kollidam bridge is quite good and only the reasonably high speed stretch in this route. Beyond Kollidam, road surface notably worsens with lot of patches until Mayavaram. Mayavaram to Thiruvarur road until Peralam is also only good in very few small stretches and rest being full of patches and a bumpy ride.

I decided to take this route from Tindivanam on a whim as it had been some time and kind of regretted it at the end. Took 5:30hrs from Tambaram with a 5 min break at Chidambaram which is not bad. Would have taken very similar time via Veppur-Jayamkondam-Anaikarai or Veppur-Jayamkondam-Kumbakonam Bypass routes as well and they would have been much better roads in terms of road quality and traffic.

[Nimalan]

Originally Posted by Yieldway17

After taking various routes to Peralam (frequent being Veppur-Anaikarai route) over the last 2 years, I took the Tindivanam-Pondicherry-Cuddalore-Chidambaram-Mayavaram route again today.

Hi, have you tried the route mentioned by narayans80? This route avoids the pondy - cuddalore traffic completely. Here is the link

http://goo.gl/maps/r19oGBLqKxaPRgL87

[Yieldway17]

Originally Posted by Nimalan

Hi, have you tried the route mentioned by narayans80? This route avoids the pondy - cuddalore traffic completely. Here is the link

http://goo.gl/maps/r19oGBLqKxaPRgL87

Yes, I have driven in this route and also a slightly alternate route from the above one going through Kurinjipadi town as well. I used to drive every 2 weeks to Peralam last year and like once a month this year. So I have tried so many routes to get and return back that I have lost count and there are still plenty more to try.

Incidentally, I took a new route back just today bypassing Cuddalore which I have not tried before. I took the normal NH 32 route until Chidambaram from Mayiladuthurai and as I had to make a pit stop at Villupuram at a relative’s home on the way and as I have taken Buvanagiri-Kurinjipadi-Vadalur route countless times before, took a new route Google Maps suggested.

Google Maps suggested a diversion from NH 32 after Chidambaram and well before Cuddalore to a minor road via Kullanchavadi (MDR 200) and join the Thanjavur-Vikravandi(NH 36) between Neyveli and Panruti. The road was good for 99% of the length surprisingly and joins the NH 36 just before Panruti at Marungur. Good tarmac and only couple of minor chokepoints until you join NH 36. NH 36 though is not very good currently as have been highlighted here before because of 4-laning work. Continued from there to Villupuram via Panruti and Koliyanur X Road.

Google Maps link of the route - https://goo.gl/maps/swghSR8ZUfALAVxcA

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by Yieldway17

Google Maps suggested a diversion from NH 32 after Chidambaram and well before Cuddalore to a minor road via Kullanchavadi (MDR 200) and join the Thanjavur-Vikravandi(NH 36) between Neyveli and Panruti. The road was good for 99% of the length surprisingly and joins the NH 36 just before Panruti at Marungur.

That's the route I've been doing the last 2 years, and its what Nimalan took too. That MDR has improved since my first run.

I usually SH9-MDR 736 from Panruti, this way you are straighaway on Villupuram bypass

Originally Posted by Nimalan

It's definitely a 4 lane project, 116km long covering Vikravandi-Sethiathope-Cholapuram-Thanjavur of NH36.

Distance seems tad low. At the Vikravandi intersection, the distance marked in yesteryears was 122 to Kumbakonam and 162 to Thanjavur. Yet the project distance seems tad low. And given the new convention in calculating new road project distances, which is by the lane. That drops it to a mere 58 kms