[venki.bala]

For people who take the Perambalur route, there is a good restaurant right on the exit/corner of Ariyalur road. Thambu Coffee bar has opened a new Veg restaurant and food tastes good and clean restrooms. Very reasonably priced when compared to Aswin's. Location is shared below
https://goo.gl/maps/zCwZauW9FMtJMsE78

[RGK]

Yesterday, I travelled to Chennai and Kumbakonam (Thirunageswaram) for one day. travelled through Ulundurpet, Vepur, Vridhachalam Bye Pass, Jayamkondam, Anakarai, and KKM . KKM -- T-Palur, Jayamkondam, Vepur, Ulundurpet and Chennai made up the return route.

Between Vepur and Vridhachalam Bye Pass, the road has recently repaved (200 metre patch near few bus stops are still bumpy).

1. There have been some improvements made on the Anaikarai to KKM segment, but much work still to be done. When viewed from this old bridge, the new bridge is almost finished.

2. The T Palur path is deteriorating, but it still cuts 15 km off the Anaikarai route. Choosing KKM - T Palur - Vridhachalam - Vepur - Chennai is the renowned Rathimeena Volvo.

Owing to Sunday's heavy return traffic to Chennai, it appears that we should refrain from doing so till the summer break is through.

[mah45]

Did a quick trip to Kumbakonam and Swamimalai over the weekend - 13/14 May.

Started a bit late around 7:40 from Perumbakkam. Took the Thalambur - Navalur route which is well laid now except at 2 places. Had breakfast at A2B Navalur which was very average.

Drove via Thiruporur - Chengalpattu route which had relatively very less traffic. The roads are good for the most part, but surface isn't great..so, you still keep floating around.

Once I joined NH after Chengalpattu it was full of cars.. for a normal weekend I found it very high. Usually the number of vehicles come down after Tindivanam but this time I found it all the way to Ulundurpet. Took the Veppur - Vridachalam bye-pass which was good. We decided to go via T.Pazhur and it seemed to be ok.It took around 6.5 hours with 2-3 breaks.

On Sunday, we had to start from near Suriyanar koil, so took the Anaikkarai route. Turned out to be a disaster.There was huge traffic pile-up near the bridge, and it took us 45 minutes to cross both the bridges.After G.cholapuram I missed the right turn towards Jayamgondam and took the flyover instead. Luckily there was one more tum right after, and joined J.kondam.

Once we reached Veppur, it was full of vehicles once again. It was really tiring to drive with so many cars around.

Looks like this road also needs an extension badly. But with the exponential increase in cars I wonder whether driving will be viable in say 5 years time. Maybe it's just my age

Took the Thiruporur route once again in fading light, and reached home around 7:30 - almost 7.5 hours drive.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by mah45

Looks like this road also needs an extension badly.
But with the exponential increase in cars I wonder whether driving will be viable in say 5 years time.
Maybe it's just my age

I just hope the 4-laning of the old NH45C (Vikravandi-Panruti-Sethiyarthope-Kumbakonam) will alleviate the solution. And definitely the long due new bridge at Anakarai should help big time.

Even I agree the traffic on GST is extremely high, given its the only arterial road down south from Chennai. If some how ECR and the associated 4-lane work south of Pondicherry comes up, that may also help.

[Yieldway17]

I took a very relaxed drive to Tirunallar from Tambaram via Villupuram - Ulundurpet - Virudhachalam town - Sethiyathope - Kaatumannar Koil - Mayiladuthurai. Took more than 7hrs altogether.

Highlights:
- Mangalampettai bypass is now open in the Ulundurpet - Virudhachalam highway. Must be a brand new development as it was not open 2 weeks before.

- Made to Virudhachalam at a quite good time but got stuck inside the town due to some electrical wiring work which was being done on the main road near the bus stand. If not for that, I think with the good road, I might start skipping the Veppur route regularly. There is also kind of a small bypass available for people who want to skip the town.

- I got excited seeing the new Sethiyathopu highway bypass service road open (usually is blocked) just before the Sethiyathopu junction of SH-70 and NH-36. Took it and found no one on the highway except for some heavy trucks and it ended in 3km pending construction as expected and had to take some small roads to get to Sethiyathopu town and from there to Kattumanar Koil road.

- Kattumanar Koil bypass works as part of NH-81 upgrade is shaping up at a good pace.

- The roads after the Kollidam bridge till Nidur is quite narrow and had to give way for big trucks or stuck behind local buses or trucks several times.

- Mayiladuthurai - Tiruvarur highway has some very small indicators of being upgraded like some trees uprooted, some compound walls knocked down etc. Nothing concrete even after it was tendered if I recall 1.5 years back.

Bonus: I went to Panrutti last week and the NH-36 Vikravandi-Sethiyathopu section will not see light of the day for a long long time. The construction is completely abandoned and is really in a sad state. But Villupuram - Cuddalore section of NH-332 is in rapid pace. Some pictures can be seen from my post here in SSC.

[ampere]

Thanks for a great update!

Originally Posted by Yieldway17

- Kattumanar Koil bypass works as part of NH-81 upgrade is shaping up at a good pace.

Good to note!

- The roads after the Kollidam bridge till Nidur is quite narrow and had to give way for big trucks or stuck behind local buses or trucks several times.

Never understood this one. The bridge on Kollidam is so wide via Kattumannar Kovil, then why the road is so narrow? Even I experienced it some years back. They are just not using the full potential of this bridge.

Bonus: I went to Panrutti last week and the NH-36 Vikravandi-Sethiyathopu section will not see light of the day for a long long time. The construction is completely abandoned and is really in a sad state. But Villupuram - Cuddalore section of NH-332 is in rapid pace. Some pictures can be seen from my post here in SSC.

Goodness! Sad to see the old 45C or NH36 still bad around Vikravandi-Panruti. I thought with all the development around Kumbakonam and Anaikarai, this highway was coming along well.

[Yieldway17]

Originally Posted by ampere

Thanks for a great update!
Good to note!

Kattumannar Koil bypass is an west-east one and unfortunately not gonna help us folks traveling down from Chennai via Veeranam lake.

Never understood this one. The bridge on Kollidam is so wide via Kattumannar Kovil, then why the road is so narrow? Even I experienced it some years back. They are just not using the full potential of this bridge.

The roads are still MDRs and hence probably no upgrades. It's a decent option to get to Mayiladuthurai. The road after Kollidam is maintained by Mayiladuthurai division of HD. Cuddalore division seem to have done its job.

Goodness! Sad to see the old 45C or NH36 still bad around Vikravandi-Panruti. I thought with all the development around Kumbakonam and Anaikarai, this highway was coming along well.

The highway construction was awarded as 3 packages. Vikravandi-Sethiyathopu, Sethiyathoppu-Cholapuram, Cholapuram-Thanjavur. First one was executed by Reliance Infrastructure and they are bankrupt I believe and will take a while to get sorted out.

The later two is being executed by Patel Constructions who is a decent contractor and has done 80% of the job based on their control but there were some land acquisition delays, construction materials availability, and unfortunate Anaikarai bridge collapse incident which derailed those sections too.

Sethiyathoppu Vellar river bridge is not ready, several bypasses are not ready, Anaikarai bypass and bridge also not ready. I don't know the recent status of the greenfield Kumbakonam-Thanjavur section but many bridges across rivers and streams were pending as per 6 months back. I wouldn't pin any hope for these 2 sections to be ready before 2024.

Vikravandi-Sethiyathoppu could realistically take 2-3 years. This highway is cursed in my opinion.

[pypkmsrikanth]

Vikravandi - Sethiathoppu is unlikely to get sorted out immediately. It will remain as is where is for the near future. The entire stretch has rough roads, half patched up stretches no roads, one lane nearly ready roads. You name any form and it will be visible in this stretch. It is almost similar to how the Chitradurga - Haveri stretch used to be on NH4 a couple of decades back

[Yieldway17]

Had a busy weekend in the delta area and these are my observations of the roads. Ignoring some of the roads already covered in my previous post.

Peralam-Tiruvarur SH 23:
Patchy road and irritating to drive. Saw some bypass earth clearing works near Sannanallur which was the only actual work I saw.

Peralam-Tirunallar section of SH 147:
Decent road with 2L + PS in many places except for villages and small towns.

Kollumangudi-Nedungadu-Karaikal MDR(?):
Newly laid till PY border except for the initial couple of KM. Pondy end is a bit broken and aged.

Karaikal-Tharangambadi ECR:
Decent but nothing great. Saw some earth clearing near Karaikal, was not sure if for bypass or Peralam-Karaikal railway line.

Tiruvarur TN Central University Road :
This wide and empty road to TN Central University kind of acts like a bypass on the north side of Tiruvarur town to access Kumbakonam, Mannargudi and Thanjavur highways when coming down from Mayiladuthurai. It's decently paved with some small sections not well maintained. Very scenic along the river.

Tiruvarur-Thanjavur NH 83:
Great progress since my last visit a couple of years back. New NH standard 2 L + PS almost the full length with only the lane marking and signs yet to be done till Ammapettai, after which the road is fully ready till Thanjavur bypass.

Some of the bypasses are not fully ready yet, mainly for Tiruvarur town and a 15km long greenfield section to bypass Koradacheri and Needamangalam towns but should be completed soon based on the progress seen. Ammapettai, Saliamangalam, Poondi bypasses are functional. Roads inside Needamangalam after the railway gate is not in very good shape.

Saliamangalam-Papanasam MDR 407:
Great quality 2L no shoulder MDR with cat eye reflectors all through. Was actually fun driving at night on a narrow road.

Reached Kumbakonam bypass from near Papanasam without touching NH 36 through several MDRs and village roads which were all very good and with lot of twists and turns which was fun to drive at mid night but could be busy in the day.

Kumbakonam-Peralam section of SH 147:
Mix of great, decent and bad stretches. Mayiladuthurai HD division roads are the worst, Tiruvarur division had the best laid roads, Thanjavur division decent.

Kumbakonam-Kollidam Bridge(Madanathur) MDR 205:
Too narrow and too much traffic with heavy trucks, tractors, bikes, cycles whatever. Too many speed breakers. Only road I feared for my life in recent times because of reckless driving of heavy sand carrying trucks in blind curves with too much mix of slow moving traffic. I have mentioned this in one of my previous post here. I had sweared never to take this road again then but still went ahead and did it again on a busy evening peak time as well. Now I will swear again to not take this road for near future.

Madanathur-T. Palur-Jayamkondam SH 140:
Decent quality SH with good 2L + PS upgraded sections here and there in bits. But too many speed breakers again. I don't know who decided this but from Kumbakonam to Jayamkondam you probably have to navigate 100-150 speed breakers or more in a stretch of 30km.

Jayamkondam-Andimadam-Virudachalam Bypass SH 140:
Has been a good road for the last few years with 2L + PS almost 99% of the section. Bypasses for Andimadam and Karuvepilankurichi will make it great. I believe 4 landing upgrade is already announced and hope bypasses are planned in that.

Sethiathopu-Kattumanar Koil MDR 542:
Good road fully along the Veeranam lake. Very scenic as the lake is having considerable water even in the peak summer.

Virudhachalam-Sethiathopu section of SH 70:
Great 2L+PS road as usual and as I have singed praises before for. It has deteriorated a bit in the last 2 years but still great. Hope it will be maintained well for future.

Virudhachalam-Veppur NH 532:
Now great with newly laid pavement and 4-lane divided sections in busy village areas. Took this road instead of Ulundurpet road only to check the status of the road as road works were on last time I went in this road.

Overall, except for the core NHs to the delta, other roads are in decent to good shape.

[ravib]

Originally Posted by Yieldway17

Had a busy weekend in the delta area and these are my observations of the roads. Ignoring some of the roads already covered in my previous post.

Overall, except for the core NHs to the delta, other roads are in decent to good shape.

Great update Yieldway. Much appreciated and very useful.

BTW, i didn't understood what you mean as PS in many updates. 2L (2 lane) + PS means? Sorry for the ignorance.

-Ravi

[Yieldway17]

Originally Posted by ravib

BTW, i didn't understood what you mean as PS in many updates. 2L (2 lane) + PS means? Sorry for the ignorance.

-Ravi

Sorry, the post was originally written for an infra enthusiasts forum and I only tweaked it a bit before posting it here.

PS is Paved Shoulder. So 2L + PS means the 2 lanes + paved shoulder highway standard followed by NH and SHs nowadays.

[prabhuferrari]

Originally Posted by Yieldway17

I took a very relaxed drive to Tirunallar from Tambaram via Villupuram - Ulundurpet - Virudhachalam town - Sethiyathope - Kaatumannar Koil - Mayiladuthurai. Took more than 7hrs altogether.



- The roads after the Kollidam bridge till Nidur is quite narrow and had to give way for big trucks or stuck behind local buses or trucks several times.

- Mayiladuthurai - Tiruvarur highway has some very small indicators of being upgraded like some trees uprooted, some compound walls knocked down etc. Nothing concrete even after it was tendered if I recall 1.5 years back.

But Villupuram - Cuddalore section of NH-332 is in rapid pace. Some pictures can be seen from my post here in SSC.

What is the best way to kumbakonam? I am contemplating vridachalam- jayamkondan or the other option is perambalur-ariyalur-thiruvayaru-kumbakonam

[Yieldway17]

Originally Posted by prabhuferrari

What is the best way to kumbakonam? I am contemplating vridachalam- jayamkondan or the other option is perambalur-ariyalur-thiruvayaru-kumbakonam

Perambalur-Ariyalur-Tiruvaiyaru is too much pain for not much reward.

Just take Virudachalam-Jayamkondam-Gangai Konda Cholapuram - Anaikarai - Kumbakonam. Except for Anaikarai wait time based on time of the day, it's decent.

[cosmodan]

Originally Posted by Yieldway17

Perambalur-Ariyalur-Tiruvaiyaru is too much pain for not much reward.

Just take Virudachalam-Jayamkondam-Gangai Konda Cholapuram - Anaikarai - Kumbakonam. Except for Anaikarai wait time based on time of the day, it's decent.

Also mindful on your speeds near Jayamkondam and watch for traffic police noting down outstation car numbers. They wont stop you, but you might get challan'ed later for whatever reason. Got one recently.

[Sridhar K]

@Yieldway, Fantastic update on the delta roads, parts of which I covered 2 weeks ago.

After the relaying of the tarmac on Ulundurpet - Vridhachalam section and the opening of Mangalampettai bypass, the detour via Veppur avoiding Vridhachalam was showing almost 20-25 mins more in google maps. Hence I took the Ulundurpet- Vridhachalam road but did not realize that there is a direct exit to Vridhachalam road on the Ulundurpet bypass and drove all the way to the substation ahead to take a left towards Mangalampettai.

I took the SH22 from Kumbakonam to Vanamutti Perumal Koil and it was very nicely laid 2L + Paved shoulders albeit not wide.

Avoided the T Palur road due to the fear of speed breakers and took the Anaikarai road instead. The Anaikarai bridge took me 5 mins while going but got stuck for 30 mins during the return journey (Sunday evening traffic)