[Sheel]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Is it the River Gandak bridge you are talking about, which is around 30 kms from Pipra Koti (the flyover junction where the Muzaffarpur-Gopalganj road turns off towards Gopalganj)? The Gandak bridge is a mess, it is being widened, but I don't recall any jams there. After crossing the bridge, the roads are incomplete - and a mess - all the way past Gopalganj till the UP border!

Can you show us a preview of the newspaper repair so that I can also try to find out which bridge it could be (AFAIK, there was no bridge work at Dumaria which comes before this Gandak bridge)

There is no pictorial coverage. It mentions of Dumaria bridge on river Gandak, between Motihari - Gopalgunj on the East West Corridor.

It seems it is the one you are pointing at. How is the surface?

Remember Kursela bridge between Naugachia - Purnea? It was in a complete mess a year back. So much so that the radiator fan of my Yamaha was on for the entire stretch & now you can carry on doing almost the same speeds.

I hope the Dumaria Bridge is refurbished ASAP.

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by Sheel

There is no pictorial coverage. It mentions of Dumaria bridge on river Gandak, between Motihari - Gopalgunj on the East West Corridor.

It seems it is the one you are pointing at. How is the surface?

Remember Kursela bridge between Naugachia - Purnea? It was in a complete mess a year back. So much so that the radiator fan of my Yamaha was on for the entire stretch & now you can carry on doing almost the same speeds.

I hope the Dumaria Bridge is refurbished ASAP.

Yes, then it is the same River Gandak bridge I am talking about. As I said earlier, it is still the old 2-laned bridge there, the extra 2 lanes are under construction parallel to the existing bridge. Messy approach - since 4-laned road is complete before and after it - but I remember the road surface to be rough but OK.

Now Kursela Bridge looks fine!

[wanderer4x4]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

The East-West Corridor is Siliguri-Bagodara-Islampur-Kishanganj-Dalkola-Purnea-Forbesganj-Darbhanga-Muzaffarpur-Gopalganj-Kushinagar-Gorakhpur-Ayodhya-Faizabad-Lucknow-Kanpur..............

The EW Corridor is a fantastic route & there is no need to get into NH2 till Kanpur..........

When I plotted this route on Google map, it gave me a distance of 1941 kms from Guwahati to Delhi which is exactly same as shown for the route Guwahati-Siliguri-Bagodara-Islampur-Kishanganj-Dalkola-Purnea-Begusarai-Sasaram-NH2-Delhi. So, I think both route will take similar times to cover. So, in view of this, which route would you suggest based on your experience? (Though, I have a feeling that one'll save lots on tolls on the EW route)

Also, following are my night halt plans for both the routes. Kindly have a look whether they are okay considering a relaxed drive (I mean I won't be able to do something like those non stop Mumbai Delhi runs that you manage to do, and yes...I do take a bow to your stamina and focus).

EW Route:
Day 1: Siliguri
Day 2: Lucknow
Day 3: Delhi

NH2 route:
Day 1: Siliguri
Day 2: Varanasi
Day 3: Delhi

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by wanderer4x4

When I plotted this route on Google map, it gave me a distance of 1941 kms from Guwahati to Delhi which is exactly same as shown for the route Guwahati-Siliguri-Bagodara-Islampur-Kishanganj-Dalkola-Purnea-Begusarai-Sasaram-NH2-Delhi. So, I think both route will take similar times to cover. So, in view of this, which route would you suggest based on your experience? (Though, I have a feeling that one'll save lots on tolls on the EW route)

Also, following are my night halt plans for both the routes. Kindly have a look whether they are okay considering a relaxed drive (I mean I won't be able to do something like those non stop Mumbai Delhi runs that you manage to do, and yes...I do take a bow to your stamina and focus).

EW Route:
Day 1: Siliguri
Day 2: Lucknow
Day 3: Delhi

NH2 route:
Day 1: Siliguri
Day 2: Varanasi
Day 3: Delhi

The Begusarai route can be a bad choice because you have to wade through several small Bihar towns & villages - without any bypasses. The Drive Risk Quotient (DRQ ) goes up considerably. On the EW Corridor, except for those bad sections, you can have a fluent run.

Reaching Lucknow is going to be very difficult unless you are a real early riser & go on till late evening. More conservatively, I would traget stay at Gorakhpur on Day 2 (It has good hotels).

On the second route, reaching Varanasi could also be quite difficult. Maybe Mohania at best. Moreover, at the end of a long drive, getting into congested Varanasi city & searching for a hotel is not a pleasant task.

[wanderer4x4]

Thanks for the inputs. I've memorised it all down. But then, will bother you again just before my trip for final tips. (Around July end or Aug hopefully.)

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by wanderer4x4

Thanks for the inputs. I've memorised it all down. But then, will bother you again just before my trip for final tips. (Around July end or Aug hopefully.)

If you bother me a lot , I will give you a detailed route plan too.

Please keep us posted on how your itinerary shapes up. But let me give you a disclaimer: The advice on roads given by us is a true representation of facts as it subsists now but we are not responsible for changes in circumstances, from time to time, and due to acts of God or nature - meaning once the rains commence in Jul-Aug, you will see my status from "I KNOW" to 'GOD ALONE KNOWS" because the monsoons in Nepal & North Bihar can wreak havoc on indescribable proportions!!

[wanderer4x4]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

If you bother me a lot , I will give you a detailed route plan too.......

LOL. This was what I was thinking of extracting from you before I actually make the trip. And now that you've yourself said it, I'll surely bother you for it when the time comes.

And I'm sure that with your knowledge and experience of roads all over India, you'll still have the most reliable info about road and traffic conditions, monsoon or no monsoon. But then yes, heavy monsoon rains would make life a bit more difficult. Lets see how it pans out.

[codelust]

Asking for a friend who is doing a Delhi - Guwahati drive next week. How is the route these days? He'll be driving solo, is there anything in particular that he should watch out for?

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by codelust

Asking for a friend who is doing a Delhi - Guwahati drive next week. How is the route these days? He'll be driving solo, is there anything in particular that he should watch out for?

Plenty of problems when he takes the East-West Corridor route to Siliguri.
Flyover under construction at Ramadevi Chowk in Kanpur, no-roads around Gopalganj, some bridges under construction around Forbesganj.

Beyond Siliguri, take only the Cooch Behar-Ghauripur route which also has rough roads.

He will face some extortion at Phulpras just before the Kosi Bridge.

[Sutripta]

Originally Posted by codelust

Asking for a friend who is doing a Delhi - Guwahati drive next week. How is the route these days? He'll be driving solo, is there anything in particular that he should watch out for?

I believe Hemanth Anand recently did a Guwahati - Agra run.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ml#post3276074

Regards
Sutripta

[codelust]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Plenty of problems when he takes the East-West Corridor route to Siliguri.
Flyover under construction at Ramadevi Chowk in Kanpur, no-roads around Gopalganj, some bridges under construction around Forbesganj.

Beyond Siliguri, take only the Cooch Behar-Ghauripur route which also has rough roads.

He will face some extortion at Phulpras just before the Kosi Bridge.

Thanks, HVK.

Originally Posted by Sutripta

I believe Hemanth Anand recently did a Guwahati - Agra run.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ml#post3276074

Regards
Sutripta

Thanks, forwarding this to my friend. Will get back if he needs any more info.