[vivek95]

I believe the first parameter that naturally comes to anyone's mind at the mention of "worst highways" is "road surface". I am not qualified to comment on Kerala as I haven't ever driven there, but visited the state 4 times and travelled as a co-passenger in a friend's car. My first impression was that even the remote internal single lane roads have excellent smooth surface and lane markings. Hence, in my honest opinion, Kerala doesn't deserve the tag of having the worst roads. Maharashtra on the other hand is presently a mixed bag, as I mentioned in my earlier post on this thread. We have awesome roads and pathetic roads. The situation is definitely changing though. At many unexpected locations, Maharashtra is witnessing the development of 4 lane highways and 2 lane cement roads. I drove from Paratwada, Amravati district to Mumbai recently via Shegaon, Khamgaon, Jalna, Aurangabad, Pune. Trust me there were brand new cement roads at remote places enroute. I had actually started driving from Betul, MP and entered Maharashtra in dark hours near Paratwada. I was bracing up myself to drive on the patchy roads of Maharashtra but to my pleasant surprise, I was welcomed by an awesome cement road with excellent surface,nice reflectors, lane markings, signages etc. And this continued all the way till next 300-400 kms I believe passing through Paratwada, Akot, Shegaon, Khamagaon, Jalna etc.( Under construction activity in between ).

Same was the experience about few months back when I was crossing over from Afzalpur in Karnataka towards Solapur in Maharashtra at midnight. After driving on excellent to average roads of Karnataka, I was mentally prepared to tackle the patchy potholed roads of MH. Well, to my utter surprise, the moment I touched Maharashtra at a very remote location at midnight, what an awesome brand new cement road that continued all the way for the next 2 hours till Solapur. Way better than Karnataka. Last week I was at Solapur, MH when I lost my way and started driving on the brand new 4 lane cement road towards Mangalwedha. All these places like Mangalwedha, Jath are tiny towns in MH but I was glad to see them being connected with excellent roads. Around Pune as well, in the hills, new cement roads are coming up, Pune--Mulshi--Tamhini ghat for instance. The Mumbai--Nagpur 700 km super communication expressway project is being expedited. We have a fair share of patchy potholed roads in MH but looks like most of them are being revamped,so may be in another 2-3 years Maharashtra will reclaim its lost popularity of having good roads. Sharing some MH highway pics below from my recent drives.

This was after entering Maharashtra towards Paratwada from MP. Grand entry .








Road between Paratwada and Shegaon, Khamgaon etc





This 4 lane cement road was between Khamgaon and Jalna








Another awesome highway in Maharashtra between Vijaypur in Karnataka and Solapur in Maharashtra ( about 40 kms is in Maharashtra limits. Vijaypur--Solapur 100 kms is totally done up by the way. It takes just 1 hour now !!








The supersmooth Solapur--Pune

[driver52001]

From my limited road trips, all the big states in India have relatively good highways compared to Manipur and Nagaland in the northeast. Rest of the northeast states have decent highways. I'd rate highways in Manipur to be the worst of the worst of the worst. There are only 2 highways that connect Manipur with the rest of India. One goes towards Cachar in Assam and the other Kohima in Nagaland. The Cachar side is all slush and no highway; knee deep mud and all. Most vehicles carry a sidekick who will walk in the front and recce the road and then signal to the driver to proceed. Google Manipur Cachar highway and see the photos. The Nagaland side is narrow in long stretches and the road surface will give a challenge to every suspension, SUVs or monster truck.

[dicor]

The thread becomes medium for venting frustration, and I am no different. Out of sheer frustration, I voted for Maharashtra.

I took a break and then I realized that was a spontaneous reaction.

We cannot label a state with the worst highway unless we have travelled there on all types of roads.

There are several types of roads in a state

• Express ways
• National Highways
• State Highways
• District Roads
• Rual Roads (PMGSY)
• Urban Roads
• Private project roads like industrial areas are built within their campus. Does not qualifies to be discussed here.

Again, there are various parameters to evaluate them like their shape, maintenance, ability to handle traffic, traffic discipline, availability of public facilities like washrooms, fuel stations and Dhaba's but let’s stick to road shape only.

I have travelled to number of states and on various roads, I am quoting few which I have visited in last 2 years.

Madhya Pradesh

• National Highways –3/5 Mostly concrete roads, they are overall good but with lot of surprise factors occasionally bad joints, surfaces are not even everywhere. Oher than that lot of stray cattle on road and people driving on wrong side.
• State Highways – 4/5 They are very good compared to many states. Mostly tar roads.
• District Roads – 4/5 They are very good compared to many states. Mostly tar roads.
• Rual Roads (PMGSY) - 4/5 90% of the villages have good tar roads.
• Urban Roads – 2/5 This is where they still need to prove themselves. Not kept properly. Traffic and parking are nuisance. Few cities are exceptions.

Uttar Pradesh

• Expressway – 5/5 Best expressway ever where I have driven so far.
• National Highways – 4/5 Mostly concrete roads, they are overall good but with lot of surprise factors surfaces are not even everywhere. Oher than that lot of stray cattle on road and people driving on wrong side.
• State Highways – 3/5 They are very good compared to many states, but traffic load is huge. Mostly tar roads.
• District Roads – Improvement needed.
• Rual Roads (PMGSY) -. 2/5 Lot of improvement needs to be done.
• Urban Roads – Fails miserably, Noida, Lucknow, Allahabad, Agra and few other cities are exceptions but again parking and traffic is nuisance.

Haryana

• National Highways – 3/5 Mostly tar roads and lot of construction work, they are overall good but heavy traffic.
• State Highways – Unable to comment.
• District Roads – Unable to comment.
• Rual Roads (PMGSY) - 2 / 5 Lot of improvement needs to be done.
• Urban Roads – Gurgaon can be an exception but rest everywhere, it needs lot of improvement.

Punjab

• National Highways – 4/5 Mostly tar roads, they are overall good.
• State Highways – 4/5 They are well kept.
• District Roads – 4/5 Unable to comment.
• Rual Roads (PMGSY) - 3/5 Need some improvement.
• Urban Roads – 4/5 Leaving Chandigarh aside, still I found Mohali, Jalandhar, Ambala, Amritsar, Rupnagar, Rajpura, Anandpur, Nangal roads to be decent and well kept.

Himachal Pradesh & Uttarakhand

• National Highways – 2/5, Uttarakhand is mix of plains and hilly regions, so some of their highways are broad.
• State Highways – 1/5.
• District Roads – 1/5.
• Rual Roads (PMGSY) -1/5 At times they don’t exists.
• Urban Roads – 2/5, Some cities may be exception like Dehradun, Dharamshala, Shimla but all small cities suffer from broken roads and parking issues.

Rajasthan

• National Highways – 3/5
• State Highways – 3/5.
• District Roads – 3/5.
• Rual Roads (PMGSY) -Unable to comment.
• Urban Roads – 2/5, Some cities may be exception like Jaipur, but all other cities suffer from cleanliness and parking issues.

Maharashtra

• National Highways – 3/5 - Expensive tolls, lacks Maintenace at many sections.
• State Highways – 2/5. - Going worse every passing year.
• District Roads – 2/5 - Going worse every passing year
• Rual Roads (PMGSY) - 2/5 - Going worse every passing year
• Urban Roads – 2/5, There is not even a single city in Maharashtra which can compete with other cities like Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Mohali. Navi Mumbai could be an exception but once Nagpur roads were so good and well managed, they are also going in bad shape.

I still don't regret that I voted for Maharashtra because it has bad roads in every category but certainly it's not the worst one. I would say Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh & Jammu Kashmir are the worst states when it comes to National Highways and State highways.

Certainly, their geographical conditions don't allow them to be as broad as other state highways, but their maintenance teams also have to work triple times to keep them in shape due to frequent landslides, snowfall.

[alexpaul]

I think this vote is highly skewed. Kerala has its share of good roads but I felt (correct me if I am wrong) most of the experiences amongst the Team BHPian's in this thread points towards congestion on highways . The following factors do play major role for congestion

1) Kerala's landscape is totally different from all the states. Its too narrow.

2) Most of the major cities in kerala lie in and around the major state and highways and within 50 - 100 kms travel range. So expect traffic congestion due to local and highway travelers .

3) Due to points 1 and 2 , space to widen the highway roads is a luxury and time consuming compared to other states. Not to forget the political aspect involved.

[Scorpio80]

Voted for Maharashtra, based of few examples:

1. Goa - Mumbai highway can itself win the award for Maharashtra (this highway has been under construction for many years and is not even halfway done)
2. Drove from Mumbai to Indore recently. The drastic change in highway drive between the two states is stark. While road quality on that specific highway in Maharashtra is decent, there are rumble strips every few kms which breaks the speed every few minutes. There is no joy or peace in driving
3. Being from Mumbai, can't talk about highways, as we have Western Express galli, with mix of paver blocks, uneven surface, huge potholes, and poorly planned constructions. Going for a drive from Mumbai (especially western suburbs) requires one to travel for 1-2 hours just to get to something that can be considered a highway

[sridhar-v]

I voted for Maharashtra. Because it is a comparitively rich state. And with that in mind the conditions of the roads are inexcusible.

[sunilinasu]

Kerala the worst, followed by Maharashtra.

I just drove from Kochi to Mumbai. To be fair, Kochi - Palakkad is not so bad, but everywhere else in the state is downright pathetic. TN presents you with a drastic and immediate improvement, and Karnataka was even better. Yes, I found KA highways better than TN this time.

The above is subject to gripes about the Coimbatore bypass in TN and the Hubli/Dharwad bypass in KA, both of which are painful single carriageways with risky overtaking's the norm.

And then of course, one enters MH to experience frustration of bad surfaces and even worse traffic for the next 6 or more hours until Mumbai.

[sudeepg]

Voted for Kerala.

Hands down it has to have the worst highways for these reasons:

1. Narrow roads
2. Very slow moving traffic (takes hours and hours to travel, it's like driving through city)
3. Very bad road manners (pedestrians and vehicles alike)
4. Unwanted speed limits and cameras

[VaibhaoT]

From my personal experience, I think MH should get the crown.

Originally Posted by vivek95

This was after entering Maharashtra towards Paratwada from MP. Grand entry .

Road between Paratwada and Shegaon, Khamgaon etc

This 4 lane cement road was between Khamgaon and Jalna

I have spent my childhood in Shegaon/Amravati.
Really happy to see our Vidarbha roads in such a good condition. At least on 2-3 occasions (before 2019), our trips to Shegaon had to be called off because we got really bad feedback of road conditions from our local family friends in Shegaon.
Hope after Samruddhi Highway completes, MH should be best state to drive .

[thallipolivandi]

Kerala has the worst highways in my experience, having also driven in Karnataka, TN, Maharashtra, and Telengana. Not in terms of road surface, but other drive factors. It's faster to drive from Bangalore to Palakkad, than from Palakkad to Kottayam (during the day).

The inner roads in MH are mostly wider than some of the NHs in Kerala. Combine that with the density of traffic, and the semi-urban development state from tip to tip for the entire region, driving is hellish, even at night.

However, there are some things that I as an outsider felt in the other states, that I have to mention. The lane discipline in the areas I drove in TN, and MH were abysmal. Especially at junctions where there are no flyovers to escape through. This is true for Kerala too, but with the important distinction of being ordered mayhem, as opposed to spontaneous chaos in other states.

Never seen worse state transportation drivers though. Kerala State RTC, is a danger to human life.

[simplysaj]

Originally Posted by Kottayamkaran

Amen to that. From my drives from Bangalore to Kottayam, i cover the distance till Coimbatore in under 5 hours. That's a distance of 350km if I am not mistaken. The rest of the 200km take about 5 hours inside Kerala .

Exactly!! I travel quite frequently from Bangalore to Kottayam/Changanassery side. It is 6 hours from Palakkad!! Pathetic. They have speed cameras every 2 kms after Palakkad and speed limit written in 60kms

And NH 47 is a joke

[pradeep_mvpa]

Voted for Kerala.

Road surface quality is actually good, but roads are narrow.
Nobody knows the speed limits except the cameras.

[Trojan]

What is the definition of Bad Roads here, the ones marking down Kerala for traffic density and narrow (but good) roads, have no idea on the atrociousness of Maharashtra roads (NH included)

For a state with one of the highest tolls, its a disgrace. So much so, that while driving if the road condition improves, one can safely assume that you have changed states

Still have a doubt?
Drive to Goa from Pune, after Kagal, you don't need a border, you know you are in Karnataka.
Once you turn off from Nipanni, and are constantly moving between MH and KA, this difference and utter disregard is so so evident.

Same for traveling up from Nasik, at around INR 145 tolls every 50/60kms, the moment one crosses Songir and in to MP, the lack of ridiculous bone jarring, suspension killing triple or sets of triple speed breakers - all but disappear and so do the toll booths.

The Pune - Bhor - Satara stretch is so infamous, it even has its own thread

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/stree...highway-2.html (The Nightmare called Pune - Satara - Karad - Kolhapur Highway)

And the same for Pune - Nagpur route, lesser said the better.

And State Highways - well well what are those and who cares anyways.

So my fellow travelers marking Kerala down for bad roads - you have no idea what you have missed! Come to Maharashtra, it can cure people of their crazy illness to explore places.

I don't know whether to be proud or just sit down and cry, good part the Gurkha loves this ...

[Logan2007]

Voted for Sikkim but I suspect it's representative of all states with hilly terrains.

I feel bad highways can be either due to terrain challenges (NE states, Sikkim) or other reasons (MH, KL).

I agree with the perception about Kerala on this thread. Had the first accident of my life in Kerala when I was baffled by forceful overtaking.

[adi_gt]

Kerala is a candidate for sure and could easily be leading those charts. But we need to extend this discussion to "City in India with worst roads"? Do we even have a contest here ? Bangalore wins it hands down.