[RijuC]

Avi_swift, I need a help.
I am a complete newbie in this. Recently did a Jaipur and Jodhpur trip from GGN 1 month apart (maximum 650 km in 12 hrs). I have the same vehicle like you, swift petrol 2016 model. And I am a lockdown learner.
Even today I stopped the car twice while struggling through traffic mixed of cars, big cars, trucks, jcb, bikes and scooties with 3 riders, cycles, pedestrians busy on Phones, cows and buffaloes, cars and bikes in a hurry from opposite side; everything packed in an almost non-existent road full of craters in GGN. So, this is my skill level!
1. Should I undertake this road trip- GGN to Kolkata? Is it too risky without experience or enough skill set? I am planning for puja (mid October).
2. I think I can do upto Lucknow, and doubtful for the next leg. So which route should I take after lucknow? A number of options with advantages/ disadvantages would be helpful.
3. After lucknow is it safe for women? I need a night hault at prayagraj or Varanasi.
4. Any suggestion for high end hotel for night stop at prayagraj / Varanasi, which will be near to the highway and not inside congested city (in Rajasthan I found high end hotels were reliable and maintaining COVID norms). If I am too exhausted, I may take one day break there.

[Vipin Kumar]

Originally Posted by RijuC

2. I think I can do upto Lucknow, and doubtful for the next leg. So which route should I take after lucknow? A number of options with advantages/ disadvantages would be helpful.
3. After lucknow is it safe for women? I need a night hault at prayagraj or Varanasi.
4. Any suggestion for high end hotel for night stop at prayagraj / Varanasi, which will be near to the highway and not inside congested city (in Rajasthan I found high end hotels were reliable and maintaining COVID norms). If I am too exhausted, I may take one day break there.

GGN to Lucknow can take around 8 hours, with some little breaks enroute. I recently did this route (not precisely from Gurgaon though). I was on Aruna Asaf Ali Marg at 2 pm, had lunch near Khan market, had a diversion at Noida for filling diesel, had a 20 mins stop-over at roadside facility before the Jewar Toll, another tea-stoppage at Inner Ring Road tea stalls in Agra, had another 10 mins stop at km point 100. I reached Lucknow at 10.20 pm.

In this drive, my elder daughter was with me. Anyway, for your information, after Lucknow too, it is safe for women. Nothing to worry, unless you drive late in the mid-night, etc. Once I drove the Allahabad - Lucknow section in the late evening (7.45 pm - 12.30 am); I was on my way from Mirzapur. On another occasion, I drove this section in the night (I left Allahabad at 1.30 am and reached Lucknow at 6 am; I was on my way from Calcutta). On these drives, I had family with me, including my two daughters. These were around five to six years ago. There was no problem, but don't take that kind of chance. As a fact, I also avoid late night driving these days, unless I have to reach territories that are best known to me and unless I enter city limits within reasonable time frame, by ten or so. Even then, not beyond that.

You can take Raebareilly/Allahabad bypass/Varanasi route (there may be road-work going on here and there once you are on NH 2/GT Road; I don't have updates).

There are no hotels, high or low ends, on highways either near Allahabad or Varanasi. But in Varanasi, you can proceed on the highway itself on NH 2, and take diversion to Ramnagar, and you will get a hotel called Grapevine on your left. That should be a high-end good hotel, with ample parking etc. It is reasonably away from the city too.

You have a hotel called Vaishnavi Heights at Aurangabad bypass too. Facilities are good but not too sure about the extent of their following Covid 19 hygiene protocols. There are a couple of more hotels here, but don't have first hand experience. I had a stopover at Vaishnavi Heights for lunch once.

After that, you may get good hotels in Dhanbad and Durgapur only. Rest of it, you know.

[brownianmotion]

I am planning to drive from Durgapur with family to Pathankot last week of October. My initial thought was to stopover at Lucknow. However I am getting many suggestions to take Kanpur Etawah route and many are telling to go ahead with Raeberaily Lucknow route . We are starting at 4 am from Durgapur. Which would be faster and better to drive among these 3 between Varanasi and Agra stretch :-
Varanasi- Machli sahar - Raebareli-Lucknow (night halt)-ALE-YEW-Agra
Varanasi-Handia-Allahabad bypass - Raebareli - Lucknow (night halt)-ALE-YEW-Agra
Varanasi-Handia-Allahabad bypass - Kanpur (night halt) - Etawah-ALE-YEW-Agra
Also , it would be great if you can suggest a good hotel in Kanpur which is easier for entry exit to NH19 ( in care via Kanpur is a better option)

[avi_swift]

Originally Posted by RijuC

1. Should I undertake this road trip- GGN to Kolkata? Is it too risky without experience or enough skill set? I am planning for puja (mid October).
2. I think I can do upto Lucknow, and doubtful for the next leg. So which route should I take after lucknow? A number of options with advantages/ disadvantages would be helpful.
3. After lucknow is it safe for women? I need a night hault at prayagraj or Varanasi.
4. Any suggestion for high end hotel for night stop at prayagraj / Varanasi, which will be near to the highway and not inside congested city (in Rajasthan I found high end hotels were reliable and maintaining COVID norms). If I am too exhausted, I may take one day break there.

1. By all means go for it If you can drive to Jodhpur, you can go to Kolkata as well. In-spite of unruly traffic, many stretches of bad to horrible roads, I'm sure you will enjoy the drive. Don't worry about stalling the car, I do it sometimes as well and I'm sure many does.
2. My motto is always travel on the most well known route. Given the unpredictability of Indian highways, I believe its the best thing to do, even if it takes a little more time. So naturally I would suggest Lucknow->Prayagraj->Varanasi->Sasaram->Auranganad->Dhanbad->Kolkata. If in doubt, take 1 day off and do this in 3 days, you will feel much more relaxed.
3. If you travel during the day, the entire route should be safe. Check into a decent hotel for the night. Personally, I always try to avoid night driving.
4. I didn't spot any decent hotel near the highway on the whole journey. We too wanted a hotel near the highway, but ultimately had to travel inside as there were no good hotels near the highway. Due to Covid, we saw 5 star hotels with tariffs starting from as low as 2000, although by Puja time, I'm sure they will go up. Don't worry, Varanasi isn't all about narrow lanes. Stay in the Mall road in the cantonment area, you will find several good hotels there, and driving in these parts is like driving in any Indian cities. If you can't reach Varanasi, stay in Prayagraj for the night, you should find good hotels there as well.

Please update after you complete your journey, it will help me a lot for my return trip.

Originally Posted by brownianmotion

I am planning to drive from Durgapur with family to Pathankot last week of October. My initial thought was to stopover at Lucknow. However I am getting many suggestions to take Kanpur Etawah route and many are telling to go ahead with Raeberaily Lucknow route . We are starting at 4 am from Durgapur. Which would be faster and better to drive among these 3 between Varanasi and Agra stretch :-
Varanasi- Machli sahar - Raebareli-Lucknow (night halt)-ALE-YEW-Agra
Varanasi-Handia-Allahabad bypass - Raebareli - Lucknow (night halt)-ALE-YEW-Agra
Varanasi-Handia-Allahabad bypass - Kanpur (night halt) - Etawah-ALE-YEW-Agra

I would suggest you go for: Varanasi-Handia-Allahabad bypass - Raebareli - Lucknow (night halt)-ALE-YEW-Agra. This is the route we took. Although I have no idea about the other routes you mentioned, the YEW & ALE combined will compensate for the heavy traffic near Varanasi (Delhi side) and the bad roads near RaeBareli. I believe this is the only stretch in India where you can maintain excellent average speed for the entire 500KM distance. In fact, you can reach Delhi within 7 hours by the ALE-YEW.

Please update on the route after your journey. Since you will be travelling towards Delhi, I will be really interested in your trip so that I can plan my return

[roushan84]

Originally Posted by RijuC

Avi_swift, I need a help.
1. Should I undertake this road trip- GGN to Kolkata? Is it too risky without experience or enough skill set? I am planning for puja (mid October).

Hi Riju,
I am also planning to take a trip to Dumka(near Dhanbad) on 16-17 October. Maybe we can plan it together if that works. My longest drive in a day was Manali-Gurgaon (620kms) so I am thinking of taking a leap of faith and do Gurgaon-Dumka in 2 days. Hope this will help you find confidence

This thread has been a real help in initial planning for the trip. With inputs from previous posts and youtube vlogs, the route I am planning to take is:
16th - Gurgaon>Noida>Agra>Lucknow>Raibareli>Allahabad>Ban aras
17th - Banaras>Sasaram>Aurangabad>Champaran>Bagodar>Girid ieh>Madhupur>Dumka

Looking forward for the feedback from BHPians on the route and suggestion on good places to stay in Banaras

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by avi_swift

I did this trip over 29th-30th August.

Thanks for a very detailed report.

Reached Lucknow a little before 12 and went straight to a petrol pump. Till now the roads were superb but we were apprehensive of what laid ahead. And it did turn rough. In-spite of paying a toll, the stretch till RaeBareli was riddled with potholes.

I think taking the NH19 via Kanpur is probably going to be smoother and quicker, considering the section between LKO and NH19 via Rae Bareli is not in great condition, and wading through the traffic jam of LKO is no fun either.

This snarl easily stretched on for more than a KM, in fact, I would not be surprised if it was 3-4 KM long.

That's usual. I've seen jams stretching for 15-20 km. It's the monsoons, and the diversions are in terrible shape. And the road has not been designed for 20-40-tonne trucks. Yet, we pay a very hefty toll.

We spent the night in Varansi and next day, we started around 6AM.

Which hotel?

...we were stuck for some time at the Sasaram toll. Again, the other side had much heavier traffic.

Sand-laden trucks and tractor trolleys cause this, especially in the early morning and evening. Midday or late evening / night are the times when this stretch is relatively empty.

I simply don't understand how NHAI can charge money when the roads are that bad.

The private operator charges the money. NHAI and its babus receive a cut.

And lastly, I want to enquire from the members here what to do with this?

Nothing. The system generates this challan automatically when speed limit of 100 kmph is exceeded, but the Traffic Police office at the Mathura plaza only acts upon it when the average speed is in excess of 105 kmph. The Gazette notification wording is: No cognizance of the violation of the speed limits shall be taken under section 183 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, if the speed detected is within 5 per cent of the maximum speed specified in this notification, as seen at the link given by VineetG below.

Originally Posted by VineetG

Attached is the gazzette notification, please look towards the end of document.

Thanks, VineetG.

Originally Posted by Pancham

I could be mistaken but the truck traffic you saw is there almost 365 days a year.

Indeed. Watch the videos posted by Leoshashi on another thread...

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

The condition of GT road is such that 5-10 km long traffic jam isn't uncommon. Only thing you can do is, climb over dividers or drains(if possible) to wrong side, or get into nearby fields, navigate through unknown villages. I can only imagine how much stress free a 4WD SUV owner would be over this conditions. I had no option but to try those in my XL6, and except one part where a brick slipped and the nose hit the ground hard, the XL6 passed with flying colors. Ground clearance is adequate for all practical purposes.

Scene 1: I had taken an alternate route through a village to escape a 12km long jam on the highway. Drove almost 15 km, to reach this stretch filled with slush and bricks. Even the locals recommended not to try crossing that. Bikes were also struggling. I did a recce on foot and felt it can be crossed with gentle throttle input.

https://www.Youtube.com/watch?v=QXt_6wp9T-4

Couple of other situations where the XL6 had to be driven off the road:

https://www.Youtube.com/watch?v=8cm9y1Pm-dY

https://www.Youtube.com/watch?v=FW-tLTZwZhg
Going on the wrong side. This is absolutely normal in Eastern UP and Bihar:

Attachment 2055298

Attachment 2055294

----

Originally Posted by Pancham

I had a query though. Did you need to carry permissions or where there any documentation checks at state borders?

There are no Covid-related checks or restrictions at interstate borders any more from Delhi to Kolkata.

Originally Posted by RijuC

Avi_swift, I need a help.
I am a complete newbie in this. Recently did a Jaipur and Jodhpur trip from GGN 1 month apart (maximum 650 km in 12 hrs). I have the same vehicle like you, swift petrol 2016 model. And I am a lockdown learner.
Even today I stopped the car twice while struggling through traffic mixed of cars, big cars, trucks, jcb, bikes and scooties with 3 riders, cycles, pedestrians busy on Phones, cows and buffaloes, cars and bikes in a hurry from opposite side; everything packed in an almost non-existent road full of craters in GGN. So, this is my skill level!
1. Should I undertake this road trip- GGN to Kolkata?

Depends on your own self-confidence and the confidence of your passengers.

3. After lucknow is it safe for women?

If you don't stop for extended periods of time, UP or any other place is safe for everyone. However, such stops may be unavoidable, with vehicle breakdowns, tyre punctures, crashes etc. that you have no control over as a newbie driver.

4. Any suggestion for high end hotel for night stop at prayagraj / Varanasi, which will be near to the highway and not inside congested city...

Except Hotel Kaushik at Varanasi (which is certainly not a high end hotel by any standard), I don't know of any hotel at all, that is close to the highway near either city. But there are plenty of them inside these cities.

[RijuC]

The roads video by Leoshashi look exactly like I take everyday for my office commute (6 km between Hero Honda Chawk, GGN and society on DEW). Add bumper to bumper traffic, impatient and rowdy locals in heavy big vehicles, cattles-jumbo horned cows and healthy buffaloes, two wheelers, cycles, autorickshaw-small and Vikram auto, and cars, goods carriages coming from opposite in full speed! I guess I can do it, if required, to avoid the UP-Bihar border traffic jam.

[Vipin Kumar]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

I think taking the NH19 via Kanpur is probably going to be smoother and quicker, considering the section between LKO and NH19 via Rae Bareli is not in great condition, and wading through the traffic jam of LKO is no fun either.

That's usual. I've seen jams stretching for 15-20 km. It's the monsoons, and the diversions are in terrible shape. And the road has not been designed for 20-40-tonne trucks. Yet, we pay a very hefty toll.

I don't know about the Agra - Kanpur - Allahabad section anymore because I don't have to take the Kanpur route anymore to go to Delhi from Lucknow. I had never driven on NH 19 from Kanpur to Allahabad either.

But taking the ALE to Lucknow and moving towards Raibareilly/Allahabad, you will not have to go through any of the congested roads of Lucknow. In fact, you will get only two traffic-lights points -- one at Alambagh intersection and the other at Telibagh junction. Also, this junction is on the eastern end of Telibagh and you have to take right from there, avoiding entering Telibagh per se. Once you execute this turn, you are on the four land toll road that takes you so till after Raebareilly. The road from Alambagh intersection to Telibagh is either six lane or eight lane at places and are roads less taken. Will give you smooth sail across.

Raebareilly, too, has now a flyover and you don't have to really enter the town. But, beyond that, you have a single carriageway, I mean undivided but broad enough road till Allahabad bypass. You get Unchahar and Kunda markets on the way, though it is not difficult in any sense to cross. Evenings will have a little more population on the road at these two places.

Yes, what needs to be watched over is the series of points and diversions where you could get long queues of trucks on NH 19, especially in the long section between Handia and Dobhi. Find out these points in advance, such as Sasaram toll, etc, and make diversions onto the other side of the highway in time. Otherwise, you will get stuck endlessly in those long lines.

[Vinod_nair]

Hello guys,
I'm surprised to see travellers taking the Agra Lucknow Expressway all the way upto lucknow why? Is it Google?

On the ALE take an exit near Jaswant nagar(Etawah), which will connect you to AH1/NH19 via Kanpur allahabad varanasi. This is the route to take even if it has some widening (6 lane) work going on.

Taking lucknow Raebareli route is like, going through villages of yore.

All the best.

[VineetG]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

The Gazette notification wording is: No cognizance of the violation of the speed limits shall be taken under section 183 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, if the speed detected is within 5 per cent of the maximum speed specified in this notification, as seen at the link given by VineetG below.

.

Actually, your comment on the Gazette wordings made a thought come to my mind. It says :Within 5% of speed limit specified in THIS NOTIFICATION.

So, the reference speed limits should be +5% of speed as per this notification, not the speed limits posted on the road itself.

So technically speaking, even if YEW limits 100 kmph, the wording of the gazette notification would lead to a limit of 126 kmph before a challan could be issued.
Similarly for other roads, including city roads where speed is 70 kmph as per THIS NOTIFICATION, we should not be challaned for 60 kmph even if the speed limit board says 50 kmph.

I know if is a technical point, but it can be argued in court I think. None of the police people would entertain this argument.
Hope some lawyer picks this up and argues this in court, and if he gets a favorable verdict, it can be used as a precedent.

I have a challan pending in court on YEW at 130 kmph, so i can't argue this clause as it is still beyond 126 kmph even if we take the wordings of THIS NOTIFICATION.

Rgds

[avi_swift]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

I think taking the NH19 via Kanpur is probably going to be smoother and quicker, considering the section between LKO and NH19 via Rae Bareli is not in great condition, and wading through the traffic jam of LKO is no fun either.

I believe you are right. It was suggested by few of our colleagues as well, but none had travelled by that stretch recently, so they were not sure of its conditions. But ALE was guaranteed to be perfect, at least compared to Indian road conditions, so we went via Lucknow.

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

That's usual. I've seen jams stretching for 15-20 km. It's the monsoons, and the diversions are in terrible shape. And the road has not been designed for 20-40-tonne trucks. Yet, we pay a very hefty toll.

Do you know of any alternate roads? Google is suggesting a road via Muzaffarpur and Faizabad but it is considerably longer than the Varanasi route. Or will the best bet be to drive on the other side like everyone was doing? I'm worried because I don't think our Swift can cross drains/dividers like Leoshashi's car.

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Which hotel?

We stayed at Hotel Zeeras.

Originally Posted by Vipin Kumar

But taking the ALE to Lucknow and moving towards Raibareilly/Allahabad, you will not have to go through any of the congested roads of Lucknow.

Yes we didn't encounter too much traffic in Lucknow (although late August was still weekend lockdown in the cities).

Originally Posted by Vipin Kumar

Yes, what needs to be watched over is the series of points and diversions where you could get long queues of trucks on NH 19, especially in the long section between Handia and Dobhi. Find out these points in advance, such as Sasaram toll, etc, and make diversions onto the other side of the highway in time. Otherwise, you will get stuck endlessly in those long lines.

Fortunately we didn't encounter any traffic in Handia with both sides being free. It was only when we were very near to Varanasi, we were crossing the humongous snarl on the Delhi side. And due to vehicles coming on the wrong side to escape the trucks, we were also trapped for around 15-20 minutes. After reading the comments here, I believe we were lucky.

Originally Posted by Vinod_nair

Hello guys,
I'm surprised to see travellers taking the Agra Lucknow Expressway all the way upto lucknow why? Is it Google?

On the ALE take an exit near Jaswant nagar(Etawah), which will connect you to AH1/NH19 via Kanpur allahabad varanasi. This is the route to take even if it has some widening (6 lane) work going on.

Taking lucknow Raebareli route is like, going through villages of yore.

All the best.

Actually one of my colleague suggested going via Etawah. But nobody else suggested this route, and Google didn't show it at all. So going via an unknown route ditching the almost perfect ALE was too big a risk for us, considering we were aiming to cover the maximum distance possible. Do you know what is the condition of the Kanpur-Allahabad stretch?

[Vinod_nair]

Originally Posted by avi_swift

Actually one of my colleague suggested going via Etawah. But nobody else suggested this route, and Google didn't show it at all. So going via an unknown route ditching the almost perfect ALE was too big a risk for us, considering we were aiming to cover the maximum distance possible. Do you know what is the condition of the Kanpur-Allahabad stretch?

I'm sure after the monsoons Kanpur-allahabad like most highways would have some deterioration, excepting for the 6 lane widening work, and ofcourse a small stretch before allahabad going through a small village/town, everything is good, I strongly suggest this route instead of Lko-raibrally.

[Sail]

Originally Posted by avi_swift

Do you know what is the condition of the Kanpur-Allahabad stretch?

Hi Avijit,

From End May to End June, I have travelled 3 times on this stretch, twice middle of the night (Kolkata bound) and once during day (Gurgaon bound). 3 lane work is under progress. You can expect lots of diversion, but never faced any traffic snarls there. Only your average speed will go down a bit. Other than diversions, traffic flow is very smooth. Be careful at entry / exit areas of Allahabad By-Pass, lots of truks will block one lane of the road. Gurgaon-Varanasi & vice-versa always done in 12.5 hrs on this route (we carry our own food & have them at Reliance pumps).

The main problem on NH-19 route is Sasaram to Varansi sector particularly when you will be Delhi bound. Check out my post # 565, I will suggest one to be ready to drive on opposite side of the road & then take Mughal Sarai route & pass via Varanasi city to join NH 19. Last I saw repair work under progress on the Ganges bridge of Varanasi, they have closed one lane of the bridge. Which is causing huge traffic jams.

I am travelling on this route for past 3.5 years now and completed 11 Gurgaon-Kolkata trips. I never took Lucknow / Raibareli route. Son River to Handia sector always gave us some or the other trouble (you can be rest assured). Earlier Varanasi-Handia sector was a pain, now this stretch has also improved. Unfortunately upcoming Purvanchal Expressway will not solve this issue.

Brdgs
Sail

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by Vinod_nair

Hello guys,
I'm surprised to see travellers taking the Agra Lucknow Expressway all the way upto lucknow why? Is it Google?

On the ALE take an exit near Jaswant nagar(Etawah), which will connect you to AH1/NH19 via Kanpur allahabad varanasi. This is the route to take even if it has some widening (6 lane) work going on.

Taking lucknow Raebareli route is like, going through villages of yore.

Can't agree with you entirely there, having taken both routes a number of times. The ALE to LKO is a driver's delight, and worth driving just for the sake of it. OTOH, Etawah-Kanpur is no fun in the early evening, given the traffic from Panki onwards till the Allahabad Bypass (getting on to the ALD bypass itself means wading through a lot of traffic at times).

LKO-Rae Bareli is okay (divided 4 lane) but the subsequent stretch is not divided - so those who are not used to driving on single-carriageway undivided highways, will definitely feel like they're travelling through historic rural roads. It is otherwise a smooth stretch, and when we covered it over the midnight of 1-2 March 2020, was not a bad experience in any way.

Originally Posted by avi_swift

Do you know of any alternate roads? Google is suggesting a road via Muzaffarpur and Faizabad but it is considerably longer than the Varanasi route. Or will the best bet be to drive on the other side like everyone was doing?

Easy way to get across smoothly is to time it correctly. The best windows are 1-4 PM and 1-5 AM. Even then, I've been held up for up to an hour at times.

We stayed at Hotel Zeeras.

How was your experience? Any pics?

After reading the comments here, I believe we were lucky.

You were.

Google didn't show it at all. So going via an unknown route ditching the almost perfect ALE was too big a risk for us, considering we were aiming to cover the maximum distance possible. Do you know what is the condition of the Kanpur-Allahabad stretch?

Kanpur to Allahabad is 2+2 lane divided highway, with slow-moving traffic like tractors, bicycles and cattle on the roads - one can still manage an average of 50-60 kmph during the day. Some places have roadworks, so watch out. After 10 pm, it is an excellent road, almost zero traffic, and 90 kmph average is achievable. Sail's description is pretty accurate.

Etawah to Kanpur is also a good stretch, with 4+4 lane divided road, recently inaugurated (about 3 years ago).

Originally Posted by Sail

Be careful at entry / exit areas of Allahabad By-Pass, lots of truks will block one lane of the road. Gurgaon-Varanasi & vice-versa always done in 12.5 hrs on this route (we carry our own food & have them at Reliance pumps).

True. There are no lay-bys or eateries designed on the bypass, and trucks ten to stop all over the place at lunch & dinner time and overnight. If it is past midnight, I drive through Allahabad city - it's quicker and more predictable, without the toll to be paid either.

The main problem on NH-19 route is Sasaram to Varansi sector particularly when you will be Delhi bound. Check out my post # 565, I will suggest one to be ready to drive on opposite side of the road & then take Mughal Sarai route & pass via Varanasi city to join NH 19. Last I saw repair work under progress on the Ganges bridge of Varanasi, they have closed one lane of the bridge. Which is causing huge traffic jams.

Through Mughalsarai and Varanasi on the old NH2 is nostalgic for me - are parts of this stretch still cobblestoned?

Earlier Varanasi-Handia sector was a pain, now this stretch has also improved.

35-40% of the flyovers have been done in the last 4 years (as we measured in March 2020). Completion is still a long, long way away.

[avi_swift]

Originally Posted by Sail

From End May to End June, I have travelled 3 times on this stretch, twice middle of the night (Kolkata bound) and once during day (Gurgaon bound). 3 lane work is under progress. You can expect lots of diversion, but never faced any traffic snarls there. Only your average speed will go down a bit. Other than diversions, traffic flow is very smooth. Be careful at entry / exit areas of Allahabad By-Pass, lots of truks will block one lane of the road. Gurgaon-Varanasi & vice-versa always done in 12.5 hrs on this route (we carry our own food & have them at Reliance pumps).

The main problem on NH-19 route is Sasaram to Varansi sector particularly when you will be Delhi bound. Check out my post # 565, I will suggest one to be ready to drive on opposite side of the road & then take Mughal Sarai route & pass via Varanasi city to join NH 19. Last I saw repair work under progress on the Ganges bridge of Varanasi, they have closed one lane of the bridge. Which is causing huge traffic jams.

Thanks for the update. As I said before, some of our colleagues suggested this route, the only thing which prevented us from going via this one was that nobody had used this route recently. After your and SS-Traveller's update, I'll feel a lot more confident taking this.. especially since the RaeBareli stretch wasn't fun at all. But the main problem as you confirmed is still the Varanasi area .

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Easy way to get across smoothly is to time it correctly. The best windows are 1-4 PM and 1-5 AM. Even then, I've been held up for up to an hour at times.

Thanks, will keep this in mind

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

How was your experience? Any pics?

Unfortunately we didn't click any pics. Actually we didn't book any hotels before starting since we were not confident if we could reach the targeted city. And we were hoping to find a hotel by the highway. So when we finally started looking for hotels (after not getting anything near the highway), it was already past 6 PM. We had travelled to Varanasi before, so had a rough idea of the city and where the hotels are. After searching for hotels with parking and selecting this one, when we finally entered our room, it was close to 8, so we just had our dinner which we were carrying and crashed. And next day, it was a very early start as well due to concerns about the road conditions.

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Kanpur to Allahabad is 2+2 lane divided highway, with slow-moving traffic like tractors, bicycles and cattle on the roads - one can still manage an average of 50-60 kmph during the day. Some places have roadworks, so watch out. After 10 pm, it is an excellent road, almost zero traffic, and 90 kmph average is achievable. Sail's description is pretty accurate.

Etawah to Kanpur is also a good stretch, with 4+4 lane divided road, recently inaugurated (about 3 years ago).

Thanks for this update.

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

35-40% of the flyovers have been done in the last 4 years (as we measured in March 2020). Completion is still a long, long way away.

Unfortunately very much true. I remember at least 2 diversions due to flyover constructions between the Handia area and Varanasi, there may have been more.