Bangalore to Mangalore and back via Shiradi: Latest route updates

The car that was used for this weekend road trip was a Maruti Ignis.

BHPian mm_shen recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Had been to Mangalore and back over the weekend in a Maruti Ignis. Took the Shiradi route both times.

Route update

Bangalore to Mangalore

• Hassan bypass was blocked for highway construction, and I had to take the roads that took me from inside the city.
• At the Donigal Ghat start point, some work was going on. There were a few bad stretches, but they were not a deal breaker, but monsoon may ruin them further.
• Got stuck in traffic just before the ghats for an hour and a half due to idiotic car drivers who could not follow simple lane discipline and caused a major jam by blocking oncoming traffic.
• Shiradi Ghat is freshly asphalted.
• Roads are almost smooth after the ghats upto Mani.
• Mani to Kalladka is not good, and, again, monsoon may ruin it further.
• Panemangalore is bypassed using a flyover.
• Left at 3 AM from Peenya, Bangalore, crossed Sakleshpur at 5.30 AM. Stuck in a jam for 1.5 hours and reached Mangalore at 10AM. Took no breaks in between.

Mangalore to Bangalore

• While coming back, I encountered a lot of traffic from Hassan. Maps showed the Nelamangala intersection in red. Had a Deja vu of getting stuck for over an hour. On top of this, there were rowdy drivers, speeding and overtaking with close calls.
• Took a deviation after Kunigal towards Magadi and then towards Bangalore through Tavarekere.
• Roads upto Magadi were awesome. After that, there are patches of bad and good roads. But traffic was moving.
• Took the exit at Sunkadakatte to reach home.
• Left at 11.30AM, reached home at 7.15 PM - 45 min lunch break and 15 min bio break included.

If all roads are completed on the Shiradi stretch, Mangalore should be 5 hours away. Maybe 4.5 hours. Hope they do not dig up the Bangalore-Hassan route, once the roads after Sakleshpur are completed.

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