[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Better option would be to go all the way to Mysore Ring Road and then connect to Hunsur route. Will be faster.

Thanks. End of the day being India, I will drive at my usual pace and lookout for safety first, irrespective of which car I’m using.

So I will hope to see perhaps an overall one hour reduction in drive time to Ooty whenever I next go there using this Expressway.

Ref Coorg, yes, absolutely. I have stopped using that Sriranagapatnam bypass. It’s used to be the sensible thing to do form,any years. But that road is really badly maintained and horrible. Best as you said, to turn right at the Columbia Asia signal and use the ring road and go to Hunsur and then Periyapatna and Kushalnagar and Coorg. This is what I’ve been doing these last few visits to Coorg.


@highrevving: yes the alternate route you’ve suggested is a good one too. But we are going in a small convoy and therefore it is probably best that we stay together on a familiar route tomorrow.

[shantanumishra]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

My God!

Irrespective of which car I use, my travel time to Ooty (including a 45 min washroom and breakfast break at Pugmark Bandipur and may be one coffee stop outside Mysore in the Shell Select Petrol Bunk), is always around 6 hours and 30 minutes. Are you actually stating that this will reduce by 2 hours?

Ive been going up and down this road for 40 plus years, with my parents and family and over the last 30 plus years driving myself.

Thats why Im asking. I am not being sarcastic. I am asking this in all honesty.

I live in Sarjapur Town and it takes me roughly 1.5-2 hours to reach NICE road itself and from there it used to take roughly 7 Hours, in total about 8.5-9 hours....Now I can do it in around 6.5-7 hours...so thats a reason, I said lesser time by almost 2 hours and the only thing that has changed for me is the BLR - MYS route and offcourse I take the MYS Ring Road and the 36 hairpin bends...

The return journey is almost always longer, since I have to come longer route via Gudalur and also because of traffic before NICE road entry @ Mysore road end.

Overall, I have almost everytime done BLR-MYS-Ooty-MYS-BLR in 1 day, starting from Bangalore around 5:30 or 6 AM and reaching Ooty around 12/12:30 PM, starting back from there around 3 PM and reaching back around 11:30 PM.

Hope this helps

[shankar.balan]

Onward on the Bangalore- Mysore Expressway Jan 13 2023.
We did a small convoy from Bangalore yesterday. Three vehicles. A Duster, a big Mercedes GLE350 and my Mini. Rendezvous at Shri Kanteerava Stadium 0525 hrs. Departure at 0530. Used the normal exit route from Bangalore. The usual ups and downs and basic traffic and lane-hoggers on the road. There are a few bad patches here and there near Rajarajeshwari Nagar and Bangalore University and all till one reaches the first ramp of the Expressway but thats manageable.
Then the Expressway itself is sheer bliss with its published speed limit of 100kmph. This is a perfectly fine speed limit. Very enjoyable to drive any car at this speed. Its perfectly fine to enjoy a small sporty car like my Mini at this kind of speed because one hears and enjoys that beautiful growly little engine and is able to ‘sense’ all the nice aspects of the car at such a speed and enjoy a relaxed drive.

We mostly stayed in the middle lane and left lane, leaving the fast lane to those in a hurry. Barring the incidences of some small trucks and large trucks stubbornly occupying the fast lane, I was pleasantly surprised that almost all of the taxis and private cars using the road yesterday were driving very nicely and staying in their designated lanes without all this swooping to and fro like a bunch of demented sidewinders. I noted a couple of autos. But they weren't in the fast lane. A few commuter bikes also on the road. One biker as is typical was toddling down the ‘wrong way’ in the left most lane with his lights on. This was near Ramanagaram. Completely bypassing all those little towns, Ramanagaram, Channapatna, Maddur, Mandya and all is absolutely superb. One doesn’t even feel the existence of all these towns any more. There is some amount of work going on on the Mandya piece with some partial barricades and slightly broken surfaces but can be managed if one slows down. Yesterday on the way out there was only one short deviation near where that A2B etc used to be, but frankly that didn't matter at all because even the service road is in good shape.

We reached the final stretch to Mysore and hopped into the service lane so as to go to Swad restaurant for breakfast. We were parked at Swad at 7am. Leisurely breakfast break. Left Swad at 8am for Coorg. Took the right turn at Mysore Columbia Asia signal onto the rign road. Very light traffic. Great roads. Smooth surfaces. The usual traffic but fast moving. Passed Hunsur, Yelwal and all. No stops, just a lovely cruise down all the way to Periyapatna where the usual morning town traffic was there. Kushalnagar also had the usual towny traffic. Stopped at Tata Coffee Petrol Pump for a quick petrol fill. Then straight down Suntikoppa and on to Madikeri. We reached at 10am. Perfectly in time for our Golf game tee off planned between 1030-1100.

Now let us see how our experience is on the way back to Bangalore on Sunday.

[qaqa]

I have noticed that more than 50% of trucks on the highway do not have any tail lights. Many of these trucks don't even have proper reflectors. On a high-speed highway, unmarked slow moving trucks are a recipe for disaster. These truckers should not only be fined heavily, they should also be forced to buy temporary LED tail lamps.

On the whole I feel the highway needs very strict traffic rule enforcement to remain safe.

[tharian]

For those taking the un-official Mandya bypass, it is better to slow down and look for cross traffic at the multiple under passes. These roads that cut across, have traffic crossing without bothering to slow down. They just honk and carry on thinking no one uses the service road.
I had a flat tyre on my way back from Gundlepet today and had stopped under one of those unerpasses to change the tyre, soon after when I about to take a right to join the service road towards Bangalore, a Force Traveller over took me and just missed t-boning a Duster heading towards Mysore on the service road.
The Travellers front bumper caught on the rear bull bar of the Duster and was ripped off. It could have been much worse if the Traveller was a milli second early to the spot.

Pic for reference:
The Duster was approaching from the right and the Traveller in the same direction as my car.

[tharian]

Originally Posted by tharian

Pic for reference:
The Duster was approaching from the right and the Traveller in the same direction as my car.

It was captured on my dashcam. Skip to the last 2:20 for the incident. The mobile haystack was a major reason too as it blinded the Duster from the driver of the Traveller and vice versa. Regardless, they both should have slowed down.

https://youtu.be/yFhfy3sQQ5E

[shankar.balan]

Our return journey today Jan 15 Sunday on the Mysore - Bangalore Expressway. Left that Poojari Fishland (Original-not-fake) restaurant at 1434. Reached Bangalore at 1602. I think 1.5 hours is absolutely fantastic. There is no need to cross the generous speed limits at all. For the first few kms one has to use the service road - and then there still are a few deviations here and there where work is going. Basically one is able to get past Pandavpura and Srirangapatnam and all those towns quite quickly.
Then you flow into the service lane and your heart sinks when you see part of the Mandya Bypass bridge structures flowing past over your head. The mayhem of Mandya is amongst the most unwelcoming prospects possible - when you see that arch.
One breathes a heartfelt sigh of relief seeing that near-invisible deviation at the entrance to Mandya. Using that small ‘unofficial Mandya bypass’ through the railway gate and under the bridge and back on the flyover saves precious time and reduces blood pressure and stress. Then for a time we get pushed back to the service roads and luckily just when one’s heart is sinking at the prospect of battling through the madness of Maddur town using weapons ill-suited to the purpose (namely my tiny little ladybug Cooper), one flows right back onto the expressway again and then Praise Be to the Good Lord Above, we are able to cruise all the way on the expressway past all those towns; Ramanagaram and Channapatna and Bidadi and so on, avoiding all those potential snarls and bottlenecks and stress. Off the expressway ramp and onto the NICE road and the heart absolutely sings at the prospect of reaching home in peace.
Of course there are a few wicked lorries and little trucks and errant cars and autos and bikes who do not understand lane discipline but honestly things are much much much better than when I used this road at the end of November -beginning of December.
So all is good and it can only get better from hereon in terms of this expressway.

[srikanthmadhava]

Used the expressway again today while returning from Kerala.

16:00 - Left Manipal Hospital, Bangalore-Mysore Ring Road Junction
17:30 - Reached Nice Road entry after Kengeri Flyover

Covered this distance in exact 90 minutes, mostly cruising between 100-110kmph.

There are few (4-5) service road deviations, lots of bikes and scooters blocking left lane at slow speeds - and still managed to cover the distance in 90 mins. Used Mandya bypass through service lane detour (railway gate was open).

Once all the work is completed, once slow-moving bikes and autos are diverted to service lanes - 75 minutes in this section does seem achievable at speeds within limits.

Some parts of the expressway had 100kmph markings, saw a place marked as 80kmph, the flyover full of rumble strips had 60kmph limit.

Mandya bypass section and flyover is partially open. But had a heart-in-mouth moment in that section - when a car was coming in wrong side and I was on the high speed (right) lane facing him.

[ampere]

Looks like a 90 min commute from NICE to Manipal hospital signal is a good benchmark. Great to see these timings without any fanatical driving.

I hope once all things clean-up we are up for a treat. On the rain/monsoon water handling front, I dont think officials have taken any additional preventive actions post the last drubbing they saw?

[goandude]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

hopped into the service lane so as to go to Swad restaurant for breakfast. We were parked at Swad at 7am. Leisurely breakfast break.

Now let us see how our experience is on the way back to Bangalore on Sunday.

I couldn't find Swad restaurant on Gmaps. Could you please point it out.

Any access to fuel pumps on this Expressway?

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by goandude

I couldn't find Swad restaurant on Gmaps. Could you please point it out.

Any access to fuel pumps on this Expressway?

Swad Restaurant is a part of that Atrium Hotel at the end of the Expressway on the left side when going from Bangalore to Mysore. It is quite easily accessed via the service lane.

Here is the location on google.

The Atrium Boutique hotel
076761 39092
https://maps.app.goo.gl/tvkEBwU7Tk24R6tR8?g_st=ic

No there is no access to Fuel on this Expressway. If you want to fill up when on the Expressway you will have to wait and go onto any of the exits, Mandya or Maddur or Ramanagaram, Channapatna, Bidadi etc.
While I would not generally expect any seasoned driver to attack a 120km journey with less fuel in the tank, I guess it can happen occasionally if one has been lax in one’s attention.

[shantanumishra]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

One breathes a heartfelt sigh of relief seeing that near-invisible deviation at the entrance to Mandya. Using that small ‘unofficial Mandya bypass’ through the railway gate and under the bridge and back on the flyover saves precious time and reduces blood pressure and stress.

Hi Shankar,

Needing some help regarding this bypass and hence, have sent you a PM.

[HighRevving]

Originally Posted by balenoed_

So then I suggest you take the road once, before speculating whatever you have mentioned in your post.

there is no bottle neck on Kengeri NICE as such to be worried about considering the overall advantages.

This road, even in its current incomplete form, is a bliss to drive and have cut short the travel time significantly. Regular users of this road will know what a nightmare it was earlier and how it has become now.

Well, I did check with two people who took this route in the last two weeks and both of them mentioned the bottleneck at Kengeri and Mandya bypass. I am equally excited that they are completing this road at a good pace and this helps me travel to my hometown more often.

It all made sense when I read the last part of the post - compared to the old road, I am sure this is phenomenal improvement. I look forward to driving on this road once it is fully complete, as I would save 30-40 KMs compared to the Bellur Cross road anyway. Even then I would leave home by 5:30AM to avoid the merging traffic.

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Even in the current state, I think a 1 hr reduction is guaranteed. 2 hrs in my view maybe too much.

I don't think this will save 2 hours, but surely 1 hour. With what others are claiming when it comes to 90-minute commute, I am sure it will be more than 1 hour but you're right, 2 hours sounds like a stretch. Overall, this is a very welcome development.

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Ref Coorg, yes, absolutely. I have stopped using that Sriranagapatnam bypass. It’s used to be the sensible thing to do form,any years. But that road is really badly maintained and horrible.

I drove to Royal Orchid Brindavan 3 weeks ago and I agree, the bypass, or popularly called pump house road, is in pretty bad shape. However, if you come from Pandavapura, there is a road that connects Pandavapura directly with Hunsur Road and that is in good condition - you've to take a diversion from the Mysore - Chamarajanagar - Pandavapura junction.

Originally Posted by tharian

For those taking the un-official Mandya bypass, it is better to slow down and look for cross traffic at the multiple under passes. These roads that cut across, have traffic crossing without bothering to slow down. They just honk and carry on thinking no one uses the service road.

@balenoed - these are what I precisely want to avoid. Might as well wait and take the road when the bypass is completely open.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by ampere

Looks like a 90 min commute from NICE to Manipal hospital signal is a good benchmark. Great to see these timings without any fanatical driving.

I hope once all things clean-up we are up for a treat. On the rain/monsoon water handling front, I dont think officials have taken any additional preventive actions post the last drubbing they saw?

After the several trips I have done, my view is that, in a normal scenario (keeping aside special cases of long weekend, special circumstances etc), it will be a 1 hour 15 min commute from the entry at NICE to the Columbia Asia/Manipal Signal at Mysore. There are a large number of toll lanes also, so I don't expect too much time to be spent at the toll in normal circumstances.

The challenge I see is at both ends, especially during the crowded times. Already there are reports of the exit at Bangalore being congested causing a backup on to the expressway. Same at the Mysore end also where you suddenly hit the ORR Jn which is a major intersection. Maybe the plan should have comprehended the exit better (especially on the Mysore side), on the Bangalore side, with the Metro and NICE Road etc, don't think anything much could have been done.

[ninjatalli]

Have the toll gates started operating? It was nice to get an expressway run for free