[RGK]

Originally Posted by suresh_gs

Any idea where the 2 toll plazas are located. It is bit weird that for a distance of approx 67 kms, we have 2 toll plazas in operation.

Ramsys is correct, to add

From Trichy - it is exactly in front of famous Ramakrishna Ashram school, Tirupuraithurai and the next one after Krishnarayapuram just 500m before the Puliyur road (chettinad cement factory) joins this NH 67 on the right side.

The newly completed Salem - Ulundurpet NH have more tolls, two within a span of 30 Kms.

[csateesh]

Dear BHPians,

A friend of mine is contemplating on driving to Trichy the week after as his train tickets are yet to be confirmed (which I did predict)

His confusion is that he will leave Bangalore on a Friday afternoon possibly after 3:15pm from Basaveshnagar.

I have recommended Basaveshnagar -> Tumkur -> Nice Road -> Hosur Road-> Salem -> Nammakkal -> Thuraiyur -> Trichy

Though have provided him all details the route via Thuraiyur he is concerned about driving through the small roads during the night.

Is it safe to drive during the night ?

Can you anone post the update on the road conditions via Musiri ?

Cheers

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by csateesh

Dear BHPians,

A friend of mine is contemplating on driving to Trichy the week after as his train tickets are yet to be confirmed (which I did predict)

His confusion is that he will leave Bangalore on a Friday afternoon possibly after 3:15pm from Basaveshnagar.

I have recommended Basaveshnagar -> Tumkur -> Nice Road -> Hosur Road-> Salem -> Nammakkal -> Thuraiyur -> Trichy

Though have provided him all details the route via Thuraiyur he is concerned about driving through the small roads during the night.

Is it safe to drive during the night ?

Can you anone post the update on the road conditions via Musiri ?

Cheers

No safety issues but yes roadside facilities would be limited,the musiri route a friend travelled a couple of months back and reported good roads.Probably wait for some more inputs from first hand traveller experiences

[ravib]

I travelled from Trichy to Bangalore on saturday (14th June) night, though by Bus this time (KSRTC). The bus route from Trichy Central Bus stand was Karur ByePass-Kulithalai-Musiri-Namakkal-Salem-Bangalore.

Roads till Kulithalai is very good (Toll roads). However after taking right and crossing the Periyar Bridge and joining the Musiri-Namakkal road, the road condition is not good. As usual, the roads around Thottiyam is very rough/patchy/minor pot holes.

@csateesh, I don't see a problem in driving in nights via Thuraiyur road, but check with your friend about is comfort level. The Thuraiyur road is usually deserted and not much traffic even in day time. So if he is traveling with family/kids/elders and need any assistance better to opt for Musiri road (though not as great as Thuraiyur road comparitively) as atleast there will be some traffic in that route regularly. If he is traveling alone, he can easily go via Thuraiyur road. Its upto him to decide based on his comfort level & need.

-Ravi

[csateesh]

Originally Posted by ramzsys

NH 67 between Karur and Trichy is now in a better state; Only a short, 1 km stretch is having the old road. Nicely tarred till Kudamuruti river too!

There's 2 places to pay toll: after Karur bypass(~Rs.40) and somewhere near Jeeyapuram(Rs.22).

Drove on it last monday.

Originally Posted by ravib

@csateesh, I don't see a problem in driving in nights via Thuraiyur road, but check with your friend about is comfort level. The Thuraiyur road is usually deserted and not much traffic even in day time. So if he is traveling with family/kids/elders and need any assistance better to opt for Musiri road (though not as great as Thuraiyur road comparitively) as atleast there will be some traffic in that route regularly. If he is traveling alone, he can easily go via Thuraiyur road. Its upto him to decide based on his comfort level & need.

-Ravi

@ramzsys - I know this is a longer route to reach Trichy from BLR but my friend seems to be keen on this route as he has the erstwhile NH 7 till Karur and then again another toll road to Trichy

@ravib - Am trying to work with my friend to ensure he doesn't get into issue since he is with family especially given that he has never driven the Thuraiyur route earlier

Thanks folks

-Sateesh

[ampere]

Originally Posted by csateesh

@ravib - Am trying to work with my friend to ensure he doesn't get into issue since he is with family especially given that he has never driven the Thuraiyur route earlier

I am very sure Karur/Trhcy is a hassle free option. Getting past Namakkal either via the town or via Budhasanthai/Santhamanagalam is a pain. As against that Karur bypass is clean with a good NH67 exit. In fact now with good roads, Trichy-Namakkal should take almost the same time whether via Thuraiyur or via Karur. Karur is a longer distance, but then you can do higher speeds with less stoppages/slowing down.

But yes; nothing like the charm of driving via those tree-lined State highways. Satisfaction guaranteed for a pleasure drive!

[csateesh]

Originally Posted by ampere

In fact now with good roads, Trichy-Namakkal should take almost the same time whether via Thuraiyur or via Karur. Karur is a longer distance, but then you can do higher speeds with less stoppages/slowing down.

But yes; nothing like the charm of driving via those tree-lined State highways. Satisfaction guaranteed for a pleasure drive!

@ampere - And Google maps seems to highlight the same which is the main reason for my friend to lean towards this option !!

The difference between Thuraiyur and Karur Trichy apparently is just ~ 15kms and he is absolutely sure that he can't do the 90kms from Namakkal to Trichy via Thuraiyur in 90 ~ 100 mins.

Since it could be well past 9:30pm he has decided to look at Karur - Trichy toll road. And I understand his concern especially with 2 kids and elders in the car he just wants to play safe.

Pleasure of driving through tree lined SH's is to be enjoyed during the day.

He is just amazed at the details we have on this thread and he is overwhelmed by this community and he hopes to be a part of it soon

Thanks folks

-Sateesh

[Voyager-1]

Originally Posted by csateesh

The difference between Thuraiyur and Karur Trichy apparently is just ~ 15kms and he is absolutely sure that he can't do the 90kms from Namakkal to Trichy via Thuraiyur in 90 ~ 100 mins.

Since it could be well past 9:30pm he has decided to look at Karur - Trichy toll road. And I understand his concern especially with 2 kids and elders in the car he just wants to play safe.
-Sateesh

I did the Thuraiyur route for onwards and the Karur route for return in April. Both routes took similar time, but I highly recommend the Karur route to your friend since he is driving in the night. Also, since the Karur route is all on NH, the driving is effortless and stress free without having to negotiate the trucks on the Thuraiyur or even the Musiri state highways.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Voyager-1

I did the Thuraiyur route for onwards and the Karur route for return in April. Both routes took similar time, but I highly recommend the Karur route to your friend since he is driving in the night. Also, since the Karur route is all on NH, the driving is effortless and stress free without having to negotiate the trucks on the Thuraiyur or even the Musiri state highways.

The other thing I noticed, esp which I mentioned earlier too, is in case one wants to drive past Trichy to Tanjore, then getting on to GST from Karur side of NH67 can be quite a pain. Becuase as it stands today, you will invariably need to drive towards toll gate and take the exit for GST before the second Cauvery bridge. And in doing that you have to cross the Srirangam and Tiruvanaikaval exits. Those are two big potential choke points.

There is a respite though. There is an overbridge coming up on the Kallanai road (SH22) exit right before the first Cauvery bridge bridge. That should ease up quite many things.

[arsudarsan]

Originally Posted by ampere

The other thing I noticed, esp which I mentioned earlier too, is in case one wants to drive past Trichy to Tanjore, then getting on to GST from Karur side of NH67 can be quite a pain. Becuase as it stands today, you will invariably need to drive towards toll gate and take the exit for GST before the second Cauvery bridge. And in doing that you have to cross the Srirangam and Tiruvanaikaval exits. Those are two big potential choke points.

There is a respite though. There is an overbridge coming up on the Kallanai road (SH22) exit right before the first Cauvery bridge bridge. That should ease up quite many things.

You could also take the right just after coming down Periyar Nagar Railway bridge (the bridge after first Cauvery bridge). That also takes you to GST road. You get saved from Thiruvanakovil and Srirangam exit traffic. You are right, the new bridge should ease up a lot of traffic.

[gajadonga]

I did Hyderabad -Srirangam this weekend.

Onwards was Banglore- Salem-Avinashi (to visit a temple close by to this town)

Banglore -Hosur almost complete 6 lanes except for a small stretch near Hosur town.
Excellent roads throughout till Avinashi.


From Avinashi-Chengapalli-Uthukuli-Kangeyam-Karur-Trichy.

Chengapalli-Kangeyam good dual carriage way.

Kangeyam-Karur dual carriage way with shoulders on either side good surface roads.

Karur-Trichy four lane toll except for the last 20 kms towards Trichy is single road
but road surface is good.


Return was Trichy - Pagalvadi-Kannaur--Alanganatham pirivu-Senthamagalam-Budansandai-Salem-Banglore.

Trichy -Pagalvadi- Kannaur-Alanganatham pirivu good roads throughout.
Newly laid road from Kannaur-Alanganatham pirivu but speedbreakers have increased nearing every village.

Alanganatham pirivu-Senthamagalam.
Single road lot of lorry traffic.Broken up at some places but no potholes.

Senthamagalam-Budansandai-Salem-Banglore.
Good roads throughout.

[nfsfreak]

Originally Posted by gajadonga

Alanganatham pirivu-Senthamagalam.
Single road lot of lorry traffic.Broken up at some places but no potholes.

I've observed that this stretch has lot of lorry traffic during day time.

If you travel between 9 PM to 6 AM on that stretch, normally it is traffic free.

That road is used as Namakkal byepass to reach Salem by the lorries coming from Trichy.
In Musiri-Namakkal road, just 10 Kms before Namakkal there is a road that connects you to Alanganatham Pirivu.
There is a board at the start of that road stating that all lorries (heading towards Salem) should not enter Namakkal during day time and should use that road instead to bypass Namakkal and reach the highways that joins at Budhan Santhai.

[gajadonga]

Last time I travelled between 2-3 am . The lorry traffic was there but was sparse.
A bridge construction is going on and lot of tipper lorries were around and was difficult to overtake in the single road.
The lorries were trying to give space for over taking but still was a tough call.

[Tempelhof]

Planning to drive from Bangalore to Trichy next week.

Given the current road / construction conditions, which is the preferred route ?

I normally prefer a wide well maintained toll road, even if it is longer/expensive.

I plan starting from ITPL at about 0530 and reach Trichy for lunch, on a weekday.

Thanks in advance.

[csateesh]

Originally Posted by Tempelhof

Planning to drive from Bangalore to Trichy next week.

I normally prefer a wide well maintained toll road, even if it is longer/expensive.

I plan starting from ITPL at about 0530 and reach Trichy for lunch, on a weekday.

Thanks in advance.

@Templehof - I had to drive recently and would still recommend Bangalore -> Namakkal -> Thuraiyur -> Trichy

My friend who drove via Karur -> Trichy (via toll roads) found the lorry traffic to be high. It could be possible that he hit lorry traffic due to his departure time (4:00pm)

HTH