[Akadian]

I agree with you, Nainar. The road has also been laid out in such a manner between Belgaum and Kolhapur that it adds to the momentum. Thus, I can easily believe that you reach speeds of 160-180 in this stretch with a Corolla. I mean those frequent slight downslopes help the speed a lot. I believe the bad and good stretches have been laid out by different contractors. Till Belgaum or maybe even as far as Hubli, the contractor was Punj Lloyd, who has done an excellent job. But from Hubli to Davangere some sub-contractors from Andhra have done a real bad job and the main contract was also not given to Punj Lloyd but somebody else. I can't understand why they can't strip the contractor of the contract if he does not perform within a given span of time

[prince_pervez]

Originally Posted by Akadian

Till Belgaum or maybe even as far as Hubli, the contractor was Punj Lloyd, who has done an excellent job. But from Hubli to Davangere some sub-contractors from Andhra have done a real bad job and the main contract was also not given to Punj Lloyd but somebody else. I can't understand why they can't strip the contractor of the contract if he does not perform within a given span of time

amm..is there a possiblity that you have returned to India after a long time? I mean just look at the state of the roads Punj Lloyd have developed. They are so perfect that its difficult to say whether they will get AMC contracts. They might get once in 5 years. And turn back at Ranibennuer till Chitradurga, there is constant work going on there and maintenance bill are part of the taxes we pay. Also there are legal hassles as well. We need selfless rulers. Not people who want to stash public money.
I remember, while constructing the Mumbai - Pune expressway, some American/German company had offered to lay 25 kms of roads for free, for reasons best known to them. But nothing happenend to that. Probably they Indian contractors would have had to hang their heads in shame, with continual AMC whilst the 25 kms remains untouched.
Why am I spitting venom ? Just have a look of the state of roads in Foreign countries. Just look at them. The people there too pay taxes. They are also ruled by governments, but still they get much better life.

Here there is no guarantee that I will reach Pune from Bangalore.
Like Naseeruddeen Shah said in 'A Wednesday' : A wife says goodbye to her husband going for his job as if she is saying a final goodbye to a soldier.
Sorry for the rant.

[longford]

Good point pervez_prince.

It boils my blood too everytime I drive in the Mumbai city area.. The great concretisation drive was such that the contractor would lay the roads and ensure that they last for 25 years! But the corruption is such that every 5 years the roads develop cracks and fillings are add ons.

Couple of months ago, when the sealink opened, I had the excitement of a five year old about to be given the visions of a new toy to play with. I was dreaming it would be like some of the bridges I have driven on, like the George Washingtion bridge in NJ/NY. But alas, dreams are dream after all. The marvel had such faulty road laying that even the Nerul bridge in Navi Mumbai had a better ride quality. I think the marvel is supposed to be that the bridge finally got done and the politician close to HCC finally got his milking monies.
60 years and we find it far easier to get laid than to lay a decent drivable road.

But yes, exceptions like the work of Punj lyold on this stretch, LT on the Coimbatore ring road, some very decent stretches in the Aurangabad-Mumbai route, bears testimonies for the hope that we nurture.

Sorry guys, for the vitriol. Everytime I read these kinda frustrations, it just provides an outlet to my repressed angers.

Anyway, I shall be setting out on my Mumbai Bangalore ride today and will keep ya posted. If teambhp had a mobile interface like tweeter/facebook, I would have loved to give ball by ball ( oops .. read that km by km ) updates..

[anainar]

Did this stretch yesterday, leaving Pune at 8:45 in the morning from Warje, reaching Kormanagala by 9:00 PM.

There is no major +ve change in the conditions. Renibennur - Davangere stretches have gone from bad to worse. Rail crossings are also worse with deeper craters after the speed breakers. I really wonder who the heck is running business there.

Saved toll in the Shivpur and the next toll gate, as I gave ride to one of the "Saabs" from NHAI. Like I said earlier, IRB toll gate for Khambatki section is gone now, as the road has been transferred to government. The NHAI saab said, the Build Operate Lease Transfer period will be over for the other roads also, and then the govt can either remove tolls or reduce them.

He also had another tit bit, that the roads are going to be six laned and one tunnel is supposed to take away the fun of driving in in Khambatki ghats, much like the tunnel when you drive from south, you dont ascent/descent on Khambatki,but go through a big tunnel. So, some construction activity expected in this stretch soon.

Nainar

[viveklk]

Here's the update on NH4...

I left Bangalore on 24th Sept at 5:30am from C V Raman Nagar only to greet huge traffic jam near Peenya. Vehicles coming in Bangalore had occupied one lane of ours making it difficult to move on. Fortunately, we didn’t have to wait in the jam much and moved on.

I had traveled on this road in the first week of June 2009 before this. Overall, the road condition is improving; Chitradurga road happens to be one of the continuously developed stretch. One bridge in Tumkur is up, getting rid of 90 degrees right turn through rough road that was needed. Rain has definitely screwed up the small two way roads near Tumkur, Chitradurga etc but manageable. Near Ranibennur the diversions are still there but the paintings (red-white strips) are newly done so don’t have to worry, they indicate required diversions. As some BHPians have already written, near Davangere-Ranibennur some part of the road has developed bigger potholes, please be careful. One Honda city in front of me hit the rear, he was at relatively higher speed at this stretch and couldn’t judge water filled pothole properly.

One big disappointment was that you can’t go to either of the Kamat (Tumkur or Sira) easily when you are headed towards Pune-Mumbai as Kamats come on the other side of the road. The dividers are completely closed and you may have to cover kilometers to get there. For breakfast I could stop only at Chitradurga but this gave big time advantage.

No other specific inputs, usual route. Rain has made muddy road sides slippery and soft, so AVOID going or stopping off the road in the mud. I saw quite a few (about 10 to 12) overturned and mud stuck trucks not due to head on accidents but due to slipping off the roads.

Drive safe and enjoy your trip.

-Vivek

[prince_pervez]

On Tumkur Chitradurga road there is a nastsy speed braker. Anyone remember that. It is unmarked and people approach it at high speeds and brake hard to avoid disaster. I have been lucky as I have seen cars and trucks slow down in front of me. Otherwise it is a very dangerous speed braker.

[pkumar]

I guess the speed-breaker was not there when i travelled last month.
Although i clearly remember its presence when i travelled last year.
I think it has been levelled now.

[longford]

Hi guys,

Its been wonderful reading all these posts and helped me a lot in my trip planning.. Here are my two cents worth sharing my experiences on the Mumbai - Bangalore trip..

Overall impressions: It awesome. the roads are fantastic. After you enter Karnataka, the 4 laned concrete roads become even better. They now get a tar coating too and the ride becomes more silent. Of the 1100 kms from Thane to Malleswaram, just under 50 odd kms requires some extra attention. And of that 50 kms, a cumulative of 3-4 kms max is pot holed and dust ridden, the rest being old Indian style 2 lane highways passing through busy little village streets. Continuing on the NH4 from the NICE exit point into Yeshwantpur was nothing short off misery. Kind of reminded me how it was to drive in Mumbai on LBS and Saki Naka before they got mercifully concretised.

Some tips from my experience

1. Roads are good like American highways. Have fun.

2. Chances of bull running across or people crossing are quite low as the highway has some sort of side fence type deterrents and people know that they will get a free ride to heaven if they step in front of 100+kmph vehicles. That works.

3. The Maharashtra part has some life,dhabas, and barren lands to gape. Karnataka stretch has vast gorgeous fields, no eateries or diversions.

4. If you plan to eat a meal/snack at Dharwad, watch out for a signboard which says Dharwad and leads to a desolate looking chutku mutku road. That is THE road to Dharward. Not taking that road and continuing on the path, you will end up on the Hubli bypass road and you wont find a eatery till you get to Haveri.

5. If you plan to eat at Haveri, watch out for a sign that says like some COX Town developer way and take that road. If you miss that, you bypass Haveri too and land up at the other end of the Haveri. Luckily reading all the wonderful posts here, I immediately realized that the beginning of the pot holes meant it was just after Haveri and fortunately we took the left at the start and drove 3 kms into Haveri for a breakfast. We had some nice dosas and vadas at the Kamath Hotel near the bus stand in the town square.

6. Drive cautiously on the Haveri-Chitradurga stretch.folks saying that they were at 100 kmph and hit a pothole must really get their heads checked or live the lives of The Fast and Furious actors. Drive steadily at 40-80km and be prepared to drive slooowwwly also thru the dusty mud stretches.

7. If you plan to go to Kolhapur to have some missile pavs,like we did, be prepared to negotiate some good amount of traffic and provide for a 1 hr stop over. The best place is the one very near the Chatrapati Shahu statue and a little inside from there.forget the name though. We had a fantastic darshan of the Mahalakshmi deity on a ashtami during the ongoing navatri. Thanks to some strings pulled we managed to bypass Tirupati like crowds and did the darshan in 15 mins.

Anybody who dreads doing these long road trips, should pay attention that we did the trip on a Maruti 800 - 2001 year model with a 140000 kms done, keeping an average speed maintained was 80-100kmph. Since the M800 is the lowest of denominators, I am sure any vehicle would fare much better.

Details: Total driving time 16 hrs and 45 mins

Vashi - Pune 160 2:15 ( 2 hrs 15 mins )
Pune - Satara 112 2:30
Satara - Karad 50 45 mins
Karad - Kolhapur 78 1 Hr
Kolhapur - Nipani-Belgaum 114 1:45 Took a night halt here at Hotel Sanman.Good hotel. 8 hrs 15 mins driving for Day 1

Belgaum - Hubli 95 1:30
Hubli - Shigaon 40 35 mins
Shigaon - Bankapura 12 6 mins
Bankapura - Haveri 21 24 mins
Haveri - Rannebenur 30 35 mins potholes and WIP
Rannebenur - Davengere 46 35 mins
Davengere - Chitradurga 54 1:10 watch out for the windmills
Chitradurga - Hriyur 43 45 mins
Hriyur - Sira 39 30 mins Kamath Hotel at Sira
Sira - Tumkur 52 50 mins
Tumkur - Malleswaram 1:30
End of Day 2 8:30 mins of driving time

I had a good discovery of the current state of driving long distances. I hope it helps any of you who has been doing this stretch.

3 cheers to the Golden Quadrilateral Program.

[viveklk]

Originally Posted by prince_pervez

On Tumkur Chitradurga road there is a nastsy speed braker. Anyone remember that. It is unmarked and people approach it at high speeds and brake hard to avoid disaster. I have been lucky as I have seen cars and trucks slow down in front of me. Otherwise it is a very dangerous speed braker.

Prince, this is good point. That's really nasty speed breaker on a village bypass bridge. I've noted it down in my travel diary. This comes around 150Kms from Bangalore (from C V Raman Nagar), so I become alert once the odometer starts nearing 150kms & know that the speed breaker is approaching. Hope this helps.


-Vivek

[prince_pervez]

Originally Posted by pkumar

I guess the speed-breaker was not there when i travelled last month.
Although i clearly remember its presence when i travelled last year.
I think it has been levelled now.

Good move but the below post suggest that it still exists.
I remember it is one way only. That too while going towards Chitradurga and on an overbridge on a downward slope.

Originally Posted by viveklk

Prince, this is good point. That's really nasty speed breaker on a village bypass bridge. I've noted it down in my travel diary. This comes around 150Kms from Bangalore (from C V Raman Nagar), so I become alert once the odometer starts nearing 150kms & know that the speed breaker is approaching. Hope this helps.


-Vivek

[mclaren1885]

There are couple of big speedbreakers entering Tumkur outskirts, near to the Pavitra Idli hotel. There is one massive speedbreaker opposite to some Don Bosco College near Davangere I guess.

[anainar]

I made this stretch yesterday as part of my Bangalore - Rajasthan trip- Was worried about rain but not that big a deal actually. Drove through the night to reach Pune by 5:00 AM.

Chitradurga bypass is almost ready. I used the bridge yesterday and it was smooth except that they have opened only one lane so far. I expect the rest to open soon. This will save the trials and tribulations of going over those junction.

Davengere - Ranibennur stretch is as bad as it was earlier. Rain has made the stretch a bit worse, but not something I have not seen.

Some parts of NH4 in Maharashtra side has developed pot holes. Though they are all filled up but still expect a bumpy ride. And because of filling lane markers are gone as well. Be careful while driving in the night.

Nainar

[paragsachania]

Sorry if this looks like a travelogue but in continuation with the thread, I am sure this will provide the latest updates.

I drove Pune to Bangalore on Oct 2 and It was a drive that I will never forget. Topped fuel at Shell just after the first toll from Pune at 1-30Pm. I had a heavy brunch was sure that my next stop for tea would be somewhere near Belgaum.

As I neared Belgaum, I could see the skies getting darker and then it all started.

Downpours never stopped and I kept driving between 70-80kmph to ensure visibility and safety. Road was all wet, waters gushing from all the directions, speeds suddenly getting affected by stagnant waters.

I was hoping that the skies will clear in no time but to my surprise, the rains continued to show its fullest strength all the way till I reached the Dharwad-Hubli bypass to pay the toll.

Rains still showering with its mighty spirits, skies were now fully dark as the dusk was nearing (5-30pm). Now I continue driving a little slower due to a two laned stretch till the bypass exit.

Many will know that there is a long stretch passing through a slope on this bypass. I could see rain waters gushing and cutting the road and further away I saw the road completely submerged with flowing waters (as deep as 1.5 ft) running to a length of 300 Meters.

I had two choices now - Either take that risk and move through the submerged road and exit or take a U-Turn and exit through the Dharwad-Hubli City back on to the highway.

But, While paying toll, I had seen a few Swifts and Indicas making the exit which gave me a hint that they all would've dared to take on the water filled road.

I put my Waggy onto the first gear and continued to move without revving down. At one point I could listen to the engine almost going to die but I was lucky that it revved up again and I was out within a few seconds.
Man! That was too risky.

Vittal Kamat's is closed at the bunk after Shigaon.The downpour receded to a mere drizzle as I reached Bankapura toll gate and I stopped for a few minutes for a Tea at the nearby tapri and also a quick much wanted and awaited leak!

The Haveri - Chitradurga section is bad, probably very bad only at the sections where one needs to take a deviation. Rest of the sections seems unchanged.

The pot holes have now become huge and I saw one truck stuck in the Pothole causing a Jam.

Dinner was at Resort-Cum-Restaurant called Genysis on the Davanagere bypass.

There was a Jam on Chitradurga exit with traffic merging from the other highway and truck population almost doubling.

Rains had stopped and I continued driving and reached Bangalore at 1-30Pm and since this was my first all alone drive, I hadnt informed anyone at home just to give them a surprise but apart from the scoldings from my Parents, I bore the brunt of my wife's wrath for attempting such a risk on a flooded weekend.

The only reason I gave her was that I always loved doing Pune-Blr and wanted to do all alone this time and told parents that the Airavat Volvo's were all full except last few seats and they know very well that for my height of 6'3", I always prefer the front seats

[jaaz]

Planning to do a Road Trip - Bangalore to Mumbai in a SRV. If at all it works out - then may start around 4 am from Bangalore.

Is there anyone planning tomorrow? I heard the rains have stopped now.

[VJ_MAVRICK]

Starting @ 4AM is ideal from Bangalore but check with recent fellow cruisers who had done these stretches and as some pointed out the roads near chitradurga and haveri are again @ their worst probably @ the same level when I initiated this thread.

Anyways, happy cruising and do drive safe.