[Drivethru]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

Junta,
A friend is planning to do a Bangalore - Pune trip (and back) in the coming weeks. Any update on the road condition, now that the rains have arrived for all the states on this highway?
Do mention if there any specific sections of the route that need to be kept in consideration.

I have travelled from chitradurga to Mumbai sometime back. The road from chitradurga till kolhapur I would say is one of the longest good road in south India, the Hyderabad bangalore highway comes close. Few things to note while you are between chitradurga and kolhapur on this road are the multiple speed breakers without any markings. The other issue is the bikers coming in front of you (on the wrong side) while you may be cruising at 120+ on this clean stretch of highway.


From kolhapur the roads are very inconsistent. Some good patches followed by some bad patches and many diversions. Once you reach kolhapur till you enter Pune the average speeds can be kept lower as there are swarms of bikes and slow moving vehicles on the road. It's raining heavily in some parts of maharashtra so better if you are in an suv than a sedan incase you come across heavy rains.

Have a safe drive.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by Drivethru

Few things to note while you are between chitradurga and kolhapur on this road are the multiple speed breakers without any markings.

Can you tell me where are these unmarked speedbreakers?

Following are the speedbreakers starting from Bangalore till Pune in the order of their location heading north and each one of them is VERY WELL MARKED:

1. Tumkur Bypass near Kyatasandra
2. End of Harihar Bypass where 2 corridors forks into 2
3. At a village just before Haveri bypass (Well marked along with a flashing orange lamp-post).
4. Rumbler speedbreakers at 2 locations between Dharwad bypass and Nippani which are again well marked and too small.

All the other "unmarked" speed breakers, majority of them which existed between Chitradurga and Davanagere are now flat since more than a year.

NOTE: I drove 4 weeks before to Pune/Mumbai and back.

[Drivethru]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Can you tell me where are these unmarked speedbreakers?

Following are the speedbreakers starting from Bangalore till Pune in the order of their location heading north and each one of them is VERY WELL MARKED:

1. Tumkur Bypass near Kyatasandra
2. End of Harihar Bypass where 2 corridors forks into 2
3. At a village just before Haveri bypass (Well marked along with a flashing orange lamp-post).
4. Rumbler speedbreakers at 2 locations between Dharwad bypass and Nippani which are again well marked and too small.

All the other "unmarked" speed breakers, majority of them which existed between Chitradurga and Davanagere are now flat since more than a year.

NOTE: I drove 4 weeks before to Pune/Mumbai and back.

Hi parag, I dont remember these details to the level of granularity as you mentioned. I did come across some in this route. Thanks for the data though. Names of some of the places I dont know very well.

[ampere]

Someone earlier had posted a snapped version of the Kamats on NH4.
Here is what they have on their site.

You have:

- Three at Dobbaspet, One at Sira, Davanagere, Ranebennur
- And two around Hubli.



Ref :
http://www.kamatyatri.in/roomlisting...t-Upachar.html

[suniladhiya]

Returned today from a Bangalore trip. Tumkur-Chitradurg six laning is almost complete and is awesome
to drive on. I counted only about 4 major and 1 minor diversion. With max speed of 110, was able to physically cover 90 kms per hr. There are two speed breakers - one at the end of Harihar bypass and one further towards Haveri (dont remember the exact location). Traffic in the wrong lane (that too the righmost lane) on the northbount Harihar bypass is a real menace. Dharwad - Belgaum section has about 4-5 diversions where underpasses are being constructed. Also, two rumbler type speed breakers about 40 kms from Dharwad toll booth in north direction. Service lanes at the diversions have multiple speed breakers just a few metres apart. Kagal to Kolhapur section sees lot of two wheeler traffic but not much of an issue. Apart from Karad-Satara section, rest of the Kolhapur-Pune stretch has deteriorated. When the six laning of Satara-Pune will be completed is anybody's guess. NHAI website says March, 2014 but ground reality doesnt seem to justify the optimism. Existing lanes are also bumpy with several rough patches.

[nileshch]

Did a Bangalore Mumbai run on Saturday. IMO, Tumkur-Chitradurga stretch, though nearing completion, is nowhere as enjoyable as it was before the road widening started. The third lane ends abruptly at places so you really cant relax. Or by the time you start appreciating the wide road, you see the diversion board! Not to mention that only in India can you find two trucks hogging all three lanes, while one is trying to overtake the other at a snail's pace. And then you reach the Hubli-Dharwad two laner to see some great overtaking stunts by oncoming traffic

Other than that, the drive was pleasurable upto Kolhapur. After that the grind started, trying to maintain average speed while wading through scattered two wheeler traffic on the road and dodging the oddball road crater. Satara - Pune stretch (nearing Pune) has gone to the dogs, with multiple diversions for construction work right upto the NH4 bypass in Pune. The stretch from Hinjewadi to the Expressway entry point is also dug up everywhere, for reconstruction of roads.

The MPEW was the saving grace for the Maharashtra stretch of NH4. I saw constant vigil by the expressway police and towing vehicles throughout the highway. No landslide incidents in Lonavala and the passage was smooth. And then, back to dodgem in Panvel.

The car came out unscathed at the end of it, though fully covered in dirt.

[reignofchaos]

I did Mumbai Bangalore on saturday as well. Started at 5am from home in Whitefield, was in Mumbai at Bandra around 6pm. To me the worst roads were the bits in Pune bypass and the new bombay section after you exit the expressway. Both of these wasted roughly two and half hours. Otherwise I'd have been done far sooner.

Loved the expressway bit even though its hard to keep my Cedia at 80kph in 5th gear. Even without throttle input, it gets to 100. However I was appalled by the lane indiscipline. Twice I saw volvos roaring past me in the fast lane and there were multiple innovas, xylos and all sorts of taxis driving like retards. The speed limit on the expressway should be increased to at least 100kph for cars as the current speed limit is actually dangerous with maniacs trying to overtake you from the left and right at the same time.

[nileshch]

Originally Posted by reignofchaos

I did Mumbai Bangalore on saturday as well. Started at 5am from home in Whitefield, was in Mumbai at Bandra around 6pm. To me the worst roads were the bits in Pune bypass and the new bombay section after you exit the expressway. Both of these wasted roughly two and half hours. Otherwise I'd have been done far sooner.

Was yours a red Cedia Sports? I did see one in Haveri and on the Pune bypass and expressway for some time. I was in a blue Vento, in case you remember seeing one.

Yes, these were indeed the worse bits because they appear at the end of the journey, when all you want is to reach home comfortably!

[reignofchaos]

Yep that was me :-).

[Vishbull_6157]

Did Mumbai -Bangalore -Mumbai this weekend. Left Mumbai at 6pm on Friday and reached Bangalore jayanagar at 10:30 am on Saturday , did some work and left Bangalore at 4 pm and reached Mumbai Borivali at 12:00 pm next afternoon on Sunday. Took some rest on way back at Kholapur for few hours.

On my way to Bangalore at Siri, I stopped at Kamat 's in the morning for some rest and breakfast. It's a nice place and have a separate room for toilets. Since my phone was out of battery I decided to charge it for sometime while i freshen up. They have multiple charging points in that big room which has toilets. So I put my phone for charging and did my chores of brushing, shaving etc. Did all that and stepped out and went straight to the restaurant and ordered my favorite wada sambar and coffee and while i was waiting for my order, I remembered I have put my phone for charging, so ran immediately to fetch it. All I found was my charger, the phone was taken away. I had seen some local boys there when I was leaving the washroom and I am sure one of them has taken it, but there was no way, I could pin point or blame anyone. They were locals and in numbers. When I asked them , did they see the phone, they declined and said many people use the washroom. It was my mistake , I was careless and paid the price with my Nokia lumia. I could have done something like calling the cops etc but first I wouldnt know where to find the cops and secondly I couldn't have held these men while I go to look out for cops. Also most importantly, I had a hard appointment at 11 in Bangalore which I couldn't miss. .

Moral of the story, never leave your phone unattended in public places

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by Vishbull_6157

Did Mumbai -Bangalore -Mumbai this weekend. Left Mumbai at 6pm on Friday and reached Bangalore jayanagar at 10:30 am on Saturday , did some work and left Bangalore at 4 pm and reached Mumbai Borivali at 12:00 pm next afternoon on Sunday. Took some rest on way back at Kholapur for few hours.

On my way to Bangalore at Siri, I stopped at Kamat 's in the morning for some rest and breakfast. It's a nice place and have a separate room for toilets. Since my phone was out of battery I decided to charge it for sometime while i freshen up. They have multiple charging points in that big room which has toilets. So I put my phone for charging and did my chores of brushing, shaving etc. Did all that and stepped out and went straight to the restaurant and ordered my favorite wada sambar and coffee and while i was waiting for my order, I remembered I have put my phone for charging, so ran immediately to fetch it. All I found was my charger, the phone was taken away. I had seen some local boys there when I was leaving the washroom and I am sure one of them has taken it, but there was no way, I could pin point or blame anyone. They were locals and in numbers. When I asked them , did they see the phone, they declined and said many people use the washroom. It was my mistake , I was careless and paid the price with my Nokia lumia. I could have done something like calling the cops etc but first I wouldnt know where to find the cops and secondly I couldn't have held these men while I go to look out for cops. Also most importantly, I had a hard appointment at 11 in Bangalore which I couldn't miss. .

Moral of the story, never leave your phone unattended in public places

So sorry to hear about your phone.Time to invest in a belkin inverter or a car charger.Its such a peace of mind thing believe me to know that you have a charger in the car!

[paragsachania]

Here's the latest update from my drive to Mumbai between 19th and 22nd July 2013.

• 6 Lane work between Tumkur and Chitradurga is fully complete (95%) and has only 1 major and another smaller diversion.
  
• The road conditions throughout from Bangalore all the way till Kognoli/Kagal check post remain in very good shape
  
• 6 Lane work is still in progress between Dharwad - Belgaum and this has ensured a couple of diversions near Kittur, MK Hubli etc. Overall, not a bad experience of driving on these at all.
  
• Roads in Maharashtra side of NH4 are as usual bumpy but deteriorating nearing Satara & Umbraj
  
• 6 lane work between Satara and Pune is progressing at a snail's pace. The diversions are in the worst shape with humongous potholes that can eat the wheel of a truck (and it did) - Special caution/advisory for those wanting to do this at night like I did
  
• All those Petty shops after Khedshivpur Toll are demolished now and it is a pleasant experience doing this small stretch now. I did see the "world famous" Kailash Bhel shop completely rebuilt and shifted at least 50 meters away from the main highway which was otherwise next to the highway before causing huge bottlenecks towards Pune

The tolls as usual have been revised since a few months and here's all the details on tolls till Expressway:

1. Expressway - 165
2. Khedshivpur - 75
3. Anewadi - 50
4. Taswade - 66
5. Kini - 66
6. Kognoli - 30
7. Hattaragi - 20
8. Bagewadi - 75
9. Hubli Bypass - 45
10. Bankapura- 60
11. Haveri - 80
12. Davanagere - 65
13. Guilalu - 55
14. Karjivanahalli - 55
15. Tumkur - 33
16. NBTL- 20

Driving at night:
It is certainly not a good experience to do the Satara-Pune stretch under dark skies due to poor visibility.

• Diversions are not marked well
• The Diversions itself are in very bad shape
• 6 lane work is Haphazard at many places and road surface has sliced off at many locations
• Darker tarmac without lane markers often deteriorate visibility as even the medians are not painted at many places
• Add to this, if it is raining, the experience is definitely not good at all

We Started from Bangalore on 19th at 3PM driving under rains all the way to Thane reaching around 6:00AM. I don't recall a single stretch on this day where my wiper were turned off!

We drove a circuit from Thane-Charoti-Nargol-Vapi-Silvassa-Jawahar and returned via Nashik (NH50) crossing Pune on 21st evening at 7:30pm and reahcing Bangalore home at 7:15pm.

Overall, this drive clocked 2500 kms witnessing at least 90% rains during the onward and return journey.


Here's a pic of my trustworthy tallboy after the drive to depict how bad the rains were with 206000 on the ODO now:

[nileshch]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Driving at night:
It is certainly not a good experience to do the Satara-Pune stretch under dark skies due to poor visibility.

• Diversions are not marked well
• The Diversions itself are in very bad shape
• 6 lane work is Haphazard at many places and road surface has sliced off at many locations
• Darker tarmac without lane markers often deteriorate visibility as even the medians are not painted at many places
• Add to this, if it is raining, the experience is definitely not good at all

Thanks for the update, Parag. I did not enjoy the Satara-Pune stretch at all during the day. Cant imagine how you managed to cross it at night.

I returned to Bangalore in mid-July and was surprised to find the Pune-Satara side of the highway a little better. I was dreading the Khambatki ghat in rains, but I passed it smoothly and the roads were not really bad. And I saw lesser potholes on this side of the road.

On a whole, the diversions on NH4 are better managed in KA than in MH. Don't know how there could be such a vast difference in the quality of work when NHAI is supposed to standardize the road construction rules throughout the stretch. Throughout MH, I see very few places where there is a service road for the highway, diversion or not. On the other hand, KA has well marked and isolated service roads near villages and towns along the highway.

[binand]

Originally Posted by nileshch

Throughout MH, I see very few places where there is a service road for the highway, diversion or not. On the other hand, KA has well marked and isolated service roads near villages and towns along the highway.

I think the high level of industrialisation and urbanisation along the Pune-Kolhapur corridor has something to do with this. The population density is higher, the towns are closer to each other and are ever-expanding and probably the excess land for service roads and the like are hard or expensive to come by.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by nileshch

Cant imagine how you managed to cross it at night.

Actually, I had no choice. I had to make sure I was in Thane early morning on Saturday and Bangalore on Monday morning. So drove through the night both directions.

The incessant rains all the way till Thane ensured that visibility was hampered although less traffic helped maintain average speeds easily. On diversions I could see even Buses and Trucks struggling to negotiate through those huge potholes and I carefully assessed and steered avoiding them.

I returned to Bangalore in mid-July and was surprised to find the Pune-Satara side of the highway a little better. I was dreading the Khambatki ghat in rains, but I passed it smoothly and the roads were not really bad. And I saw lesser potholes on this side of the road.

Earlier to this, I had driven in 4th Week of May and the roads were better. I guess the rains lashing this part of the country in the month of July has completely ruined certain sections in Maharashtra. However, Khambhatki Ghats were in good shape during my return despite of bad rains.

On a whole, the diversions on NH4 are better managed in KA than in MH. Don't know how there could be such a vast difference in the quality of work when NHAI is supposed to standardize the road construction rules throughout the stretch. Throughout MH, I see very few places where there is a service road for the highway, diversion or not. On the other hand, KA has well marked and isolated service roads near villages and towns along the highway.

Yes Nilesh. I completely agree on this. The only section of NH4 in MH that one can call good is after Satara till Kolhapur and I say this because its concretized and remains in very good shape even today.

Originally Posted by binand

I think the high level of industrialisation and urbanisation along the Pune-Kolhapur corridor has something to do with this. The population density is higher, the towns are closer to each other and are ever-expanding and probably the excess land for service roads and the like are hard or expensive to come by.

Exactly! There is a vast difference in the population density between these 2 states along the highways. Even on a weekday at odd hours you are likely to find more private cars than trucks on NH4 all the way till Mumbai. Service lanes exists only in very few sections.

Plenty of restaurants, apparel parks, Industrial areas in each town you pass, line of fuel stations and more add to the traffic woes if traveling peak hours.