[ampere]

Originally Posted by luvurride

@ampere - Tirupur turn-off is just before you enter Avinashi town, so you dont have to go through Avinashi town. It'll be about 16kms on the 2Lane coming from Salem. Alternatively, you could also take Vijayamangalam-Uthukuli-Tirupur which is also pretty decent 2lane. Given the current conditions, both routes may more or less take same time. Generally folks here prefer to take the route based on where they would want to go in Tirupur.

Originally Posted by ajithbr

Here is a good alternative which we take. Coming from Salem side, after the 4L road ends, proceed for another 6 kms or so and you get Perumanallur. It is a relatively busy junction with road from Sathy/Goby joining from the right. Take LEFT here and a very good 2L road takes you to Tiruppur which is just 12 kms away. From Perumanallur, it will be another 10 kms to Avinashi and if you proceed till there, you will be driving back as if you are taking a U-turn towards your left.
Actually, when 4L work was happening on NH-47, we use to take Bangalore->Thoppur->Mettur->Anthiyur->Athani->Goby->Perumanallur(or sometimes, Nambiyur)->Avinashi route.

Folks Idea is Blr-Pollachi. I also figured independently that apart from Vijayamangalam, Perumanallur is also a good option to hit Tiruppur and drive through to Palladam and then to Pollachi. Based on what you guys say:

1. One is to drive all the way to Avinashi as the turning to Tiruppur is before the 4L mess.

2, Perumanallur Option.

3. Vijayamangalam option.

As per your comments, all the three seem to be OK. If thats the case it would be good to drive till Avinashi and then turn. Plan B I would consider is the route via Perumanallur.

Is an exit correctly marked to Perumanallur from 47?

[luvurride]

Originally Posted by ajithbr

Here is a good alternative which we take. Coming from Salem side, after the 4L road ends, proceed for another 6 kms or so and you get Perumanallur. It is a relatively busy junction with road from Sathy/Goby joining from the right. Take LEFT here and a very good 2L road takes you to Tiruppur which is just 12 kms away. From Perumanallur, it will be another 10 kms to Avinashi and if you proceed till there, you will be driving back as if you are taking a U-turn towards your left.
Actually, when 4L work was happening on NH-47, we use to take Bangalore->Thoppur->Mettur->Anthiyur->Athani->Goby->Perumanallur(or sometimes, Nambiyur)->Avinashi route.

Oh yeah how did I miss this one?!

@ampere - If you want to stick to NH47, Perumanallur is the best thing to do, of the three options you have.
But let me throw in one more here - Why dont you consider Perundurai-Kangeyam-Palladam-Pollachi? The roads are good and the best part is that you dont have to go through the messy Tirupur town!

[luvurride]

Originally Posted by ampere

Folks Idea is Blr-Pollachi. I also figured independently that apart from Vijayamangalam, Perumanallur is also a good option to hit Tiruppur and drive through to Palladam and then to Pollachi. Based on what you guys say:

1. One is to drive all the way to Avinashi as the turning to Tiruppur is before the 4L mess.

2, Perumanallur Option.

3. Vijayamangalam option.

As per your comments, all the three seem to be OK. If thats the case it would be good to drive till Avinashi and then turn. Plan B I would consider is the route via Perumanallur.

Is an exit correctly marked to Perumanallur from 47?

Perumanallur is the first busy village on the NH you'll hit after the 4L ends(roughly about 5kms). And there is a 4 road junction. So you wont miss that! Just take a left here.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by luvurride

Oh yeah how did I miss this one?!

@ampere - If you want to stick to NH47, Perumanallur is the best thing to do, of the three options you have.
But let me throw in one more here - Why dont you consider Perundurai-Kangeyam-Palladam-Pollachi? The roads are good and the best part is that you dont have to go through the messy Tirupur town!

Getting into Perinudrai is also a pain. Sticking to 4L would be better as you would be faster.
Then how bad is the Tiruppur town part?

Originally Posted by luvurride

Perumanallur is the first busy village on the NH you'll hit after the 4L ends(roughly about 5kms). And there is a 4 road junction. So you wont miss that! Just take a left here.

Thats news for me. I thought 4L runs all the way till Avinashi from where 2L starts. (And that is the stretch conversion is ongoing Avinashi-CBE).

So then where does 4L end, when coming from Salem?

[sbkumar]

Originally Posted by ampere

Getting into Perinudrai is also a pain. Sticking to 4L would be better as you would be faster.
Then how bad is the Tiruppur town part?

I would not recommend Perundurai route either.

Originally Posted by ampere

Thats news for me. I thought 4L runs all the way till Avinashi from where 2L starts. (And that is the stretch conversion is ongoing Avinashi-CBE).

So then where does 4L end, when coming from Salem?

I think the town is called Chengamapally.

[ajithbr]

Please refer to the last pic in post#54 regarding where 4L starts from Coimbatore side
From Salem side, it would be roughly 16 kms before Avinashi and about 6 kms from Perumanallur junction. But still from where 4L ends upto Avinashi, it was usually a smooth ride and all the hell break loose between Avinashi and Coimbatore Bye-pass turn-off.

I hope many would agree to this experience. Crossing Tiruppur town, say 3 kms on either side from the town center, could take atleast 30 minutes if you know the exact turn to take in each junction and dont have to ask for directions. If you need to ask for directions, you will take another 15 to 30 minutes more and there is a good chance of getting lost in many junctions inside Tiruppur if you are new in the route. If you dont speak Tamil, there is an extra bit of issue (but not really serious) since it is difficult to enquire with the usually reliable Police, Auto and Taxi fellows.

[ramanan.skr]

Any idea, when this stretch will be completely 4 laned & what is the status of NH47 beyond Coimbatore? Last year, I skipped going through NH47 to enter Kerala because of the road widening works going on. Instead, I went through NH7 to reach Kollam.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by ajithbr

I hope many would agree to this experience. Crossing Tiruppur town, say 3 kms on either side from the town center, could take atleast 30 minutes if you know the exact turn to take in each junction and dont have to ask for directions. If you need to ask for directions, you will take another 15 to 30 minutes more and there is a good chance of getting lost in many junctions inside Tiruppur if you are new in the route. If you dont speak Tamil, there is an extra bit of issue (but not really serious) since it is difficult to enquire with the usually reliable Police, Auto and Taxi fellows.

As long as there is no "one-way" problem on roads, this should be OK with a Garmin!

[ajithbr]

Originally Posted by ampere

As long as there is no "one-way" problem on roads, this should be OK with a Garmin!

There are some one-ways inside Tiruppur town but more problem could be due to "no-way" rather than "one-way"
There are many narrow roads in Tiruppur and you can see people parking their vehicles at will and going for bulk purchases of garments. Some of the vehicles could be mapped to some big shots and hence police dare not touch them. Also, so many of goods autos and taxis that feeds from the garment industry units all around the town which blocks (and results in crawling traffic) many of the roads most of the time to make it an unpleasant experience for people just driving through Tiruppur for other destinations.
If you have no plans of stopping in Tiruppur, Kangeyam-Palladam route is the best alternative, I think. Crossing Perundurai town is not bad as the NH-47 bye-pass has taken off most of the traffic density from inside the town.

[luvurride]

@ampere - Perundurai is a developed village, but Tirupur is a town and a district headquarters too now, add to it a very high traffic of 2 wheelers owing to the floating population of garment factory workers. Like ajithbr says, it is not just about the directions, but the town itself is very congested and so it takes painstakingly long to negotiate the roads.

One more suggestion is to take the last exit to Perundurai, coming from Salem, instead of the first, as you'll encounter very little of Perundurai village before you hit the 4 road junction where you take a right to Chennimalai/Kangeyam.

From Kangeyam, the road is a breeze till Palladam with extended lanes for 2 wheelers.

[luvurride]

Originally Posted by ajithbr

There are some one-ways inside Tiruppur town but more problem could be due to "no-way" rather than "one-way"
There are many narrow roads in Tiruppur and you can see people parking their vehicles at will and going for bulk purchases of garments. Some of the vehicles could be mapped to some big shots and hence police dare not touch them. Also, so many of goods autos and taxis that feeds from the garment industry units all around the town which blocks (and results in crawling traffic) many of the roads most of the time to make it an unpleasant experience for people just driving through Tiruppur for other destinations.
If you have no plans of stopping in Tiruppur, Kangeyam-Palladam route is the best alternative, I think. Crossing Perundurai town is not bad as the NH-47 bye-pass has taken off most of the traffic density from inside the town.

+1 to that! I never dare to pass through Tirupur given the other alternatives!

[luvurride]

Originally Posted by ajithbr

Please refer to the last pic in post#54 regarding where 4L starts from Coimbatore side
From Salem side, it would be roughly 16 kms before Avinashi and about 6 kms from Perumanallur junction. But still from where 4L ends upto Avinashi, it was usually a smooth ride.

It is still not that bad in this stretch as the roads were already wide with not much of trees alongside. Hence the 4Laning work has not done much damage.

[luvurride]

I'll be travelling to Coimbatore this weekend and back by next. Just wanted to try a different route this time. How is the NH209 through Kollegal, Chamarajnagar? I know roads are good on the Satyamangalam ghats and thereon, but how about the Bangalore-Chamrajnagar stretch?

[kala]

Originally Posted by luvurride

I'll be travelling to Coimbatore this weekend and back by next. Just wanted to try a different route this time. How is the NH209 through Kollegal, Chamarajnagar? I know roads are good on the Satyamangalam ghats and thereon, but how about the Bangalore-Chamrajnagar stretch?

NH209 is in pretty good shape upto Chamarajnagar. Odd pothole here and there, and a few narrow stretches between Kollegal and C'nagar when the highway passes some villages. But very sparse traffic, and one should be able to do the 170 odd kms between NICE road-Kanakapura Rd junction to Chamarajanagar in less than 2.5 hours.

Quite a while since I travelled the Chamarajnagar-Sathyamangalam sector. Roads close to Chamarajnagar were pretty bad when passed through there a couple of years ago, not sure about the current condition.

[ampere]

I have driven through Perundarai town 2 years back, on my way to Munnar. But the railway crossing and getting the right exit from NH47 was a real pain.
Have they completed railway over bridge at Perundurai ?

@luvurride

The issue the exit to Perundurai was not marked last time. Hence it was quite difficult, where to take an exit.
Do you have pointers to the exit?

If one is coming via Kangeyam, then why Palladam and why not Dharapuram?
Is the Palladam stretch better?