[Yieldway17]

Originally Posted by arunramaswamy

Guys travelling to Kumbakonam over the coming weekend. It will be night trip with my family. What is the best option? I usually take the Mangalampwttai - Andimadam - Jayankondam route from Ulundurpettai. Is there a better option? Google map shows diversion at Vikravandi taking me through Sethiathope and the Grand Anicut route. Please advice. My starting point will be Tambaram.

Ulundurpettai-Virudachalam-Sethiyathopu-Anaikarai is the better route right now. Virudachalam-Jayamkondam-Kumbakonam road is under widening currently and is not the better recommended at the moment.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Yieldway17

- Big news : Vellar bridge as part of new Sethiyathoppu bypass is completed and I drove on it today. But an overpass after the river bridge is not ready and you have to do some off-roading (nothing unmanageable except on rainy days) to get on the tarmac again. I drove on the bypass almost end to end and joined the Virudachalam SH thru the service road. Google Maps lost its mind for a few mins though.

Even I tried this a couple of days before. Had to immediately exit towards the town after crossing the bridge. Did not want to venture further. The board there said only for construction work. But yes the development is at least ongoing. I still noticed quite some work pending.

Originally Posted by arunramaswamy

Guys travelling to Kumbakonam over the coming weekend. It will be night trip with my family. What is the best option? I usually take the Mangalampwttai - Andimadam - Jayankondam route from Ulundurpettai. Is there a better option? Google map shows diversion at Vikravandi taking me through Sethiathope and the Grand Anicut route. Please advice. My starting point will be Tambaram.

You should do : Ulundurpet-Vridhachalam-Sethiyarthope-Anaikarai-KMU

[RGK]

Originally Posted by Yieldway17

Ulundurpettai-Virudachalam-Sethiyathopu-Anaikarai is the better route right now. Virudachalam-Jayamkondam-Kumbakonam road is under widening currently and is not the better recommended at the moment.

Absolutely...

I did the same on 29th Dec - last Friday. The road till Sethiyathopu from Chennai is fine and after that the diversions and ROB constructions consume more time. I was able to reach Thirunageswaram from T Nagar in 6 hours at a max speed of ~95kmph with a 20 min break.

The Ulundurpet - Vriddhachalam - Sethiyathopu was a breeze and there is no Speed Breaker .

Will T Palur route be a good alernative to Jayamkondam - Anaikarai - Cholapuram stretch if we manage the Vriddhahclam - Jayamkondam road work?

@ Ampere - The Sethiyathopu - KKM byepass via Anaikarai is time consuming and you loose the enthu/freshness that you gained till Seithyathoppu and hence my question. Also there was a 15 min fight between two drivers at the Anaikarai joint and it further delayed things.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by RGK

Will T Palur route be a good alernative to Jayamkondam - Anaikarai - Cholapuram stretch if we manage the Vriddhahclam - Jayamkondam road work?

The problem is Jayamkondam-Vridhachalam itself. I would assert it's not worth it.

[Yieldway17]

Originally Posted by RGK

@ Ampere - The Sethiyathopu - KKM byepass via Anaikarai is time consuming and you loose the enthu/freshness that you gained till Seithyathoppu and hence my question. Also there was a 15 min fight between two drivers at the Anaikarai joint and it further delayed things.

I spent 5 mins at the first bridge on the Kumbakonam side and no wait at the second bridge.

But there was 5+ minutes spent inside the village after the first bridge as there were few selfish cars who were coming the other side ignoring the waiting vehicles.

End to end it took ~15 mins which was relatively not bad. I never had to spend more than 10-20 mins to cross the place in my trips so far.

[ravib]

Originally Posted by ampere

The problem is Jayamkondam-Vridhachalam itself. I would assert it's not worth it.

Originally Posted by Yieldway17

I spent 5 mins at the first bridge on the Kumbakonam side and no wait at the second bridge.

But there was 5+ minutes spent inside the village after the first bridge as there were few selfish cars who were coming the other side ignoring the waiting vehicles.

End to end it took ~15 mins which was relatively not bad. I never had to spend more than 10-20 mins to cross the place in my trips so far.

+1

For a more comfortable drive and best road options, Vridhachalam-Sethiathoppu-Anaikarai-Kumbakonam is best option for another 5 months easily. Better not to take Vridhachalam-Andimadam-Jayankondam till roads are widened and gets better.

Anaikarai is a gamble but the one way traffic wait is not too long as well. Can get cleared in 10 to 15 mts, so not a big issue Vs slowing down due to speed breakers or driving in bad roads damaging our cars.

-Ravi

[pypkmsrikanth]

Originally Posted by ravib

+1

Anaikarai is a gamble but the one way traffic wait is not too long as well. Can get cleared in 10 to 15 mts, so not a big issue Vs slowing down due to speed breakers or driving in bad roads damaging our cars.

-Ravi

Absolutely, I tried to avoid T.Palur route even when things were not this good between Sethiathoppu and Anaikarai bridge. The speedbreakers every 250 to 500 mts was a pain to drive.

[arunramaswamy]

Originally Posted by Yieldway17

Ulundurpettai-Virudachalam-Sethiyathopu-Anaikarai is the better route right now. Virudachalam-Jayamkondam-Kumbakonam road is under widening currently and is not the better recommended at the moment.

Originally Posted by ampere

You should do : Ulundurpet-Vridhachalam-Sethiyarthope-Anaikarai-KMU

Thank you very much Yieldway17 and ampere for your suggestion. Completed my trip yesterday. Roads throughout were outstanding and the markings were complete with proper markings. No potholes. Although multiple diversions between anaikarai and Kumbakonam, did not slow me down significantly.

Going forward, this will be my route to KMU from Chennai.

[careind]

Originally Posted by RGK

Absolutely...

I did the same on 29th Dec - last Friday. The road till Sethiyathopu from Chennai is fine and after that the diversions and ROB constructions consume more time.

Coincidentally, I also did that Vikravandi - Panruti stretch on 29th December but branched off left before Panruti to proceed towards Thirumanikuzhi.

I thought even the Vikravandi - Sethiathope road was not that great with very hard ridges on the many many culverts and riddled with craters.

So , on the return journey I took the sethiathope-Vrudachalam-Ulundurpet for better comfort and peace of mind.

[ns94]

Hi all,

I did a Chennai - Kumbakonam - Pondicherry drive over the weekend.

Route:
Tambaram - Ulundurpet toll - Mangalapettai - Vriddachalam - Sethiyathope - Anaikarai - Thirunageswaram

1. Decent road surface from Chengalpet all the way to Sethiyathope.
2. Looks like a lot of potholes have come up due to the rains from Tambaram to Chengalpet which add to the pain of driving on this already crowded stretch
3. Sethiyathope to Kumbakonam bypass/Thirunageswaram was painful to drive but no alternative. A couple of kms of four laned roads followed by diversions - must have probably encountered 30 to 40 such diversions in the 60 km stretch. Took almost 2 hours for this stretch with sedate driving. In some stretches, some vehicles end up driving on the wrong side despite all 4 lanes being open to traffic
4. Anaikarai wait time was less than 5 minutes in both directions
5. Tried to take an unmarked bypass for Vriddachalam town (via some Ceramic college/institute) and ended up wasting 10 minutes on a road that was under repairs. It is better to go via the town instead of this.

Went to Pondicherry for the return journey - Road surface is decent from Vadalur - Cuddalore - Pondicherry

There is a small diversion near Kurinjipadi (on Vadalur - Cuddalore stretch) where the board indicating the return to the highway was hidden by tree leaves. I ended up going on the wrong road for about 100 metres before realizing.

[pypkmsrikanth]

Chidambaram to Meensurutti road seems to be done fully as part of the Chidambaram to Trichy Highway project

https://youtu.be/jbev9lX9pwc

[ampere]

Originally Posted by ns94

Went to Pondicherry for the return journey - Road surface is decent from Vadalur - Cuddalore - Pondicherry

There is a small diversion near Kurinjipadi (on Vadalur - Cuddalore stretch) where the board indicating the return to the highway was hidden by tree leaves. I ended up going on the wrong road for about 100 metres before realizing.

Based on this return route, I definitely think it was easier to drive this way and enter Chennai compared to GST. Yes 2-Lane from Pondicherry to Mahabs is a pain. The ease with we could enter Chennai was nice. Cant comment on how the traffic on this part is; on a day-to-day basis though.

Thats why earlier I was asking member Yieldway17 about the possibility of a single Cuddalore-Pondicherry bypass. While its desirable, I dont think its there in plan (like he mentioned).

[ns94]

Originally Posted by ampere

Based on this return route, I definitely think it was easier to drive this way and enter Chennai compared to GST. Yes 2-Lane from Pondicherry to Mahabs is a pain. The ease with we could enter Chennai was nice. Cant comment on how the traffic on this part is; on a day-to-day basis though.

Thats why earlier I was asking member Yieldway17 about the possibility of a single Cuddalore-Pondicherry bypass. While its desirable, I dont think its there in plan (like he mentioned).

My destination was Pondicherry. It took me almost 4 hours. Considering the traffic inside Cuddalore, Cuddalore -Pondy road and within Pondicherry, I'd personally prefer GST for going back to Chennai.

[pypkmsrikanth]

Originally Posted by ampere

Based on this return route, I definitely think it was easier to drive this way and enter Chennai compared to GST. Yes 2-Lane from Pondicherry to Mahabs is a pain. The ease with we could enter Chennai was nice. Cant comment on how the traffic on this part is; on a day-to-day basis though.

Thats why earlier I was asking member Yieldway17 about the possibility of a single Cuddalore-Pondicherry bypass. While its desirable, I dont think its there in plan (like he mentioned).

Except for midnight hours it is tough to cross Cuddalore from Chennai within 4 hours taking the ECR. With Kootteripattu flyover and Villupuram South flyover done a couple of major bottlenecks in the GST stretch has been eliminated. Of course we still have the toll booths and overall between Chennai and Tindivanam is a stressful drive on most weekends irrespective of holidays

[ampere]

[quote=pypkmsrikanth;569791Of course we still have the toll booths and overall between Chennai and Tindivanam is a stressful drive on most weekends irrespective of holidays[/QUOTE]

I agree this has always been my pain point as well. Somehow the south end exit from Chennai can be planned much better.

I dont see any thought process evolving in that direction.