[Sran]

Originally Posted by pavanmadhini

TN for sure, and not just because I'm from TN. I have lived up north in UP for 5 years and have had some genuinely traumatic roadtrip experiences in UP and Bihar. Kanpur-Jhansi once took 9 hrs for 200 odd kms. Patna-Gaya took 7 hours for 180 something kms.

Patna-Gaya Ji distance is between 96-105 kms by 3 different routes. Never been 180 kms, you are mistaken. The time taken was at max during the maoist terrorists peak era of 80s till 2002 due to maoists bombing and destroying sections of roads between Jehanbad-arwal-Gaya ji. Even then it never took more than 5 hours. Due to taming of mao terrorists and better roads the time taken has never been more than 2.5 hours atleast from a decade.

Bihar has one of the best roads now in India. In last 12 years the NH and SH have been built at a good pace. Total road construction in Bihar in last 10 years has been 1,31,000kms (all type of roads i.e NH, SH and Local roads). All roads connecting to 38 district HQ's are 4 lane highways, 10 years back even Maharashtra did not have that.

Total road length in India- 58,98,000kms.

I have not voted because it has been many years since I have last visited many states. Kerala has the highest density of roads per lakh population but the last time I went there in 2018, all roads there is basically single lane, which is the worst kind of road. Uttar pradesh has fantastic roads now. NH and SHs in UP, Gujarat, Rajasthan are in very good condition. Maharshtra is big let down, no consistency at all, some roads are great but some roads including NHs are not in good shape. MP has been stupendous in building roads. 15 years back the roads were almost non existent like in Bihar. I have some horrific memories on MP roads when I used to do Pune-Patna more than a decade back. Punjab has the worst road in India now and by a good margin. Roads in Odisha are now just too good.

The main reason for Tamil Nadu roads being good is because it is the only state in India which has North-South corridor i.e NH 44 along the full length of the state and longest in India. 600+ kms from Hosur to Kanyakumari. It is also the only state in India where NH44 has been specially split and extended to go to Kerala as NH 544, from Salem to Kochi in East to west direction of which 200 km is in TN. TN also has Golden Quadrilateral i.e NH 48 , Hosur-Vellore-Kanchipuram-Chennai, almost 300 kms. So the Northern part of TN is covered completely by NH 48. North to south stretch completely covered by NH 44. Centre to west covered through NH 544. Then there is a unique junction in East TN, in the holy city of Trichy from where 4 NH's ( NH 38, NH 81, NH 83 and NH 336) starts/ends and passes.

[coolmel]

Have personally driven a LOT in Gujarat and Rajasthan. And honestly they have always delivered. My vote to both of them. No wonder they are head to head. And not surprised to see the appalling condition of roads here in Maha. Pitiful!

[OffRoadFun]

What defines the best?
Of course good quality of roads, proper signs and markings and also the amount of traffic on the road. If it is good yet busy, it's no fun to driver.
I have driven in KA, AP, TS, TN, KL, HR, RJ and DL.

If overall condition of the road, maintenance, markings are to be accounted, I agree TN is a the top. The NH as well as SH in the state.
I was once coming back from Pondicherry around 1am in night and somehow lost way. Google maps then took us through unknown village roads for a long distance and I was scared because it was 1am with family and I did not know a word of Tamil. But the internal village roads, some of them only single lane were very well maintained and fast.

RJ is another contender. The roads are well maintained, also because of strategic reasons (border). Jodhpur - Jaisalmer highway is smooth and uncrowded. Some parts one might feel you are in American west. Driving is so fun there.
I think AP/KA/TS come close and have very good roads. Especially in KA, interior highways have improved a lot.

I don't have experience driving in other states so can't comment.

[ComeOnTiger]

I have driven extensively in TN,KA and KL, so I will limit my views to just these 3 stated.

I can say that TN has the better roads as National Highways/State highways. Even the SH that lead to smaller Tier 2/Tier 3 towns and villages have good roads when compared with KA and KL.

In KA, few of the NH that lead to Tumkur, Hassan, Bellary etc have very good roads. But i have noticed that the SH that lead to smaller towns are not as good when compared to TN roads

KL, most of the Highways are like city roads in terms of traffic and state of Tarmac..

[pavanmadhini]

Originally Posted by Sran

Patna-Gaya Ji distance is between 96-105 kms by 3 different routes. Never been 180 kms, you are mistaken. The time taken was at max during the maoist terrorists peak era of 80s till 2002 due to maoists bombing and destroying sections of roads between Jehanbad-arwal-Gaya ji. Even then it never took more than 5 hours. Due to taming of mao terrorists and better roads the time taken has never been more than 2.5 hours atleast from a decade.

Bihar has one of the best roads now in India.

Thanks for the additional context Sran. So, this experience is from Jan 2017, and we were on our way from Patna to Bodh Gaya. We took a lot of time to even exit the city, and then got stuck in multiple small towns on the way. If I remember correctly, we started around 9:30am and only reached our destination by 5pm or so. Perhaps it was a one off, but I don't remember the road being in a good condition at all.

But yes, I have been hearing from friends who are from Bihar that the highway roads have improved significantly over the last decade.

[jithin23]

Driven across 12-14 states except NW India and I can vouch that TN roads are the best across the state regardless of the highway type(NH/SH). The Golden quadrilateral stretch is also a beautiful one and Naidupeta-Vizag can be done in 9-10 hours. Bangalore-Pune in 13 hours, Bangalore-Chennai under 4.5 hours, Hyderabad-Bangalore takes 7 hours max from the earlier 12-13 hours.

I can't believe that KL roads got a few votes though. The roads are narrow and scenic but not the most easy ones to drive especially with towns every 20kms and the bus guys will push you off the road for them to go faster.

Definitely a big boost in the road networks in the past decade but a lot more to be completed because in some stretches even though there aren't any roads, we end up paying toll. Time to put the cruise control to good use

[Shanksta]

I have driven across 10 states and 2 UTs in India. Tamil Nadu has the best highways period, be it the arterial highways that connects the major towns or state highways 95% of them are in top shape.

My top 5 favorite stretches in TN are:
* NH-79 from Ulundurpet to Salem.
* NH 336&536 from Trichy to Ramnathapuram
* NH 44 from Madurai to Tirunelveli
* SH 15 from Mettupalayam to Ooty via Kotagiri
* SH 78 from Pollachi to Valparai

There are many more, but the above roads are always a bliss to drive on with some great landscape.

The roads do develop potholes during monsoon as with any road in India but the upkeep is good and they constantly keep adding new road signs and marking on the road.

If there is one thing I hate it would be the barricades placed at every major junction on the highway.

[Lobogris]

I am really surprised at so many people suggesting Gujarat roads to be the best. Not only have I found road quality to be sub standard in Gujarat but the road discipline that has been touted as exemplary here is actually shockingly bad in Gujarat. The standard of road side amenities is also very low in comparison with North India. People flash lights, tailgate, drive on the wrong side with impunity on the highways and there is absolute disregard for any traffic particularly by two wheelers in cities like Ahmedabad. It is practically as bad in Rajasthan. The number of stray cattle actually sitting on the highways is also astonishing.

In my opinion, currently the best roads are in Uttar Pradesh. The number of modern access controlled expressways in UP eclipses any other state. You have the Yamuna Expressway, Agra Lucknow Expressway, Eastern Peripheral Expressway, Purvanchal Expressway, Delhi Meerut Expressway, Noida Greater Noida Expressway and many upcoming projects.

[pradheepsr]

* NH 44 from Madurai to Tirunelveli

Have you driven on this stretch recently? If so please mention when?
Iam a frequent driver though this stretch and can say that it’s the worst in terms of tarmac quality and maintenance. On top of that you end up spending max in these tolls.
It is only in recent days the road relaying work has begun

My pick would be the
Madurai- Dindigul stretch of NH44
Parts of Trichy - Tindivanam stretch of NH38 enroute to Chennai

[lalgudi]

As a resident of Tamilnadu (TN) and travelled across Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Madyapradesh, Haryana, uttarakhand ( after 2016) by road and also did the Delhi-Manali-Leh-Kargil-Srinagar-Delhi route (in 2011), where TN scores is that even the panchayat roads are good.

TN is one of those places where you can determine the distance travelled in terms of hours . I did understand that this is not the case in MP or GJ where the NH are good or being expanded, but they do lag behind TN.

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by Lobogris

People flash lights, tailgate, drive on the wrong side with impunity on the highways and there is absolute disregard for any traffic particularly by two wheelers in cities like Ahmedabad.

These happen all over the country. So am not really surprised. One eye popping quirk of GJ was open the driver side door and spit pan. First time I saw, I was thinking the driver was committing suicide

Originally Posted by lalgudi

I did understand that this is not the case in MP or GJ where the NH are good or being expanded, but they do lag behind TN.

While road expansion is still work in progress in MP. You get good to acceptable roads pretty much everywhere in the tourist circuit.

[RGK]

Originally Posted by GTO

Based on what I've seen, GJ definitely. In terms of road quality, traffic rules enforcement & overall behaviour of truck / bus drivers. Surprised to see TN leading the poll as I have driven there a few times and don't remember any standout quality. Maybe I wasn't on the right highways.

TN's SH and Rural infrastructure are phenomenal. To give an example, I drive to my native and Chennai back by choosing different routes and highways especially to check the quality of the road. Even though the distance varies between 20 - 40 km, I cover the entire 450+ km distance between 7 to 8 hours with sufficient breaks.

The upcountry roads and ghat roads will not let you down. Do plan a road trip and enjoy the drive here. We welcome you .

Kerala is no surprise here even though they have the best of cars and drivers "Sahotharanmare dhishrathikkinnu".

@Lobogris - Absolutely, UP has more than 90% of access-controlled expressways (~1600 km +) in India and TN is no way near and has just 60km of it.

[jitz_c]

I just drove from Kerala to Mumbai via Bangalore/GQ. I have also driven on some roads in Delhi/Noida, Kolkata, TN extensively, Goa, various parts of Maharashtra, Eastern states like Odisha and AP. So my comments are limited to the above.

Regarding TN highways, they are well maintained and smooth, and you can cover distances in ease. But watch out for the numerous crossings and speed barriers. Some state highways and interiors may not be in the same league but nonetheless good overall.

Karnataka has caught up well, the highways are much improved with almost all roads having six lanes and construction of most fly-overs over crossings completed.

Hailing from Kerala, condition of roads have much improved, with even rural roads being well paved and well marked. Driving at night is a lot safer with those properly placed reflectors on the roads and sides. But the "highways" are the most disappointing with high density of traffic and poor width. The lesser state highways and panchayat roads are good for what they are, considering Kerala's mostly hilly terrain.

The most disappointing has to be Maharashtra roads, with the worst quality, ridden with huge craters, still sticking to four lanes and traversing through the heart of cities. The presence of cities in between and the increased traffic, including numerous two wheelers considerably slows down our journey. Maharashtra is a rich state, but that doesn't reflect on its roads.

Have heard from reliable sources that Rajasthan and Gujarat have some of the best roads in India, and also the Northern states like UP and Bihar have progressed very well. Would love to drive on those good roads soon!

[drsk]

My vote considering the State Highways, discounting the toll roads.

The State Highways (mostly) are well maintained and are lined up with reflectors. Very minimal speed breakers. The only grouse in TN roads are barricades. But, I guess that's now a common scene in many states.

My experience with KL is a mixed bag wrt quality of roads. KL just looks like a continuous train of cities-towns-cities. Hardly one can find a free stretch.

In KA you get good ones and suddenly out of nowhere you find a pothole or a speed breaker.

[BleueNinja]

My vote would go to Telangana. The road quality is good and well laid out. I have driven in MP, MH , KA and UP. MP is improving , sendhwa to Indore stretch is awesome and smooth.