[satish.gawai]

I am travelling to Pench from Pune on Friday [Dec 23rd] evening and intend to follow this route: Pune - Sangamner - Shirdi - Samruddhi highway. The same may be used for Akola as well. Other option is to connect via Aurangabad.

THanks, sumalkar.

Do post your traveling experience from this journey. I think for Akola, it is better to connect Samruddhi highway from Aurangabad. Shirdi will be a long detour according to me.

[rakesh_r]

Originally Posted by ac 427

Stupid question alert!

Are bikes allowed on these roads?

Nope, no two wheelers allowed.

[revsperminute]

120kph over 700kms on concrete roads in a region which is known for it’s insane heat doesn’t sound too good. Especially considering the general disregard towards tyres in India. Moreover, the highway passes through rural India and we have all seen the Boleros and Sumos with tyres worn down to the cords that are driven in those settings.

PS- I once got down to stretch my legs on the Mumbai Pune Expressway when I was stuck in a deadlock traffic jam. I was taken back by how rough the surface actually is.

[sagarpadaki]

My hunch is that trucks will use this stretch at night, during summers, to avoid the high daytime temperatures.

[paragsachania]

Let us hold on to our horses and keep all the apprehensions aside regarding concrete roads with hot surfaces during peak summers resulting in tire bursts leading to accidents. I would not talk about statistics here but there are already a lot of concrete roads in northern belt since more than a decade where the peak summer temperature is almost comparable to what Vidarbha region experiences. We have seen regular asphalted roads with molten tar on many roads in summer too.

Tire burst theory leading to an accident has been the most easiest reason for authorities to blame accidents where vehicles jump the median not realizing the fact that the tire burst can happen even when you brush the sidewall to the median at less than 60 kmph too!

Regarding truckers using this road at night during summers, It is very much the fact all across the country in summers. Take up an all night drive in the months of April and May and you will witness loads of truck traffic and the primary reason for this is the ovens inside which the drivers travel - The truck's cabin is awfully hot due to engine heat and summer temperatures. It is due to this reason maximum trucks drive at night in summers irrespective of whether the road is concrete or asphalted.

As far as this expressway is concerned, for sure during the initial months, we will witness quite a few incidents/accidents due to the mere adrenaline rush the drivers will have trying to break their own speed and time records and then it will be all over the media.

Sanity will prevail when stringent vigilance is implemented and heavy penalty is slapped on erring motorists and for this to happen, as it always goes, we will have to read about such incidents in coming months.

[yadunath]

Pleased to see that a world class highway comes up in India on time without getting caught up in litigation and inevitable project delays. Entirely agree that the comparison to AutoBahn is unwarranted. As a country, we need to stay focussed and learn a thing or two from Singapore. They get so many things right, but one thing you'll never find them doing is to boast their achievements. They keep their heads down and start worrying about next phase of growth. That's what keeps the country always ahead.

Back to roads and driving - that topic that we love to chat about - once the Mumbai Delhi gets ready as well Mumbai will be very well connected by road. However the quality of roads within Mumbai must improve by leaps and bounds in terms of road design, quality of roads and traffic lights.

[Meer]

For Pune - Nagpur travelers, do we have definitive guidance on which interchange is better -
1) Harsul Sawangi in Aurangabad or
2) Shirdi Interchange

From West Pune, Harsul Sawangi interchange is showing 6 hours 15 mins now, while Shirdi Interchange shows 4 hours 30 mins. Considering the distance between the 2 interchanges is approximately 100 kms and hypothetically can be covered in an hour, will the Shirdi Interchange be an option? I am aware that the Pune - Shirdi road may not be same level as the Pune - Aurangabad Road (which I have always used).

Any advise / suggestions?

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by Meer

For Pune - Nagpur travelers, do we have definitive guidance on which interchange is better -
1) Harsul Sawangi in Aurangabad or
2) Shirdi Interchange

From West Pune, Harsul Sawangi interchange is showing 6 hours 15 mins now, while Shirdi Interchange shows 4 hours 30 mins. Considering the distance between the 2 interchanges is approximately 100 kms and hypothetically can be covered in an hour, will the Shirdi Interchange be an option? I am aware that the Pune - Shirdi road may not be same level as the Pune - Aurangabad Road (which I have always used).

Any advise / suggestions?

Simple.Taking the Harsul Sawangi interchange makes more sense because the time you will take to hit the Shirdi interchange from Ahmednagar will almost be same as the time you will take to reach Aurangabad bypass too!

And regarding Pune-Shirdi vs Pune-Aurangabad, essentially they both have the common road till Ahmednagar anyway. But the pace at which you will do Ahmednagar Shirdi interchange will be slower and in this time you will reach Aurangabad interchange.

[Meer]

Thanks for the quick response Parag, however the route that I checked to Shirdi does not pass through Ahmadnagar. It is Pune - Chakan - Moshi - Rajgurunagar - Alephata - Shirdi. And this takes 4.5 hours while it is 6 hours 15 mins for Harsul Sawangi Interchange in Aurangabad.

Maybe someone who has experienced Pune - Shirdi via Rajgurunagar can comment on Road / Traffic condition?

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Simple.Taking the Harsul Sawangi interchange makes more sense because the time you will take to hit the Shirdi interchange from Ahmednagar will almost be same as the time you will take to reach Aurangabad bypass too!

[ryzen7@5800u]

Originally Posted by revsperminute

120kph over 700kms on concrete roads in a region which is known for it’s insane heat doesn’t sound too good.

Concrete highways seem like a whole different ballgame compared to the usual tarred ones. I think we should have an official thread on concrete highway driving - tyre pressures and temperatures, stopping to cool down tyres, etc.
Also - would the roughness and raised temperatures reduce the life span of tyres?

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by Meer

It is Pune - Chakan - Moshi - Rajgurunagar - Alephata - Shirdi. And this takes 4.5 hours while it is 6 hours 15 mins for Harsul Sawangi Interchange in Aurangabad.

Google Maps does not show how wide the roads are, or will it handle holiday traffic.

Sangamner-Shirdi SAG airport is at best a strict 2-lane who condition varies between decent to non-existent. You can at best do 60-70 at some stretches and it is not cut to handle traffic. When I did 2 years back, there were hardly 20 vehicles I crossed the entire stretch. From SAG airport its better where you can do 80 at some stretches. The stretch will narrow down last 2-3 kms into a gully sized road and join the main highway.

The stretch is not cut to handle anywhere above mild traffic. This may ok on a normal weekday or weekend, but on peak holiday weekends, Samadhi day or Guru Purnima it will not be fun.

The expressway is on its 13th day as we speak, no one really knows what sort of traffic toll such feeder roads have seen.

Besides the entry point is 9 km north of Shirdi town, and there is no necessity to negotiate through Shirdi itself.

Going through Sinnar maybe an option. But I have no idea on how the roads connecting are.

Nagar-Shirdi was a nuked stretch. By recent videos, it looks a lot better than what I negotiated in Jan 2020. But none show in full detail. Whether those massive craters have been patched up or not, there is no information. Last update on the Pune-Shirdi thread was from Rakesh in Feb 2020, whose experience was similar to mine. If its entirely patched, Nagar-Shirdi can handle traffic. Truck traffic passes day and night.

The reason Parag suggested Aurangabad is you have wide enough roads that will handle holiday traffic. And I had given the same suggestion to JoshMachine earlier in this thread as well.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by Meer

Thanks for the quick response Parag, however the route that I checked to Shirdi does not pass through Ahmadnagar. It is Pune - Chakan - Moshi - Rajgurunagar - Alephata - Shirdi. And this takes 4.5 hours while it is 6 hours 15 mins for Harsul Sawangi Interchange in Aurangabad.

Maybe someone who has experienced Pune - Shirdi via Rajgurunagar can comment on Road / Traffic condition?

A lot will depend on where you are starting from Pune too. If you are staying anywhere in the western suburbs of KP, Kalyani Nagar, Viman Nagar, Wagholi or Hadapsar, It still makes sense to take the Nagar road and then reach Aurangabad to enter the expressway.

If you are staying in PCMC areas, then you may consider taking the Alephata road.

Also, it is all about how much you want to drive on the expressway. If you want to drive more, take the Shirdi entry via either of the options (Alephata or Nagar-Shirdi). If you want to enter the expressway at Aurangabad, drive till Aurangabad. Leaving early from Pune (4-5am) takes less than 4 hours of driving time till Aurangabad bypass even today. Anything later means you will have to navigate denser traffic at least till Shirur on Pune outskirts and that will be time consuming.

[Piyush_DT]

Could anybody guide on how to go to Nagpur from Pune via Shani Shignapur? Which entry point should I take Vajiapur or Lasur or Verul or Swangi?

[Meer]

Originally Posted by narayans80

Google Maps does not show how wide the roads are, or will it handle holiday traffic.

The expressway is on its 13th day as we speak, no one really knows what sort of traffic toll such feeder roads have seen.

The reason Parag suggested Aurangabad is you have wide enough roads that will handle holiday traffic. And I had given the same suggestion to JoshMachine earlier in this thread as well.

That's spot on Narayans80, thank you, I have experienced this route till Alephata (going to Malshej Ghat) and it is not consistent with wide / narrow roads, plus Rajgurunagar town itself is a bottleneck most of the time.

This is the reason I wanted to check if it is a feasible option, Aurangabad road is a known devil even with all the volume of traffic, I think as suggested will stick to that, unless know more about the other route first hand recent experience.

Originally Posted by paragsachania

A lot will depend on where you are starting from Pune too. If you are staying anywhere in the western suburbs of KP, Kalyani Nagar, Viman Nagar, Wagholi or Hadapsar, It still makes sense to take the Nagar road and then reach Aurangabad to enter the expressway.

If you are staying in PCMC areas, then you may consider taking the Alephata road.

Thanks Parag, I think you mean Aurangabad route is better for Eastern Suburbs (KP, KN, Viman Nagar etc.), for western suburbs (Wakad, Pimple Saudagar, Vishal Nagar) there may be some merit in the Shirdi route, however I think will wait for first hand experience / information of the route as you and Narayans80 have suggested.

[inder]

If you leave Pune before 6:30 am you could reach Aurangabad in 4 hrs. From then take Samruddhi and 4 hours to Nagpur.Simple