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Cherthala to Mangalore on the NH 66: Overall road condition & updates

8th December 2024, 17:06 by Ananth Iyer

I cannot wait for the day that this road gets completed and makes the current 12+ hour journey to a duration of less than half of that.

BHPian themonster recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Hello Everyone.

I have been regularly driving this route since 2019, from Cherthala to Mangalore/Mangaluru. While the road surface was mostly fine and the route is scenic, the entire stretch was a single-lane undivided carriageway and would take around 12 hours one way, irrespective of what time one would start.

Nowadays thanks to VandeBharath Train service, I rarely drive unless I have to travel around Mangalore or visit another city like Udupi/Kundapur/Bangalore/Mysore.

As other members have said, the construction is going on in full swing, more in the Northern part of the state, compared to the south, with parts of the highway open to traffic.

Attaching some photos of the road conditions (only the construction completed areas.)

On the Kozhikode (Calicut) - Koottuli stretch, part of the Kozhikode Bypass

Mahe Bypass. There is a toll booth (Thiruvangad Toll Plaza) on this stretch of the road. The Fastag deduction was INR 75.

One can easily take a quick detour through Mahe, visit the Mahe Chruch; fill petrol (Around INR 90/ L for regular, Rs. 96 or 98 / L for XP95) from Mahe town, and come back to the highway. It adds about 15-20 minutes to the journey. The route to come back to the highway does not reach Thalaserry, but joins just before the toll gate, at the traffic stop signal. The roads are a bit narrow and though two cars can pass in either direction, a car and a bus will be a tight squeeze.

This is around the Manjeshwar area.