BHPian furyrider recently shared this with other enthusiasts:Onward journey: Hyderabad – Kurnool – Kadapa – Rajampet – TirupatiI started at 5 AM in the morning and reached at 2:00 PM. While the route until Kadapa is the usual smooth but slightly bumpy 4-lane highway, the one from Kadapa to Tirupati is in terrible condition. The last 90-odd kilometres from Vontimitta took around 2h 45min thanks to countless potholes, slow-moving trucks and narrow roads. The road has deteriorated since my last trip in March. The patchwork being done on this section is shoddy. Potholes are essentially being filled with rock + asphalt and left as a heap. Vehicles pass over the small mound to flatten it. This has resulted in a very bumpy ride. The only saving grace for this trip is that all the toll gates until Kadapa are covered under the annual pass. You will only need to pay for the ORR. Also, since the existing rumble strips seem to have worn out, new ones in yellow are being laid out at every intersection on the Pebbair – Kadapa section. The rumble strips are being laid in sets of 3, with the one closest to the intersection being the thickest. Also, the rumble strips are not being laid as a continuous line but in 2 parts, with the strip being joined somewhere in the centre to off-centre. This part is even thicker since there is an overlap. Fed up with the Kadapa section, I decided to take the longer route on my return stretch.Return journey: Tirupati – Naidupet – Nellore – Ongole – Miryalaguda – Nalgonda – HyderabadThe route for the most part is in good shape. There are some sections under construction, but these are far and few in between. If you have an annual pass, please be aware that the NAM expressway section is not covered. You will need to pay for 3 tolls on this route (current prices are 76, 77 and 77). It took 9.5 hours and turned out to be approximately 50 KM more than the previous route I took. I will take this route any day, given the poor condition of the road from Vontimitta. Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.
