I had heard that the conditions were better now so I decided to cover the route in my Citroen C3 Turbo.
BHPIAN SRISRI_90 recently shared this with other enthusiasts:
The last couple of years have been hell for us regular commuters between Mangalore and Bangalore, due to the road widening work happening between BC Road and Gundya. It was so bad that we ended up taking alternate routes to Bangalore via Madikeri-Mysore or Charmadi-Mudigere, despite them being longer in distance and more time consuming.
My last trip to Bangalore via Shiradi Ghat was in April 2024, it was an absolute nightmare and I vowed never to return on this route till the work was completed 100%.
However, on Saturday, 15th Feb I was called upon to attend an emergency meeting in Bangalore on Monday 17th Feb. I tried to book bus or train tickets, but they were all sold out. The flight tickets were exorbitantly priced, so even that was ruled out!
Decided to drive to Bangalore and for a change I thought of taking the Shiradi ghat, as I had heard that the conditions were better now. Car of choice was my Pocket Rocket Citroen C3 Turbo.
Road Conditions:
1. Nantoor Junction to Melkar Junction
Distance: 24 Kms – Road Condition: Excellent
4-lane tarred road (20kms) till BC road Junction and then it is concrete 4-lane roads till Melkar Junction, however, only 2 lanes are operational, so you will have opposite traffic till Melkar Junction flyover.
There are 2 flyovers between BC Road and Melkar Junction to bypass Panemangalore and Melkar respectively.
2. Melkar Junction to Mani
Distance: 9Kms – Road Condition: Terrible/ Non-Existent
The Flyover at Melkar Junction is supposed to seamlessly connect to the 3 km long elevated flyover above Kalladka town, however, this is still incomplete, but the work is progressing rapidly.
Roads for the first 2 km after the Melkar flyover till we pass Narahari Paravata are non-existent and it is one of the worst stretches, then there is a newly laid 1.2 km stretch of 2 lanes concrete road below the Kalladka flyover while passing the town proper and the next 500 Mtrs is again in terrible shape with diversions.
This joins right where the Kalladka flyover is supposed to end and from there on it is a 4 lane concrete road till about 1 km before Mani Junction. The last 1 Km is again a terrible patchy road.
3. Mani to Nellyadi
Distance: 33Kms – Road Condition: Mixed
The Flyover at Mani Junction is incomplete, so from Mani Junction, the next 1 km of the service road is again in terrible condition. After that, there is a lovely 4 lane concrete road all the way to the outskirts of Uppinangady town, except for 3 km of bad roads near Perne and Karavelu.
Then a 6 km stretch of “Kalladka” type terrible road welcomes you to Uppinangady, it continues throughout the town and from there on it is good concrete roads till Nellyadi.
Do note that only 2 lanes of the concrete roads through this stretch are open, so you will have oncoming traffic
4. Nellyadi to Gundya
Distance: 22Kms – Road Condition: Excellent
Entering and exiting Nellyadi town is via the service road as the flyover is not yet complete, but the 3 km long service road is in decent condition.
From there till Gundya Junction you have excellent 4 lane roads, except for a small blip near Periyashanti Junction (Diversion to go to Dharmasthala & Subramanya)
Clicked somewhere near Udane, on the way back from Bangalore.
5. Gundya to Sakleshpur Bypass Entry
Distance:36 Kms – Road Condition: Mostly Good.
From Gundya till Maarnahalli, where the original 24 km concrete road stretch of Shirady Ghat ends, is in good condition.
The 12 Km stretch from Maarnahalli to the Sakleshpur Bypass entrance was the most dreaded stretch of them all, however, the good news is that most of the stretches have been laid with 4 lanes of concrete road and out of the 13 kms, nearly 7 km of it is complete and you will have to suffer only 6 km of bad roads, and even those roads are also getting worked upon in a rapid pace. The bad news is that your car’s suspension will be destroyed by the remaining 6 km bad road stretch.
Road Work near Donigal
6. Sakleshpur Bypass Road entry to Bangalore
Distance: 220 Kms Road Condition: Excellent.
From there on till Bangalore city the roads are in excellent condition, except for the Hassan Bypass which has about 4 diversions due to flyover work at major junctions on the bypass. However, the service roads are in good shape and you will drive through smoothly.
Even while maintaining a speed of 90-110Kmph, one can expect to reach Bangalore in 3 hours from Sakleshpur.
Toll Paid Enroute:
Parting shot of C3 at Shirady Ghat.
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