31-631: The Toowoomba Connection Road is a 27.3 km (17.0 mi) former section of the Warrego Highway that passes through the city of Toowoomba in Queensland , Australia. With the opening of the Toowoomba Bypass in 2019 the Warrego Highway was redirected to it, and the bypassed section of the highway was renamed Toowoomba Connection Road and assigned the route number A21. The road commences in
62-532: A better crossing of the Great Dividing Range . Warrego Highway (A2) was rerouted via the bypass between Helidon Spa (in the east) and the interchange at Charlton (in the west). The bypass continues as the Gore Highway (A39) and is 41 km in length. The original section of Warrego Highway through Toowoomba was renamed Toowoomba Connection Road (A21). These projects began in 2017 to fully duplicate
93-670: A business case for the upgrade of the Hursley Road intersection, at a cost of $ 500,000, was to start in November 2021. List of road routes in Queensland Warrego Highway The Warrego Highway is located in southern Queensland , Australia . It connects coastal centres to the south western areas of the state, and is approximately 715 km in length. It takes its name from the Warrego River , which
124-488: A rate of climb as high as 10.5%. The Warrego Highway is a major Brisbane - Darwin highway that passes through Toowoomba and utilises the existing range road. The Gore Highway is part of a major freight corridor that travels from Melbourne to Toowoomba, which includes the Goulburn Valley and Newell Highways . In 2015, prior to construction of the bypass, up to 22,000 vehicles (including 2,900 heavy vehicles) traversed
155-401: Is 100 km/h (62 mph) for its entirety except between Charlton and Mort Street where it is 90 km/h (56 mph). The speed limit is enforced by a point-to-point speed camera. The Toowoomba Second Range Crossing is a state-controlled national road (number 319). The Toowoomba Bypass is tolled between Mort Street and Helidon Spa, with the single toll point located just east of
186-567: Is a 41.3 km (25.7 mi) grade separated , dual carriageway bypass and partial ring road constructed to the north and west of Toowoomba , Queensland . Construction commenced in April 2016. It opened to traffic on 8 September 2019. The Toowoomba Bypass is a toll road . It is the only toll road in Australia that is not located in Greater Sydney, Greater Melbourne, or Greater Brisbane, and
217-417: Is mostly motorway grade; a four lane divided highway with motorway-style on-ramps and off-ramps. At a point between Charlton and Oakey the highway merges from 4 to 2 lanes (however, throughout 2017–2019, the highway was planned to be duplicated up until Oakey) Then, the highway mostly continues in a straight line with minimal turns. At Dalby, the highway briefly returns to 4 lanes (where a longer stretch of
248-498: Is the endpoint of the highway. The entire highway is part of the National Highway system linking Darwin and Brisbane : formerly National Highway 54 , Queensland began to convert to the alphanumeric system much of Australia had adopted in the early-2000s and this road is now designated as National Highway A2 . Warrego Highway is a state-controlled road, divided into seven sections for administrative and funding purposes. Six of
279-778: The Darling Downs , bypassing the town of Oakey and then passing through the towns of Dalby , Chinchilla and Miles , in the Western Downs . The highway continues through the towns of Roma and Mitchell in the Maranoa Region of South West Queensland . After Morven , the A2 Route continues north–west along the Landsborough Highway , with the western turnoff continuing the Warrego Highway down to its terminus at Charleville . The section of highway between Ipswich and Charlton
310-686: The Mort Street interchange near the New England Highway overpass. It is a free-flow system requiring an electronic toll tag ( e-TAG ). It is mandatory for heavy vehicles to use the toll road unless they have a destination in Toowoomba or Warwick. Even though the bypass is tolled, it is owned and operated by the Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR). Transurban Queensland provides tolling service on
341-599: The Toowoomba to Ipswich corridor, including the Warrego Highway and surrounding state and council roads, at an estimated cost of $ 75 million, was in planning in May 2020. A project to upgrade the Brimblecombe Road intersection between Toowoomba and Dalby, at a cost of $ 2,75 million, was completed in December 2021. A project to provide a heavy vehicle decoupling facility at Gatton was completed by November 2021. A master plan for
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#1732855518469372-593: The Warrego Highway was to be renamed Darren Lockyer Way, in honour of the retired Brisbane Broncos , Queensland and Australian rugby league captain. The section of road renamed is from Riverview to the bottom of the Toowoomba Range at Withcott . Special signage including "Welcome to Darren Lockyer Way" has been erected. [REDACTED] Media related to Warrego Highway at Wikimedia Commons Toowoomba Bypass The Toowoomba Bypass , known as Toowoomba Second Range Crossing during planning and construction,
403-410: The basis that its proposal used an open-cut design instead of tunnels, allowing trucks carrying dangerous goods to utilise the bypass. There was also the concern that while the pilot tunnel had been dry at the time of excavation (during a drought), it later drained up to 10,000 litres of water per day. The federal and state governments jointly funded the $ 1.6 billion project on an 80:20 basis. It
434-575: The bypass route has to be close to the city as 85 percent of Warrego Highway traffic is stopping in Toowoomba. The proposed new alignment for the Warrego Highway commenced to the east, bypassing the Toowoomba City centre to the north and linking up to the Warrego and Gore Highways on the western side of Toowoomba. The proposed alignment was 42.2 km long; up to 40 bridge structures; 5 major interchanges ; and twin 735 metre long three lane tunnels through
465-487: The cities and major towns of: In January 2011, the former highway was extensively damaged where it crossed the Toowoomba Range. This included land slips, shoulder and embankment erosion, the erosion of drains and damaged rock fall netting. The road wasn't fully repaired with all four lanes open until September 2011. The Toowoomba Bypass was completed in September 2019 and bypasses the urban area of Toowoomba and provides
496-477: The city's CBD each day , passing through up to 18 sets of traffic lights. The need for a future second range crossing was first highlighted by Queensland Transport in 1991. In 1995, An Ove Arup Traffic Planning Study was completed confirming the need for a second range crossing. In 1997, an alignment route option passing to the immediate north of Toowoomba City was identified in a Maunsell concept phase planning report. The traffic planning study determined that
527-498: The highway to 4 lanes, between Cecil Plains Road and Black Street. 4 new traffic signals were added at Black Street, Jandowae Road, Orpen Street and a pedestrian signal near Owen Street. Both projects were completed in November 2018, at a combined cost of $ 115 million. The Roads of Strategic Importance initiative, last updated in March 2022, includes the following project for the Warrego Highway. A project to upgrade priority sections of
558-525: The highway was planned to be duplicated in 2017). The Warrego then continues as a rural 2 lane highway, until Charleville. The Warrego Highway's lowest point along its length is 3.69 m just east of where it crosses the Bremer River near Ipswich, and its highest elevation is at the top of the Great Dividing Range on the Toowoomba Bypass. From east to west, the highway passes through or close to
589-551: The only one that does not pass through a capital city, and one of only 10 located outside New South Wales . The city of Toowoomba is situated on a plateau on the edge of the Great Dividing Range . A defining characteristic of the city is its high position on an escarpment of the range, which enjoys sweeping views of the Lockyer Valley below. The existing range road was completed in its current alignment in 1939. This road has unfavourable road geometry including tight corners and
620-426: The range crest. Detailed planning of the project commenced in 2001 with the preferred alignment option ultimately refined by 2004. In late 2005, the federal government announced funding of $ 10 million to advance the business case for the project. Auslink committed $ 43 million towards further planning in 2008. A pilot tunnel 2.4m wide and 3.0m high was dug to provide detailed geological information. The pilot tunnel
651-574: The road passes over the 800-metre (2,600 ft) long Multuggerah Viaduct and then through a 30-metre (98 ft) cutting, passing under the New England Highway at the top of the range . From there it travels in a general south-west direction reconnecting with the Warrego Highway at Charlton and ultimately connecting with the Gore Highway at Athol. The bypass features 24 bridges, six interchanges and nine creek crossings. The posted speed limit
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#1732855518469682-431: The rural locality of Charlton , where it ends at an intersection with the Warrego Highway and the Gore Highway . In January 2011, the Warrego Highway was extensively damaged where it crossed the Toowoomba Range. This included land slips, shoulder and embankment erosion, the erosion of drains and damaged rock fall netting. The road wasn't fully repaired with all four lanes open until September 2011. The Toowoomba Bypass
713-545: The rural locality of Helidon Spa , where it diverges from the Warrego Highway, providing a more direct route to the Toowoomba CBD. It passes through the rural localities of Postmans Ridge and Withcott before ascending the Great Dividing Range to Toowoomba. It passes between the CBD and South Toowoomba before turning north and then north-west through the suburbs of Newtown and Wilsonton . It then passes through outer suburbs to
744-543: The seven sections (numbers 18A to 18F) are part of the National Highway , while section 18G is a regional road. The sections are: State-controlled roads that intersect with the highway are listed in the main article. The highway commences at the end of the M2 Ipswich Motorway , near Ipswich and runs to Helidon Spa , at the foot of the Great Dividing Range . From there it follows the Toowoomba Bypass to Charlton , west of Toowoomba . The Warrego then crosses
775-455: The top of the Toowoomba Range was first opened in January, 1855 as a toll road, named Toll Bar Road. The toll collection point was marked by a bar across the road and a fence on either side. The upper section of Toll Bar Road was initially unsealed and very steep, with grades up to 14%. This road remained in use until December, 1939, when work on a new, less steep, upper section was completed. Part of
806-721: The upgrade of the highway between Ipswich and Toowoomba has been developed at a cost of $ 6.78 million. A project to plan the upgrade of the Haigslea-Amberley Road intersection, at a cost of $ 799,000, was in progress in May 2022. A project to plan the upgrade of the Mount Crosby Road intersection, at a cost of $ 5 million, was in progress in July 2021. On 28 September 2011 the Queensland Main Roads Minister, Craig Wallace , announced that an 85 km stretch of
837-495: The upper section is now a suburban street named Old Toll Bar Road. The term "The Toll Bar" is sometimes used by locals to describe the current road, and it is also used in the mapping software distributed with Navman GPS systems. A project under the Warrego Highway funding arrangements to upgrade two culverts in James Street (now part of this road) at a cost of $ 21.1 million, was completed in December 2020. A project to develop
868-482: Was completed in September 2019 and bypasses the urban area of Toowoomba and provides a better crossing of the Great Dividing Range. Warrego Highway (A2) was rerouted via the bypass between Helidon Spa (in the east) and the interchange at Charlton (in the west). The original section of Warrego Highway through Toowoomba was renamed Toowoomba Connection Road (A21). The section of the Warrego Highway from Withcott to
899-494: Was delivered in a 25-year public–private partnership with the Nexus Infrastructure consortium. Upon completion, the road would be tolled. The bypass opened to traffic on 8 September 2019. The Warrego Highway (A2) was rerouted via the bypass between Helidon Spa and Charlton (in the west), with the original section of Warrego Highway through Toowoomba renamed Toowoomba Connection Road (A21). The Gore Highway (A39)
930-638: Was in the centre of where the westbound tunnel was proposed. In August 2015, the Department of Transport & Main Roads under the Newman government awarded the contract to design, construct, and maintain the Toowoomba Second Range Crossing as it was then known to Nexus Infrastructure, a consortium of the Plenary Group , Cintra , Acciona , Ferrovial and Broadspectrum . Nexus was chosen on
961-551: Was rerouted via the bypass between Athol and Charlton , with the original section of Gore Highway to Toowoomba renamed Toowoomba Athol Road (A139). The benefits of the new road to road users and the community, as claimed by the Queensland Government, include: The Bypass commences just west of Postmans Ridge Road on the Warrego Highway. It deviates north-west passing up the range at a maximum gradient of 6%. After travelling for approximately 15 kilometres (9.3 mi),