Road Photos & Information: Queensland: Gateway Motorway, Logan Motorway, Ipswich Motorway, Warrego Highway, Landsborough Highway & Barkly Highway (M2/A2)

Road Photos & Information: Queensland

M2 A2

Gateway Motorway, Logan Motorway, Ipswich Motorway, Warrego Highway, Landsborough Highway & Barkly Highway (M2/A2)

Statistics:

Length: 2029 km
Western Terminus: Northern Territory / Queensland Border near Camooweal
Eastern Terminus: Pacific Motorway (M1/M3) and Gateway Motorway (M1) at Rochedale
Miscellaneous: Continues as Barkly Highway (NH66) in Northern Territory
Suburbs, Towns & Localities Along The Route: Camooweal, Mount Isa, Cloncurry, Longreach, Roma, Toowoomba, Ipswich, Dinmore, Wacol, Meadowbrook, Loganlea, Eight Mile Plains and Rochedale

Route Numbering:

Current: M2 A2

Former:

Multiplexes: A3 A5 A55
Road Authority Classification: 13A, 13B, 13C, 13D, 13E, 13F, 13G & 13H (Landsborough Highway), 15A, 15B & 15C (Barkly Highway), 18A, 18B, 18C, 18D, 18E & 18F (Warrego Highway), U16 (Ipswich Motorway), 210A (Logan Motorway), and N332 (Gateway Motorway) 1

General Information:

M/A2 is the main link from Brisbane to the northern territory. It varies from motorway standard in the Brisbane metropolitain area, to dual carriageway rural highway standard between Brisbane and Toowoomba, and rural highway standard beyond Toowoomba. The route is the only sealed link between Flinders Highway and Capricorn Highway apart from Gregory Development Road between Emerald and Charters Towers.

The Landsborough Highway runs through vast tracts of land that was once occupied by William Landsborough, an Australian explorer of the 19th century. The Barkly Highway is the only major route connecting Queensland and the Northern Territory.

The route features ALT-A2, an alternate route via the town centre of Charleville. ALT-A2 is formed by Warrego Hwy and Mitchell Hwy. Charleville is important town in the southern centre of Queensland. Through traffic follows A2 via Landsborough Highway from Morven to Augathellla.

Multiplexes along the route include:

A3 (New England Highway) for 400 metres at Toowoomba
A5 (Leichhardt Highway) for 1 km at Miles
A55 (Carnarvon Highway) for 5 km at Roma
National Route 83 for 119 km between Cloncurry and Mt Isa
State Route 49 (Bunya and Moonie Highways) for 400 metres at Dalby
State Route 62 (Kennedy Developmental Road) for 5 km at Winton
State Route 82 (Dalby-Jandowie Road & Cecil Plains Road) for 4 km at Dalby

History:

1849: Surveyor J.C. Burnett found a better route to the north to replace the road from Brisbane over the Toowoomba Range (via Gormans Gap, south of the city). This new route was to later become Toll Bar Road. 2
1853: A gang of twelve workers cleared and constructed a better road along the route of what would become Toll Bar Road. 2
January 1855: Toll Bar Road opens. A simple gatehouse was erected at the top of the range, near the current intersection of Ipswich and Curtis Streets in Toowoomba. A bar crossing the road and a fence either side stopped traffic and enabled toll collection of approximately two pence. Toll Bar Road consisted of a rough stone pavement on very steep grades. As the road was unsealed and very steep, with grades as much as 14%, it was subject to severe scouring during heavy rains. 2
13 December 1921: Brisbane-Toowoomba Road was declared a Main Road under the Main Roads Act, 1920. 2
24 September 1932: The Main Roads Commission proclaimed the Toll Bar Road a State Highway when it became part of the Lockyer-Darling Downs Highway. 2
1938: A major upgrade of the range road took place. The most significant change was to the uppermost section, with the new route reaching the top of the range further north. 2
December 1939: Work to upgrade the range road completed. 2
29 January 1940: A two-lane bitumen Toowoomba range road was formally opened by the Honourable H.A. Bruce, Minister for Public Works, MLA. The new range road was a vast improvement on the old Toll Bar Road as it provided a 6.1m wide bitumen surfaced pavement over a length of 3.7km and climbed a total height of 350m. The average rate of climb was nearly 9%, although the actual grades varied between 7.5% and 10.5% with the exception of a short flattening in the vicinity of a saddle which had become known as "Essex Evans" due to the fact that the poet George Essex Evans (1863-1909) once resided at this location. 2
1964: The Main Roads Department commenced the duplication of the road at an estimated cost of £185 000. By 1964 the traffic volume had reached 2300 vehicles per day, of which approximately 500 were heavy trucks and semi-trailers. The alignment of the upgrading project was along the existing road from the foot of the range proper to the saddle at Essex Evans. However, an entirely new up-lane from Essex Evans to the top was constructed on the southern side of the existing road. The new up-lane was slightly longer, with improved horizontal and vertical alignment and an increased width of 7.3m. The basic route used by Warrego Highway today, has remained unaltered since 1940. 2
December 1988: Stage one completion of the Logan Motorway, initially known as the Goodna–Loganholme Road. It was constructed to link the Cunningham and Pacific Highways via Carol Park, Browns Plains, Loganlea and Loganholme. 3 The route began life as a Super-2 motorway. 4
October 1995: Announcement of the duplication of Goodna–Loganholme Road between the Ipswich Motorway and Wembley Road. This was linked with the Gateway Motorway, by the Gateway extension via Kuraby in 1997. 3
December 1996: Thiess Contractors planted 80 000 native trees, shrubs and grasses along the Gateway Motorway Extension from Rochedale to Drewvale. 5
1997: The Gateway Motorway extension from Rochedale to Drewvale opened to the public, providing an opportunity for motorists to bypass the City from Ipswich to the Sunshine Coast. 5 Also duplication of Logan Motorway to Pacific Motorway begins at the eastern, including interchange works with Pacific Motorway. 6
September 2000: Completion of duplication works along Logan Mwy. 6
December 2002: The new Georgina River Bridge at Camooweal opened to traffic. 7
2004: Work begins to widen a 90 km section of the Barkly Highway between Mount Isa and Camooweal. 8 The works included 14 new bridges over eight waterways, the elimination of all single-lane sections and their replacement, often on a new alignment, with two lanes and sealed shoulders. Hazardous dips and blind crests were also removed. 9 Warrego (NH54), Landsborough (NH54 / NH71) and Barkly (NH66) Highways renumbered to M2 under the QMR Strategic Tourism Routes plan. 10
2006: Laidley-Plainland interchange on the Warrego Highway upgrade completed. 11
May 2006: Construction begins on the Logan Motorway / Parardise Road interchange at Larapinta. 12
6 November 2006: Upgrade works commence on the Mt Lindesay Hwy (NR13) interchange with Logan Mwy. Work includes realignment of the ramp, removal of a right hand curve and the easing of a second left hand curve. 13
February 2007: Construction commenced on the Logan Mwy / Ipswich Mwy interchange upgrade. 14
March 2007: Official opening of the Paradise Road interchange on the Logan Motorway by Premier Peter Beattie and Minister for Transport and Main Roads, Paul Lucas. 15
May 2008: Completion of upgrade works at the intersection of the Warrego Highway and Claus Road at Haigslea, west of Ipswich. 16
September 2008: Completion of new rest area 110 kilometres from Longreach on the Landsborough Hwy. 17
13 October 2008: Work commences at Kuraby on the installation of a tolling gantry in preparation for the transition to free-flow tolling. 18
2009: Widening works between Mt Isa and Camooweal completed. 8
February 2009: Upgrade of Mitchell's main street on the Warrego Highway completed. The Mitchell main street, between Louisa and Ann Streets, has been re-constructed to provide a strengthened and widened road surface. Following the opening of the road to traffic during 2008, final asphalt sealing, landscaping, line marking and other associated works were also completed. 19
March 2009: Metroad 2 between Dinmore and Gailes replaced by the M2 route number, Metroad 4 replaced in its entirety by the M2 route number. 20
30 June 2009: Work commences on the Ipswich Mwy to increase it from four lanes to six lanes and improve safety on an 8 kilometre section of the motorway between Dinmore and Goodna, and also to increase the route from four lanes to six lanes along a 2.5 kilometre section of the motorway between the Logan Motorway Interchange and Sandy Creek (Wacol to Darra). 21
April 2016: Construction begins on Toowoomba Range Second Crossing.
8 September 2019: Toowoomba Range Second Crossing completely open to traffic.

Click inside a green box on the map below to view that section of the route.

1 The State Road Network Map, 30 June 2008
2 Queensland Roads, Edition No 5, (Toowoomba Range Tunnels Report), March 2008
3 Logan City Council, Logan Regional History
4 Logan City Council, Logan 2026 City Directions
5 Leighton Holdings, 80 000 Trees Planted at Gateway Motorway Extension, 12 December 1996
6 Logan City Council, Logan Regional History
7 Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics, Over $400 million for Queensland Roads, 13 May 2003
8 Queensland Roads, Edition No 5 (Barkly Highway Report), March 2008
9 Ministerial Media Statements, Completing the Barkly Highway Upgrade, 4 April 2006
10 QMR, Strategic Tourism Routes Revision 12
11 Ministerial Media Statements, Federal Government own worst enemy on roads: Lucas, 25 July 2006
12 Ministerial Media Statement, Green light for vital new Logan Motorway link, 17 May 2006
13 Ministerial Media Statements, Mt Lindesay Highway on-ramp upgrade, 8 November 2006
14 QMR, Ipswich Logan interchange Project Page
15 Ministerial Media Statements, Paradise Found - Ahead of Time and Under Budget, 11 March 2007
16 Ministerial Media Statements, Haigslea intersection easier to negotiate, 22 May 2008
17 Ministerial Media Statements: Two Landsborough Highway projects improve safety, 25 September 2008
18 Queensland Motorways Construction Update, Piling works commence on 13 October 2008: Gateway Extension Motorway, Kuraby, 10 October 2008
19 Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Media Release, Mitchell Main Street Completed, 20 February 2009
20 Trent Thomson
21 Ministerial Media Statements, Next Stage of Ipswich Motorway Underway, 30 June 2009

Last updated: 14-Dec-2019 13:26

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