Road Photos & Information: Queensland
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Warrego Highway & Landsborough Highway (NH54) (Decommissioned) |
Statistics:
- Length: 709 km
- Eastern Terminus: Ipswich Mwy (Metroad 2) & Cunningham Hwy (NH15) at Riverview
- Western Terminus: Mitchell Hwy & Landsborough Hwy (NR71)
- Suburbs, Towns & Localities Along Route: Augathella, Morven, Mitchell, Roma, Miles, Chinchilla, Dalby, Toowoomba and Riverview
Route Numbering:
- Current:
- Former:
- Multiplexes:
- Road Authority Internal Classification: 13A (Landsborough Highway) and 18A, 18B, 18C, 18D, 18E & 18F (Warrego Highway) 1
General Information:
National Highway 54 formed part of the main route between Brisbane and western Queensland. It links several major towns and highways and varies from freeway standard at its eastern end to undvided rural highway beyond Toowoomba.
Multiplexes along the route include:
- NR39 (Leichhardt Highway) for 1 km at Miles
- NR55 (Carnarvon Highway) for 5 km at Roma
- SR49 (Bunya and Moonie Highways) for 400 metres at Dalby
- SR82 (Dalby-Jandowie Road & Cecil Plains Road) for 4 km at Dalby
- SR85 (New England Highway) for 400 metres at Toowoomba
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
- 2004: National Highway 54 decommissioned and renumbered as A2 as part of the 'Strategic Tourism Routes' numbering scheme. 3
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Trailblazer:
NH54 trailblazer outside Oakey Raliway Station on Bridge St, January 2004.
Image © Michael Greenslade
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Black Advance Directional Sign:
Black AD sign on Bunya Hwy (SR49) approaching Warrego Hwy (NH54 / SR49 / SR82) at Dalby, December 2003.
Image © Michael Greenslade
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Advance Directional Sign:
AD sign on Mooney Hwy (SR49) approaching Warrego Hwy (NH54 / SR49 / SR82) at Dalby, December 2003.
Image © Michael Greenslade
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1 The State Road
Network Map, 30 June 2008
2 Queensland Government, Transport and Main Roads, Queensland Roads, Edition No 5, (Toowoomba Range Tunnels Report), March 2008
3 Queensland Government, Transport and Main Roads, Strategic Tourism Routes Revision 12
Last updated: 16-Sep-2020 19:55
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