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 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.
State-controlled road
Warrego Highway is a state-controlled road, divided into seven sections for administrative and funding purposes. Six of the seven sections (numbers 18A to 18F) are part of the National Highway, while section 18G is a regional road.
The sections are:
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18A – Ipswich to Toowoomba
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18B – Toowoomba to Dalby
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18C – Dalby to Miles
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18D – Miles to Roma
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18E – Roma to Mitchell
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18F – Mitchell to Morven
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18G – Morven to Charleville
State-controlled roads that intersect with the highway are listed in the main article.
Route description
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 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 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)
Terrain
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.
Speed zones
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Ipswich Motorway – Blacksoil 100 km/h
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Blacksoil – Toowoomba Bypass merge 100 km/h, with a drop to 80 km/h and/or 60 km/h through some towns
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Great Dividing Range (Toowoomba Bypass to Charlton) 80 km/h to 100 km/h
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Charlton – Kingsthorpe 90 km/h
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Kingsthorpe – Dalby 100 km/h except through Jondaryan, which is 80 km/h.
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Dalby – 60 km/h
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Dalby – Chinchilla 100 km/h except running through towns, which speeds can drop to 60 km/h
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Chinchilla – Charleville 110 km/h except running through towns, which speeds can drop to 60 km/h
Towns along the route
From east to west, the highway passes through or close to the cities and major towns of:
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Ipswich (Bypassed)
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Gatton (Bypassed)
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Toowoomba (Bypassed)
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Oakey (Bypassed)
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Dalby
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Chinchilla
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Miles
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Roma
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Mitchell
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Morven
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Charleville
Gallery
File:Warrego Highway Haigslea.jpg|Highway at Haigslea, 2014
File:Light Shining Through Clouds.jpg|Stretch of Highway between Ipswich and Toowoomba
File:Signpost on Warrego Highway -Australia-1Aug2009.jpg|A signpost
History
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 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).
The highway was closed for several days at North Tivoli in May 2025 after an overpass was struck during the transport of a wind turbine.
Major works
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1957 – Helidon bypass. New road built to bypass Helidon including a steel and concrete bridge over Lockyer Creek.
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1959 – Ipswich bypass. New 8 mile long bypass including a steel and concrete bridge over the Bremer River built to bypass Ipswich City, shortening the highway by 2 miles. Also completed this year was the first bridge over Laidley Creek at Crowley Vale.
[Main Roads Department Annual Report 1958-59]
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1965 – Toowoomba Range duplication.
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1966 – Lockyer Creek deviation. Single carriageway 3.6 mile (5.8 km) long deviation to bypass a series of sharp curves between Gatton and Grantham, including a new bridge over Lockyer Creek.
[Main Roads Department Annual Report 1965-66] The old alignment followed Wells Road and Armstrongs Road.
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1968 – Marburg Range deviation. Four-lane road built to bypass a sub-standard section of road over the Marburg Range.
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1970 – Duplication from Withcott to the eastern end of the Toowoomba Range.
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1971 – Marburg bypass. Single carriageway 1.9 mile (3.1 km) long bypass of Marburg, including bridges over Queen Street and Black Snake Creek.
[Main Roads Department Annual Report 1970-71]
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1971 – Helidon to Withcott deviation. Single carriageway 5.15 mile (8.3 km) long deviation replacing the old road which was on a sub-standard alignment. The deviation opened to traffic in December of that year.
[Queensland Roads 21st Edition (June 1972)]
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1973 – Tenthill Creek bridge. New new prestressed concrete girder bridge over Tenthill Creek to replace the old truss structure known as Robinson's Bridge.
[Main Roads Department Annual Report 1972-73]
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1974 – Minden Range deviation. 2.6 km long four-lane road built to bypass a sub-standard section of road over the Minden Range.
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1976 – Hatton Vale to Laidley Creek duplication.
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1978 – Haigslea–Malabar Road to Marburg and Marburg Range to Minden Range duplication.
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1980 – Pine Mountain Road to Brisbane Valley Highway and Minden Range to Hatton Vale duplication.
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1982 – Brisbane Valley Highway to Haigslea–Amberley Road duplication.
[Main Roads Department Annual Report 1981-82]
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1983 – Haigslea–Amberley Road to Haigslea–Malabar Road duplication.
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1986 – Laidley Creek to Gatton duplication Stage 1. 5.6 km of road between Laidley Creek and the Queensland Agricultural College was duplicated, including a second bridge over Laidley Creek at Crowley Vale.
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1986 – Mt Crosby Road interchange.
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1987 – Laidley Creek to Gatton duplication Stage 2. 3.9 km of road between the Queensland Agricultural College and Gatton–Esk Road was duplicated.
[Main Roads Department Annual Report 1986-87]
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1988 – Waterworks Road to Pine Mountain Road duplication, including an interchange at Pine Mountain Road.
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1989 – Mt Crosby Road to Waterworks Road duplication.
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1989 – Gatton bypass. Single carriageway 20 km long bypass of Gatton constructed at a cost of $20 million opened in November 1989.
[Queensland Transport Annual Report 1989-90]
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1991 – Helidon to Withcott deviation duplication.
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1993 – Bremer River Bridge Duplication. Second bridge over the Bremer River and second carriageway from the Bremer River Bridge to Mt Crosby Road opened by Federal Minister for Transport Bob Brown on 29 January 1993.
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1994 – Dinmore Duplication. 2.7 km of road duplicated to four lanes from the railway at Dinmore to the Bremer River Bridge, including an interchange at River Road.
[Queensland Transport Annual Report 1993–94]
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1994 – Construction of overtaking lanes on the Gatton Bypass.
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1996 – 2.8 km section between Greenwattle Street and Nugent Pinch Road in Toowoomba duplicated to relieve traffic congestion at a cost of $2.5 million.
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1997 – Oakey Bypass.
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2001 – Marburg bypass duplication completed, Queen Street ramps added.
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2002 – Yaralla Deviation. 18.5 km realignment built to bypass a notorious section prone to flooding west of Dalby.
[Department of Main Roads Annual Report 2001–02]
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2003 – Gatton Bypass duplication completed, removing the final single carriageway section of the Warrego Highway between Ipswich and Toowoomba.
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2017 – Toowoomba to Oakey Duplication Stage 1. Highway duplicated from Nugent Pinch Road to Charlton.
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2018 – Toowoomba to Oakey Duplication Stage 2. Highway duplicated from Charlton to Kingsthorpe including an interchange at Kingsthorpe–Haden Road
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2019 – Toowoomba Second Range Crossing – Helidon Spa to Charlton (Northern concurrency terminus with Gore Highway)
Recent developments
Dalby Eastern & Western Access
These projects began in 2017 to fully duplicate the highway to four lanes, between Cecil Plains Road and Black Street. Four 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.
Roads of Strategic Importance
The Roads of Strategic Importance initiative, last updated in March 2022, includes the following project for the Warrego Highway.
Priority section projects
A project to upgrade priority sections of 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.
Other projects
Brimblecombe Road intersection
A project to upgrade the Brimblecombe Road intersection between Toowoomba and Dalby, at a cost of $2.75 million, was completed in December 2021.
Gatton heavy vehicle decoupling facility
A project to provide a heavy vehicle decoupling facility at Gatton was completed by November 2021.
Master plan Ipswich to Toowoomba
A master plan for the upgrade of the highway between Ipswich and Toowoomba has been developed at a cost of $6.78 million.
Haigslea–Amberley Road intersection
A project to plan the upgrade of the Haigslea-Amberley Road intersection, at a cost of $799,000, was in progress in May 2022.
Mount Crosby Road intersection
A project to plan the upgrade of the Mount Crosby Road intersection, at a cost of $5 million, was in progress in July 2021.
Other items of interest
Darren Lockyer Way
On 28 September 2011 the Queensland Main Roads Minister, Craig Wallace, announced that an 85 km stretch of 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.
Major intersections
See also
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Highways in Australia
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List of highways in Queensland
External links
