The Dawson Highway is a state

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia. It runs for between

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

and

Springsure Springsure is a town and a Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Central Highlands Region, Queensland, Australia. It is south of Emerald, Queensland, Emerald on the Gregory Highway. It is the southern terminus of the Gregory Highwa ...

where it terminates. From Gladstone to

Rolleston Rolleston may refer to: Places * Rolleston, Queensland, Australia * Rolleston, Leicestershire, England * Rolleston, Nottinghamshire, England ** Rolleston railway station * Rolleston on Dove, Staffordshire, England ** Rolleston Hall * Rolleston, ...

it is signed as State Route 60, and then A7 onwards to Springsure. It continues west for another as Dawson Developmental Road to Tambo on the

Landsborough Highway Landsborough Highway is a highway in western Queensland, Australia, running in the northwest–southeast direction from Morven to Cloncurry. The Landsborough Highway runs through vast tracts of land that was once occupied by William Landsborou ...

. North of Springsure, A7 becomes the

Gregory Highway The Gregory Highway is a state highway in Queensland, Australia that serves the major coal-mining centres of Central Queensland. The highway was named after Augustus Gregory, an early explorer. Route description The highway runs southward from ...

. Many of the towns along the Dawson Highway are

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

-mining establishments.

List of towns along the Dawson Highway

(

Gladstone Region Gladstone Region is a local government area in Queensland, Australia. The council covers an area of , had an estimated resident population at 30 June 2018 of 62,979, and has an estimated operating budget of A$84 million. History Gladstone Re ...

) ** Gladstone Central ** West Gladstone **

New Auckland New Auckland is an urban locality in Gladstone in the Gladstone Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , New Auckland had a population of 5,085 people. It is on the outskirts of the Gladstone urban area, but, as at December 2020, is experiencing h ...

** Clinton *

Calliope In Greek mythology, Calliope ( ; grc, Καλλιόπη, Kalliópē, beautiful-voiced) is the Muse who presides over eloquence and epic poetry; so called from the ecstatic harmony of her voice. Hesiod and Ovid called her the "Chief of all Muses" ...

Biloela Biloela ( ) is a rural town and locality in Shire of Banana, Central Queensland, Australia. It is situated inland from the port city of Gladstone at the junction of the Burnett and Dawson highways. Biloela is the administrative centre of Ban ...

(

Shire of Banana The Shire of Banana is a local government area located in the Capricorn region of Queensland, Australia, inland from the regional city of Gladstone. The shire was named after the first township in the region (Banana), which in turn was named ...

) *

Banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...

* Moura **

Bauhinia ''Bauhinia'' () is a large genus of flowering plants in the subfamily Cercidoideae and tribe Bauhinieae, in the large flowering plant family Fabaceae, with a pantropical distribution. The genus was named after the Bauhin brothers Gaspard and Jo ...

(

Central Highlands Region Central Highlands Region is a local government area in Queensland, Australia. History '' Wadja'' (also known as ''Wadjigu'', ''Wadya'', ''Wadjainngo'', ''Mandalgu'', and ''Wadjigun)'' is an Australian Aboriginal language in Central Queensland ...

) *

Major intersections

Upgrades

Replace bridges

The existing timber bridges on the Dawson Highway were subject to regular closures due to flooding. The $40 million replacement of 5 timber bridges project was completed in April 2018. The timber bridges were replaced with concrete structures to increase freight efficiency and flood immunity along the Dawson Highway. The new bridges were constructed at; Nine Mile Creek, Catfish Creek, Sheep Station Creek, Maxwelton Creek and Doubtful Creek.

Replace bridge near Tambo

A project to replace a timber bridge over the Barcoo River immediately north of Tambo, at a cost of $7 million, was expected to complete in mid-2022.

Replace Roundstone Creek bridge

A project to replace the Roundstone Creek bridge, at a cost of $12 million, was expected to complete in early 2022.

Strengthen bridges and improve pavement

A project to strengthen 5 bridges and to widen and rehabilitate of paving, at a cost of $14.2 million, was expected to complete in June 2022 (the pavement component was completed in January 2021)

Design cycle facilities

A project to design cycle facilities for Glenlyon Street to Harvey Road in Gladstone, at a cost of $2.05 million, was to complete in December 2021.

Roads of Strategic Importance Upgrades

The

Roads of Strategic Importance Roads of Strategic Importance (ROSI) is a $5.8 billion initiative of the Australian Government designed to help connect regional businesses to local and international markets, and to better connect regional communities. The source for this article ...

initiative, last updated in March 2022, includes the following projects for the Dawson Highway.

Corridor upgrade

A lead project to upgrade the Townsville to Roma corridor, including sections of the Gregory, Carnarvon and Dawson Highways and surrounding state and council roads, at an estimated cost of $125 million, commenced construction of some work projects in 2020. Planning continues for other projects.

Pavement strengthening and widening

A project to strengthen and widen sections of pavement between Banana and Rolleston at a cost of $6 million was completed in December 2020. This project was targeted for "early works" by the Queensland Government.

Roundstone Creek bridge overflow upgrade

A project to upgrade the Roundstone Creek bridge overflow at a cost of $6 million is due for completion in mid-2022. This project is targeted for "early works" by the Queensland Government.

Biloela heavy vehicle bypass

A project to construct a heavy vehicle bypass of Biloela for the Dawson Highway at a cost of $2.7 million is due for completion in late 2022.

Progressive sealing and new bridge

A project to upgrade and seal sections of the Dawson Developmental Road, and to build a new bridge over the

Barcoo River The Barcoo River in western Queensland, Australia rises on the northern slopes of the Warrego Range, flows in a south-westerly direction and unites with the Thomson River to form Cooper Creek. The first European to see the river was Thomas M ...

, at a cost of $57 million is expected to finish in mid-2023. This project was targeted for "early works" by the Queensland Government, and has been split into two packages.

Proposals

The

Queensland Inland Freight Route Queensland Inland Freight Route is a proposal to upgrade the existing highways from to in Queensland, Australia. It would be a quality two-lane alternative freight route to the Bruce Highway. Funding and program status The estimated total c ...

is a proposal to upgrade the existing highways from to . This would involve significant upgrades to the Dawson Highway between Springsure and Rolleston.

References

{{Road infrastructure in Queensland Highways in Queensland Gladstone Region Shire of Banana Central Highlands Region Buildings and structures in Central Queensland