The Gregory 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 that serves the major

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 centres of

Central Queensland Central Queensland is an ambiguous geographical division of Queensland ( a state in Australia) that centres on the eastern coast, around the Tropic of Capricorn. Its major regional centre is Rockhampton. The region extends from the Capricorn Coas ...

.Queensland Government - Department of Transport and Main Roads - Maps
/ref> The highway was named after

Augustus Gregory Sir Augustus Charles Gregory (1 August 1819 – 25 June 1905) was an English-born Australian explorer and surveyor. Between 1846 and 1858 he undertook four major expeditions. He was the first Surveyor-General of Queensland. He was appointed a ...

, an early explorer.

Route description

The highway runs southward from Quartz Blow Creek, a point west of

Mount Surprise Mount Surprise is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Etheridge, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Mount Surprise had a population of 169 people. Geography The town is located in the Gulf Savannah in Far North Queensland ...

on the

Gulf Developmental Road Gulf Developmental Road is an Australian highway linking the Cairns and Normanton regions in northern Queensland, Australia. It is the only sealed (asphalt) road linking these two regions. In the east, the road begins at an unnamed junction o ...

, via

Charters Towers Charters Towers is a rural town in the Charters Towers Region, Queensland, Australia. It is by road south-west from Townsville on the Flinders Highway. During the last quarter of the 19th century, the town boomed as the rich gold deposits under ...

, to

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 ...

, over away. The northern section of is designated by the state government as the Gregory Developmental Road. The shorter southern section between Clermont and Springsure () is designated the Gregory Highway. As of 2015, the first between the Gulf Developmental Road via Einasleigh to the Lynd Junction are unsealed and may be corrugated. The next section to Charters Towers has been upgraded from single lane to mostly dual-laned

bitumen Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term a ...

. The road is used by many

road train A road train, land train or long combination vehicle (LCV) is a trucking vehicle used to move road freight more efficiently than semi-trailer trucks. It consists of two or more trailers or semi-trailers hauled by a prime mover. History Early ...

s. File:Gregory Highway, QLD, Australia.jpeg, High quality road section File:Gregory Highway 2, QLD, Australia.jpeg, Example of poorer quality road section

Northern Australia Beef Roads upgrades

The

Northern Australia Beef Roads Program Northern Australia Beef Roads Program is a suite of projects designed to deliver targeted upgrades to key roads for transporting cattle in northern Australia. In 2016 the Australian Government announced 18 projects to be funded under this program. ...

announced in 2016 included the following project for the Gregory Developmental Road.

Road widening

The project to widen the road south of Charters Towers is expected to be completed in early 2023 at a total cost of $5.79 million.

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 Gregory Highway.

Corridor upgrade

A lead project to upgrade the Townsville to Roma corridor, including sections of the Carnarvon, Dawson and Gregory 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.

Intersection upgrade Capricorn Highway

A project to upgrade the intersection with the

Capricorn Highway The Capricorn Highway is located in Central Queensland, Australia, and links the city of Rockhampton with western Queensland. The highway is long, and joins the Landsborough Highway at Barcaldine. Formerly National Route 66, Queensland began ...

in at a cost of $7.9 million is scheduled for completion in mid-2023. This project was targeted for "early works" by the Queensland Government.

Pavement strengthening and widening

A project to strengthen and widen sections of pavement on the Gregory Developmental Road between Charters Towers and The Lynd at a cost of $15.3 million is planned to be completed in mid-2023. This project is targeted for "early works" by the Queensland Government.

Other upgrades

A project to widen and strengthen of pavement between Marble Creek and Christmas Creek, at a cost of $45.41 million, was due to be completed in late 2023. A project to upgrade a culvert near Porphyry Road, at a cost of $5,1 million, was due to be completed in late 2023.

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 Charters Towers to . This would involve significant upgrades to the Gregory Highway between Charters Towers and Springsure.

List of towns along the Gregory Developmental Road/Highway

* Einasleigh *

* Belyando * Clermont * Main street, Capella, 2016

Capella Capella is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Auriga. It has the Bayer designation α Aurigae, which is Latinised to Alpha Aurigae and abbreviated Alpha Aur or α Aur. Capella is the sixth-brightest star i ...

Emerald Emerald is a gemstone and a variety of the mineral beryl (Be3Al2(SiO3)6) colored green by trace amounts of chromium or sometimes vanadium.Hurlbut, Cornelius S. Jr. and Kammerling, Robert C. (1991) ''Gemology'', John Wiley & Sons, New York, p ...

Major intersections

References

{{Road infrastructure in Queensland Highways in Queensland