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 ...
in
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
* 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 ...
* Einasleigh
* 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 ...
* Belyando
* Clermont
*
* 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 ...
* 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 ...
Major intersections
See also
* Highways in Australia
Highways in Australia are generally high capacity roads managed by state and territory government agencies, though Australia's federal government contributes funding for important links between capital cities and major regional centres. Prio ...
* List of highways in Queensland
Queensland, being the second largest (by area) state in Australia, is also the most decentralised. Hence the highways and roads cover most parts of the state unlike the sparsely populated Western Australia. Even Queensland's outback is well se ...
References
{{Road infrastructure in Queensland
Highways in Queensland