Gatton–Clifton Road is a continuous road route in the Lockyer Valley and

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( ), nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar', is a city on the border of South East Queensland and Darling Downs regions of Queensland, Australia. It is located west of Queensland's capital, Brisbane. The urban population of Toowoom ...

regions of

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Australia. Most of the road is signed as State Route 80. Gatton–Clifton Road (number 313) is a state-controlled road, part regional and part district. The district part is rated as a local road of regional significance (LRRS).

Route Description

The Gatton–Clifton Road commences at an intersection with Gatton–Helidon Road (State Route 80) in , just west of . The road runs south-west, following Ma Ma Creek (the watercourse) through to the locality of . It passes the exit to Mount Sylvia Road as it leaves Winwill. Land use along this section of the road is irrigated crops. From here it runs through and reaches the foothills of the

Great Dividing Range The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills. It runs roughl ...

. The road follows a winding, scenic route as it climbs the range, passing through native forest. It runs through the localities of and before reaching the top of the range in . In Hirstglen it passes the exit to Greenmount–Hirstvale Road. From the top of the range it enters open farming country, passing through and reaching the

New England Highway New England Highway is an long highway in Australia running from Yarraman, Queensland, Yarraman, north of Toowoomba, Queensland, at its northern end to Hexham, New South Wales, Hexham at Newcastle, New South Wales, Newcastle, New South Wales, ...

. There State Route 80 ends, and Gatton–Clifton Road turns south on the highway. After it exits to the west with no route number. It enters as East Street, and crosses the

railway line Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of land transport, next to road ...

before reaching an intersection with King Street. The road ends here, with Felton–Clifton Road running north as King Street. In Fordsdale the road crosses Heifer Creek, where there is a popular camping area. From there it follows the creek to Hirstglen, which is why it is unofficially known as Heifer Creek Road.

Road condition

Gatton–Clifton Road is fully sealed. It has about with an incline greater than 5%, about greater than 10%, and about greater than 15%. The height above sea level at the top of the range is .

Intersecting state-controlled roads

This road intersects with the following state-controlled roads: * Gatton–Helidon Road * Mount Sylvia Road * Greenmount–Hirstvale Road * Felton–Clifton Road

Gatton–Helidon Road

Gatton–Helidon Road is a state-controlled road (number 314), part regional and part district. The district part is rated as a local road of regional significance (LRRS). Part of it is part of State Route 80, and all of it is part of the Warrego Way. It is part of the former route of the

Warrego Highway 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 ...

through Gatton. A project to widen multiple high-speed sections of Gatton–Helidon Road, at a cost of $4.6 million, was expected to be completed in June 2022.

State Route 80

State Route 80 starts at an intersection with the Warrego Highway in the north-eastern corner of Gatton. It follows the former route of the highway through Gatton, which becomes Gatton-Helidon Road. It turns south-west onto Gatton–Clifton Road and follows it to the New England Highway at Clifton.

Warrego Way

Warrego Way is a State Strategic Touring Route from

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

to . It follows the Warrego Highway, with some diversions, from Brisbane to . It leaves the highway in the north-eastern corner of Gatton and follows the former route of the highway. This becomes Gatton–Helidon Road, which it follows to where it rejoins the highway.

Mount Sylvia Road

Mount Sylvia Road is a state-controlled district road (number 3131) rated as a local road of regional significance (LRRS). It runs from Gatton–Clifton Road in to East Haldon Road in , a distance of . The road has no major intersections.

Greenmount–Hirstvale Road

Greenmount–Hirstvale Road is a state-controlled road (number 3102) rated as a local road of regional significance (LRRS). It runs from the

in to Gatton–Clifton Road in , a distance of . This road has no major intersections.

Felton–Clifton Road

Felton–Clifton Road is a state-controlled district road (number 330) rated as a local road of regional significance (LRRS). It runs from Toowoomba–Karara Road in to Gatton–Clifton Road in , a distance of . This road intersects with Clifton–Leyburn Road in Clifton and Nobby Connection Road.

History

Gatton was gazetted as a settlement in 1855, and the

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

arrived in 1866. With the arrival of the railway the town expanded quickly as a commercial centre for the surrounding district. The Tenthill pastoral run was established in 1845, and settlement in the rich Ma Ma Creek valley occurred as land became available. Road construction occurred as settlement expanded towards the foot of the range. The Clifton pastoral run was established about 1844, and the Pilton run, originally part of Clifton, was separately established in the 1840s. Headington Hill was a large freehold estate established in the 1840s. The first road was cut to service these properties. In 1877, were resumed from the Clifton pastoral run and offered for selection on 17 April 1877. Subsequent development of small farms to the north of Clifton led to road improvements. The mountain section, including a deep cutting, was built in 1940. Many factors had led to its construction; among them was reduced travel time between Gatton and Clifton, and a less steep ascent / descent than on the Toowoomba range crossing.

Major intersections

All distances are from Google Maps.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gatton-Clifton Road Roads in Queensland