Rockhampton–Emu Park Road is a continuous road route in the

Rockhampton Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. In the , the population of Rockhampton was 79,293. A common nickname for Rockhampton is "Rocky", and the demonym of Rockhampton is Rockhamptonite. The Scottish- ...

and Livingstone local government areas 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. The route is designated as State Route 4 (Regional) and Tourist Drive 10. It is a state-controlled regional road (number 194).

Route description

Rockhampton–Emu Park Road commences at an intersection with the Rockhampton–Yeppoon Road in , a suburb of . Starting as Bridge Street it runs south-east and then turns east as Lakes Creek Road, running along the boundary between Berserker and . It runs through the southern part of and then turns south-east, following the Fitzroy River through . It enters and continues south-east for a short distance before turning north-east. It continues north-east through to , where it passes the exit to Keppel Sands Road (see below) to the southeast. It then passes through and before turning east through the southern tip of and entering . Land use along the road is mainly rural, but with business and residential developments at each end.

Road condition

The road is fully sealed, with almost no dual carriageway. The following projects aim to improve the condition of sections of this road.

Road train access to Rockhampton

The project for upgrading between saleyards and the Rockhampton abattoirs to provide access for Type 1 Road Trains, funded by 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. ...

, was completed by early 2021 at a total cost of $30 million. It involved about of road improvements on four roads: *

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 ...

– from Saleyards Road at Gracemere to the

Bruce Highway The Bruce Highway is a major highway in Queensland, Australia. Commencing in the state capital, Brisbane, it passes through areas close to the eastern coast on its way to Cairns in Far North Queensland. The route is part of the Australian Natio ...

roundabout at Rochhampton (). * Bruce Highway – from the Capricorn Highway roundabout to the Yaamba Road intersection (). * Rockhampton–Yeppoon Road – from the Bruce Highway intersection south-west to the Emu Park Road intersection (. * Rockhampton–Emu Park Road – from the Rockhampton–Yeppoon Road intersection to St Christophers Chapel Road at Nerimbera ().

Overtaking lanes and safety improvements

A project to provide overtaking lanes and priority safety and capacity improvements, at a cost of $19 million, is planned for construction from late 2022 to mid-2024.

History

The

Archer brothers The Archer brothers were among the earliest European settlers in Queensland, Australia. They were explorers and pastoralists. Seven sons of William Archer, a Scottish timber merchant, they spent varying amounts of time in the colony of New Sout ...

established the Gracemere

pastoral run A pastoral lease, sometimes called a pastoral run, is an arrangement used in both Australia and New Zealand where government-owned Crown land is leased out to Pastoral farming, graziers for the purpose of livestock grazing on rangelands. Austral ...

in 1855, on land that included the present site of Rockhampton. They made use of the Fitzroy River for shipping supplies and produce, and built a woolshed on the river bank. They also played a role in coining the name "Rockhampton" for their riverside worksite.McDonald, L: "Rockhampton – A History of City & District", page 19. Rockhampton City Council, 1976 Permanent settlement at the town site began in 1856, and the town was proclaimed and surveyed in 1858. The region expanded quickly due to good available land and water. Land to the north of the river was opened for settlement in the late 1850s, and became the location of both large holdings and small farms. A large pastoral run was established along the length of the

Capricorn Coast The Capricorn Coast is a stretch of coastline in Central Queensland, Australia and is part of the Shire of Livingstone (formerly part of Rockhampton Region). Geography The Capricorn Coasts takes its name from Cape Capricorn () on Curtis Island ...

in 1865, extending from the area south towards what is now Emu Park. European settlement in the Emu Park district began in the 1860s when John Jardine established a cattle grazing property to the south, at Zilzie. Emu Park township was established in the 1870s when several Rockhampton families built seaside holiday houses on the hills overlooking the two beaches that are a feature of the town. The first road to the district was established at this time, and small farms were set up along it. This road was the only access to the district until 1888, when 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. The first bridge across the Fitzroy River was opened in 1881, replacing a steam ferry and increasing road usage to Emu Park.

Current usage

The first from Berserker is used by road trains carrying cattle to the Rockhampton abattoirs. In conjunction with Rockhampton-Yeppoon Road and the Scenic Highway, it is a popular tourist drive.

Keppel Sands Road

Keppel Sands Road is a state-controlled district road (number 193) rated as a local road of regional significance (LRRS). It runs from Rockhampton–Emu Park Road in to Schofield Parade in , a distance of . This road has no major intersections.

Major intersections

All distances are from Google Maps.

References

Roads in Queensland {{DEFAULTSORT:Rockhampton-Emu Park Road