Toowoomba–Karara Road is a continuous road route in the

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 ...

and Southern Downs 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 route is signed as State Route 48. Toowoomba–Karara Road (number 331) is a state-controlled district road. As part of State Route 48 it provides an alternate route between and . It is also part of the shortest route from Toowoomba to .

Route Description

The Toowoomba–Karara Road commences as Old Wyreema Road at an intersection with the

Toowoomba Athol Road The Gore Highway is a highway running between Toowoomba and Goondiwindi in Queensland, Australia. Together with Goulburn Valley Highway and Newell Highway, it is a part of the National Highway (Australia), National Highway's Melbourne to Brisba ...

in , a suburb of Toowoomba. It runs south-west, becoming Toowoomba-Karara Road as it runs between and . It passes through as Wyreema One Mile Road and Balgour Street before again becoming Toowoomba-Karara Road. This runs south to , following the Southern railway line. It passes through Cambooya as Railway Street, Quarry Street and Alfred Street before reaching an intersection with Cambooya Connection Road (State Route 48). Here it turns west on William Street as State Route 48, soon becoming Toowoomba-Karara Road again. The road continues south-west through , , and before reaching . In Felton it passes exits to Felton-Clifton Road and Pittsworth-Felton Road. In Ellangowan it passes the exit to Clifton–Leyburn Road. As it enters Leyburn it passes exits to Leyburn-Cunningham Road (Tourist Drive 12) and Millmerran-Leyburn Road. It runs through Leyburn as Dove Street and turns south as Toowoomba-Karara Road. The road ends in Karara at an intersection with the

Cunningham Highway The Cunningham Highway is a National Highway (Australia), national highway located in South East Queensland, south-eastern Queensland, Australia. The highway links the Darling Downs region with the urbanised outskirts of Ipswich, Queensland, I ...

. Land uses along this road is primarily rural, including some areas of native vegetation.

State Route 48

State Route 48 starts as Cambooya Connection Road at an intersection with 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, ...

in Cambooya, east of Cambooya village. It joins Toowoomba-Karara Road in Cambooya and follows it to Karara.

Road condition

Toowoomba–Karara Road is fully sealed. It has no incline greater than about 4%.

History

Westbrook pastoral run was established in 1841, and Eton Vale pastoral run was established in 1840 in what is now Cambooya. Felton and Felton South were the site of an early pastoral run. Ellangowan pastoral run was established in 1842, and Leyburn was settled in the 1840s. The first roads were cut to provide access to the pastoral runs and new settlements for wheeled vehicles. In 1877 land was resumed from many pastoral runs to establish smaller farms. These resumptions included Westbrook (), Eton Vale (), and Felton (). These resumptions soon led to closer settlement and a demand for better roads to enable the commercial success of the new farms. Cambooya was connected by rail to Toowoomba in 1871, and quickly grew as a commercial centre. A post office had opened in 1869, and the first school opened in 1882. The development of new farms led to greater use of the road to Toowoomba. The site for the town of Leyburn was surveyed in 1852. By 1861 the town had a post office and a police station, and the first school opened in 1862. Despite not having a railway connection the town grew quickly, with a hotel built in 1863, a court house in 1866 and a church in 1871. This placed great reliance on a road connection to Toowoomba. As settlement spread south from Leyburn it was inevitable that a road connection to the Cunningham Highway was established.

Intersecting state-controlled roads

This road intersects with the following state-controlled roads: * Cambooya Connection Road * Felton-Clifton Road * Pittsworth–Felton Road * Clifton–Leyburn Road * Leyburn–Cunningham Road * Millmerran–Leyburn Road

Cambooya Connection Road

Cambooya Connection Road is a state-controlled district road (number 3304) rated as a local road of regional significance (LRRS). It is part of State Route 48. It runs from the

in to Toowoomba–Karara Road in Cambooya, a distance of . This road has no major intersections.

Pittsworth–Felton Road

Pittsworth-Felton Road is a state-controlled district road (number 332) rated as a local road of regional significance (LRRS). It runs from the

Gore Highway The Gore Highway is a highway running between Toowoomba and Goondiwindi in Queensland, Australia. Together with Goulburn Valley Highway and Newell Highway, it is a part of the National Highway's Melbourne to Brisbane link. It is signed as Nat ...

in to Toowoomba–Karara Road in , a distance of . The road has no major intersections.

Clifton–Leyburn Road

Clifton–Leyburn Road is a state-controlled district road (number 336) rated as a local road of regional significance (LRRS). It runs from Felton–Clifton Road in to Toowoomba–Karara Road in , a distance of . It intersects with Ryeford–Pratten Road in .

Leyburn–Cunningham Road

Leyburn-Cunningham Road is a state-controlled district road (number 3306) rated as a local road of regional significance (LRRS). It is part of Tourist Drive 12 and runs from Toowoomba–Karara Road in to the

in , a distance of . It intersects with Ryeford–Pratten Road (see below) in .

Millmerran–Leyburn Road

Millmerran–Leyburn Road is a state-controlled district road (number 335) rated as a local road of regional significance (LRRS). It runs from the

in to Toowoomba–Karara Road in , a distance of . This road has no major intersections.

Associated state-controlled road

The following state-controlled road intersects with Clifton–Leyburn Road and Leyburn–Cunningham Road:

Ryeford–Pratten Road

Ryeford–Pratten Road is a state-controlled district road (number 3363), rated as a local road of regional significance (LRRS). It runs from Clifton–Leyburn Road in to Leyburn–Cunningham Road in , a distance of .

Major intersections

All distances are from Google Maps.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Toowoomba-Karara Road Roads in Queensland