Warrego Highway at Charlton, west of Toowoomba The Warrego Highway Functions providing access to communities and the gas and connecting towns and rural/remote communities oilfields of south-west Queensland. to essential services, including health, education, As Queensland’s principal east-west freight route, employment and commerce extending west 714km from Brisbane to Charleville, the The highway supports a range of interstate, intrastate, Warrego Highway (M2/A2) is an important strategic link inter-regional and local functions, including: providing improved access for industry and the community to domestic and international airport in Queensland’s national and state road networks. connecting primary producers and industries in facilities in Brisbane The highway connects Brisbane to Toowoomba and southern Queensland and central New South Wales southern Queensland, central and western New South to the Port of Brisbane serving as a strategic interstate tourist route, it represents one of the key linkages for drive-based Wales and Victoria (via the A39 Gore Highway) and the serving as the east-west spine of southern tourism to Queensland’s outback regions, which Northern Territory (via the A2 Landsborough and Queensland’s road network, providing connections are important to the economy of many towns on Barkly highways). (Refer Figure 1, page 6). to key north-south interstate routes to Sydney, the Warrego Highway and beyond West of Brisbane, between Ipswich and Morven, the Melbourne and Darwin, and intrastate routes to highway forms part of the Australian Government’s Rockhampton and Townsville serving as a strategic military route between southern Queensland and the Northern Territory National Land Transport Network Brisbane – Darwin serving as the principal freight route to the and as a link between key military installations in national corridor. The Ipswich to Toowoomba section also emerging Surat Basin energy resource province forms part of the Melbourne – Brisbane national corridor. southern Queensland, including Amberley RAAF connecting produce growers of the Lockyer Valley to base, Oakey army aviation centre, Borneo Barracks West of Morven, the highway becomes an alternative domestic markets in Queensland, New South Wales and the Greenbank military area. route to the A2 national corridor via Charleville, and Victoria Warrego Highway Upgrade Strategy 2012 05 Figure 1. Warrego Highway and major connecting routes Freight access The Warrego Highway provides the following heavy vehicle access: To Longreach/ Mt Isa/Darwin To Emerald/ Ipswich to Toowoomba – up to 25-metre Charters Towers To Rockhampton B-doubles (and up to 30-metre performance A2 ALT A2 based vehicles PBS Level 2B under permit to the Charleville A7 ALT A2 Mitchell Port of Brisbane) Morven A2 Roma A71 A2 Miles Chinchila Toowoomba to Mitchell – up to Type 1 road A55 trains To Western NSW A5 A2 To Rockhampton Mitchell to Morven – up to Type 2 road trains To St George/ To Goondiwindi/ Dalby Central NSW Melbourne 17 Morven to Charleville – up to Type 1 road trains A2 Brisbane The National Network section of the Warrego M2 Toowoomba Ipswich Legend N Highway is a high-capacity freight route with A3 State controlled roads A39 15 Higher Mass Limits vehicle access. The highway To Central NSW/ is currently being upgraded between Mitchell and Warrego Highway Melbourne To Warwick/ Brisbane-Darwin National Route Sydney Roma to extend Type 2 road train access to the western outskirts of Roma. Melbourne-Brisbane National Route A vital freight artery mining and drilling equipment and supplies to mines, The rich fertile soils of the Lockyer Valley and the as well as general freight, including food, consumer Darling Downs produce over a third of the total value of The Australian and Queensland Governments recognise goods, building materials, fuel, petrochemicals, agriculture in Queensland. This includes the majority of the vital role the Warrego Highway plays in transporting fertilisers and machinery. the state’s wheat and oilseeds, approximately half its people and freight between and around the southern maize, as well as oats, sorghum, barley, millet, cotton, region. As part of the National Land Transport Network Brisbane, at the eastern end of the Brisbane – Darwin soybeans and sunflowers. and the proposed National Land Freight Network, and Melbourne – Brisbane corridors, is one of the the highway provides for major freight movements fastest growing economies in Australia. As the centre of Livestock production is primarily focused on beef, but interstate, and regionally (between the administrative significant commercial and industrial activity, Brisbane also includes wool, lamb, pork and poultry products. and commercial centres of Toowoomba, Dalby and is the origin of general freight, beverages, plant and Local saleyards (including two of Australia’s largest Roma, the agriculture sectors in the Lockyer Valley, equipment, fuel and other products that are transported cattle saleyards at Roma and Dalby), feedlots and several Darling Downs and the south-west, and the energy and via the Warrego Highway to south-west, central-west major abattoirs (including Beef City, west of Toowoomba, resource developments of the Surat Basin). and north-west Queensland through to Darwin. the largest meat packer and export facility in Australia) form a vital link in the state’s food supply chain. The highway carries large volumes of seasonal harvest Agriculture plays a major role in the economy exports, such as grains and cotton to port; cattle of southern Queensland and provides a major between pastures, saleyards, feedlots and abattoirs; contribution to Australia’s food security. produce to domestic markets; coal to power stations; 06 Warrego Highway is a vital link for the movement of cattle and agricultural products Connecting communities in southern Queensland By 2031, the population of the Surat Basin (including Additional stations are proposed, including the Toowoomba, Western Downs and Maranoa Regional proposed Solar Dawn solar thermal gas hybrid plant The Warrego Highway is a vital transport link for Councils) is projected to increase by 95,000 people, at Chinchilla, which forms part of the Australian communities and rural settlements in the Lockyer with approximately 90 per cent expected to live within Government’s Solar Flagship Program. Valley, Darling Downs, Maranoa and south-west the Toowoomba Regional Council area. Queensland regions. Strong population growth is Coal mines around Wandoan are also planned, with planned along the South East Queensland western the region’s existing five coal mines (New Acland, Supporting the Surat Basin Energy Province corridor, comprising Ipswich City and the Scenic Rim, Commodore, Wilkie Creek, Kogan Creek and Cameby Lockyer Valley, Somerset and Toowoomba Regional The Surat Basin contains vast coal and gas energy Downs) currently supplying thermal coal to domestic Councils and, more generally in South East Queensland reserves which will see the region transform into a and international markets. Industries are also within the next 20 years. As such, the Warrego Highway major energy province over the next 20 years. The considering opportunities for alternative uses for will play a major part in supporting regional growth. region is estimated to contain 6.3 billion tonnes of coal; for example, Linc Energy’s $1.2 billion gas-to- thermal coal, 565 billion cubic metres of coal seam gas, liquids Chinchilla demonstration facility is currently The corridor from Toowoomba to Dalby is projected to 6 million barrels of oil and 2.6 million barrels of liquid investigating options to convert coal to syngas to experience strong population growth associated with petroleum gas. produce diesel. the development of the Surat Basin energy province and resurgence in the agricultural sector following the The region is already a major producer of electricity end of the extended drought of the last decade. with 10 coal and gas-fired power stations generating over 6000 megawatts of electricity. Warrego Highway Upgrade Strategy 2012 07 Most development, however, will focus around the coal Challenges Current investment initiatives seam gas fields which will feed Queensland’s developing The Warrego Highway is critical to the economic health liquid natural gas (LNG) industry at Gladstone. The Queensland Government, in partnership with the and wellbeing of communities and economic activity Australian Government, has committed to delivering The LNG industry has already committed to over $50 in southern Queensland, particularly supporting the a number of projects focused on improving safety and billion in private sector investment. Agreements are in development of the Surat Basin energy province. freight efficiency. These include: place for the export of over 27 million tonnes per annum The main challenges going forward for managing (mtpa), however, this could grow to 50 mtpa, creating $15 million for overtaking lanes and rest areas the highway are to improve capacity, safety, over 18,000 direct and indirect jobs across Queensland, between Oakey and Dalby (Federal funding) asset condition and preservation to cater for including over 4,300 in the Surat Basin. This industry the existing and emerging freight task. $50 million upgrade between Mitchell and Roma, growth is expected to double the Surat Basin’s including a new bridge across the Maranoa River population and fuel economic growth, doubling gross Specific challenges that need to be addressed are: at Mitchell,