Cunningham Highway

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Highway in Queensland, Australia

title: "Cunningham Highway" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["highways-in-queensland", "south-east-queensland", "darling-downs"] description: "Highway in Queensland, Australia" topic_path: "general/highways-in-queensland" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cunningham_Highway" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Highway in Queensland, Australia ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox Australian road"]

FieldValue
stateqld
typeHighway
road_nameCunningham Highway
imageCunningham Highway 0216.svg
captionCunningham Highway (green and black)
length327
direction_aWest
direction_bEast
end_a{{plainlist
end_b{{plainlist
throughYelarbon, Inglewood, Warwick
route{{plainlist
exits{{plainlist
::

| state = qld | type = Highway | road_name = Cunningham Highway | image = Cunningham Highway 0216.svg | caption = Cunningham Highway (green and black) | length = 327 | direction_a = West | direction_b = East | end_a = {{plainlist|

The Cunningham Highway is a 327 km

The Cunningham carries the National Highway 15 shield between Ipswich and north of Warwick at its junction with the New England Highway at Glengallan where both the Cunningham and the New England head south concurrently to Warwick. Thereafter, the Cunningham carries the National Route 42 shield to its south-western terminus with the Leichhardt Highway at Goondiwindi. The majority of the Cunningham Highway is a single carriageway with freeway standard and 6-lane arterial road standard towards its north-eastern terminus, near Ipswich.

State-controlled road

Main article: Cunningham Highway state-controlled roads

The Cunningham Highway is a state-controlled road, subdivided into four sections for administrative and funding purposes. Sections 17A, 17B, and part of 17D are part of the National Highway, while section 17C and part of section 17D are strategic roads.{{cite map |publisher = Queensland Government ©State of Queensland [CC BY 4.0] |title = The State Road Network of Queensland |date = 30 June 2022 |url = https://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/_/media/travelandtransport/maps-and-guides/queensland-maps/state-road-network/the-state-road-network-of-queensland-front-at-30-june-2022.pdf?sc_lang=en&hash=BE5B156CE3B0044010A3C7150860CB22 |access-date = 4 August 2023}} The sections are:

  • 17A – Goodna to Ipswich
  • 17B – Ipswich to Warwick
  • 17C – Warwick to Inglewood
  • 17D – Inglewood to Goondiwindi

State-controlled roads that intersect with the highway are listed in the main article.

History

The highway is named in honour of the explorer and botanist Allan Cunningham who followed a route close to where the modern-day highway runs. In 1828 after discovering the route Cunningham sent a report to Governor Ralph Darling emphasising the economic benefits that a link between the coast and pastoral lands of the Darling Downs would provide. The first road between the coast and the Darling Downs was Spicers Gap Road developed in 1859, which crossed the range at Spicer's Gap and was suitable for the drays used at that time. Although Cunningham's Gap was known at that time, it was considered too steep a route for drays. With the opening of the Southern railway line between Toowoomba and Warwick in 1871, passenger and goods transport switched to the railways and Spicers Gap Road fell into disuse and was not well maintained due to the cost.

In the 1930s, the roads from Amberley to Aratula and from Warwick to Maryvale were both sealed, but because there was no road between Aratula and Maryvale, motorists wishing to travel from Ipswich to Warwick and beyond had to go via Gatton and Clifton. It wasn’t until 1946 that construction began on a road through Cunningham’s Gap. The new sealed road through the gap was eventually opened in November 1949.

Route

The north-eastern terminus of the Cunningham Highway is situated a short distance west of where the Warrego Highway reaches its eastern terminus with the Ipswich Motorway, at , a suburb of Ipswich. From this point, the Cunningham Highway heads south-west, bypassing the busy Ipswich central business district and the original path of the highway, now named Warwick Road. Between the commencement of the route at Riverview and Ripley Road at Flinders View, the highway is a 4 lane dual carriageway, constructed to Motorway standard with a speed limit of 100, and grade-separated interchanges. From here, the highway transitions to a 'Super 2' expressway, consisting of a 2 lane undivided carriageway, through to Warwick Road, Yamanto. From here, the route transitions from motorway standard to highway standard. The highway then continues past the Willowbank Raceway, and then through the Scenic Rim region, passing through , the Fassifern Valley and . The Scenic Rim section of the Highway is 2 lanes each way with at-grade intersections, no emergency shoulders and varying speed limits.

After the town of Aratula, the Cunningham Highway begins its ascent across the Great Dividing Range via a mountain pass at an elevation of 787 m above sea level called Cunninghams Gap, situated in the Main Range National Park, between the peaks of Mount Cordeaux and Mount Mitchell.

As the Cunningham Highway descends through the Southern Downs region and west adjacent to the settlement of , it reaches a major junction with the New England Highway near Eastments Ridge approximately 14 km north of Warwick. The two highways run south to Warwick, sharing the National Route 15 shield and cross the Condamine River before the concurrency terminates and the New England Highway runs south, carrying the National Highway 15 shield; and the Cunningham heads west by south-west through , , before reaching its south-western terminus on the outskirts of Goondiwindi.

Within close proximity of Goondiwindi, the Cunningham Highway links to the Newell, Leichhardt, and Barwon highways, with the Bruxner Highway nearby.

Towns on the Cunningham Highway

From northeast to southwest, the following towns and settlements are located on the Cunningham Highway:

Upgrades

Highway upgrades

A lead project to plan and conduct upgrades to the highway, at a total cost of $212.5 million, was in the planning phase in November 2021. The $25 million intersection upgrade described below is included in this project.

Intersection upgrade

A project to upgrade the intersection with the New England Highway east of Warwick, at a cost of $25 million, was due for completion in August 2022.

Reconstruction works

A project to reconstruct sections of the highway at Cunninghams Gap following bushfire damage, at a cost of $84.27 million, was due to start construction in early 2022.

Safety upgrades

A project to identify safety issues and propose solutions between Warwick and Inglewood, at a cost of $275,000, was under way in January 2022.

Major exits and intersections

|LGAC=Ipswich |LGAspan=12 |location=Riverview |lspan=2 |km=0 |road= Ipswich Motorway (National Route M2) east – Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast |notes=North western terminus via motorway-grade underpass}} |type=incomplete |km=0 |road= Warrego Highway (National Route M2) west – Toowoomba |notes=No westbound exit to M2 westbound; No southwest bound entrance from M2 eastbound}} |location=Blackstone |lspan=2 |km=4.6 |road= Redbank Plains Road (State Route 61) – , |notes= Southwest bound exit and northeast bound entrance }} |km=5.7 |road= Redbank Plains Road (State Route 61) – , |notes= Northeast bound exit and southwest bound entrance }} |location=Raceview |lspan=2 |km=7.7 |road=Swanbank Road – , |notes= Southwest bound exit and southwest bound entrance }} |km=8.8 |road=South Station Road – , |notes= Northeast bound exit and northeast bound entrance }} |location=Flinders View |km=9.8 |road=Ripley Road – , |notes= Southwest bound exit and southwest bound entrance; Northeast bound exit and northeast bound entrance }} |type=incomplete |location_special=, ,

|lspan=4 |km=14.3 |road= Centenary Highway (State Route A5) |notes=No southbound exit to A5 southwest bound; No northeast bound entrance from A5 northbound}} |type= |km=14.9 |road= Ipswich–Boonah Road south (State Route 93) – |notes=}} |km=14.9 |road=Warwick Road north – |notes=}} |type=trans |km=15.7 |notes=End of motorway conditions, beginning of highway conditions southwest bound; End of highway conditions, beginning of motorway conditions northeast bound

(M15) becomes (A15) |rcalign=center}} |type= |location=Willowbank |km=19.2 |road=Ipswich-Rosewood Road northwest – |notes=}} |LGA-R=Scenic Rim |location=Fassifern |km=56.5 |road= Boonah–Fassifern Road east (State Route 90) – |notes=}} |LGA-R=Southern Downs |LGAspan=5 |type=concur |location=Glengallan |km=115.6 |road= New England Highway (State Route A3) north – Toowoomba |notes=A15 northern concurrency terminus}} |location=Warwick |lspan=3 |km=126.6 |road=Condamine River |notes=Bridge over river}} |type=concur |km=129.4 |road= New England Highway (National Route A15) south – / New South Wales |notes=A15 southern concurrency terminus }} |type=trans |km=129.4 |road= |notes=Cunningham Highway continues as (National Route 42) }} |location=Karara |lspan= |type= |km=178 |road= Toowoomba Karara Road (State Route 48) north – |notes=}} |LGA-R=Goondiwindi |LGAspan=5 |type=concur |location_special=,

|lspan= |km=216.7 |road= Stanthorpe Inglewood Road (Alternate State Route 89) south – |notes=Eastern concurrency terminus for Alternate State Route 89}} |LGA-R= |LGAspan= |type= |location=Inglewood |lspan=2 |km=234.4 |road= Millmerran–Inglewood Road (State Route 82) north – |notes=}} |LGA-R= |LGAspan= |type=concur |location= |km=236.4 |road= Inglewood–Texas Road (State Route 89) south – |notes=Western concurrency terminus for Alternate State Route 89}} |location=Goondiwindi |lspan=2 |km=324.2 |road= Leichhardt Highway (National Route A39) west via bypass – , Brisbane and Rockhampton / (to Barwon Highway (State Route 85) – ) |notes=Bypass does not carry the shields, although named as the Leichhardt Highway}} |type=trans |km=327 |road= Marshall Street west to Barwon Highway (State Route 85) – Goondiwindi town centre, St George / Nindigully

Newell Highway (National Route A39) south – Macintyre River to New South Wales |notes=South-western highway terminus at roundabout}}

Gallery

File:A15IpsAD.JPG| section under conversion to File:Cunninghams Gap.JPG|Cunningham Highway at Cunningham's Gap

References

References

  1. (16 September 2013). "South-east Queensland coast (map 7)". Department of Transport and Main Roads, [[Queensland Government]].
  2. (16 September 2013). "South-west Queensland Downs (map 6)". Department of Transport and Main Roads, [[Queensland Government]].
  3. (2020). "Metropolitan district map". Department of Transport and Main Roads ©State of Queensland [CC BY 4.0].
  4. (2022). "South Coast district map". Department of Transport and Main Roads ©State of Queensland [CC BY 4.0].
  5. (2019). "Darling Downs district map". Department of Transport and Main Roads ©State of Queensland [CC BY 4.0].
  6. Queensland Environmental Protection Agency. (2000). "Heritage Trails of the Great South East". State of Queensland.
  7. {{cite QHR. 16472. Spicers Gap Road Conservation Park. 601732
  8. (7 November 1949). "Minister opens new highway". National Library of Australia.
  9. "Map of Cunningham Highway, QLD". Bonzle Digital Atlas of Australia.
  10. (22 November 2021). "Cunningham Highway Upgrade". Queensland Government.
  11. (19 May 2022). "Cunningham Highway (Ipswich-Warwick), Eight Mile intersection upgrade". Queensland Government.
  12. (4 April 2022). "Cunningham Highway (Ipswich-Warwick), 2020 Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements reconstruction works". Queensland Government.
  13. (17 January 2022). "Cunningham Highway safety upgrades - Warwick to Inglewood".
  14. {{Google maps. link

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highways-in-queenslandsouth-east-queenslanddarling-downs