Cunningham Highway

The Cunningham Highway is a national highway located in south-eastern Queensland, Australia. The highway links the Darling Downs region with the urbanised outskirts of Ipswich via Cunninghams Gap.

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 Highway 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

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. 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.

Even after the advent of the automobile, traffic from Ipswich to Warwick usually went 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 original route would have continued South along what is now Ipswich-Boonah Road. The present route, consisting of a further modern deviation takes the highway south of and RAAF Base Amberley through the Scenic Rim region including the towns and settlements of , 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. In the late 90's, investigation and planning was undertaken for a Western Ipswich Bypass from the Warrego Highway at Haigslea, to the Cunningham Highway at Willowbank. This route was ultimately never constructed, but the land reservation remains to this day. This bypass would have seen the Cunningham Highway deviate approximately 500m to the South, bypassing Willowbank and easing the grade of the sharp bend to the South that the present day highway currently traverses. This would likely result in motorway standard construction being extended from Yamanto to Clarrie Hall's Road, South of Willowbank. The at-grade intersection between the Cunningham Highway and Ipswich-Rosewood Road at Willowbank is currently the most congested intersection on the highway and experiences regular delays, as this road functions as a de-facto Western bypass of Ipswich through Amberley and Walloon.

From this point, the Cunningham Highway begins its ascent across the Great Dividing Range via a mountain pass at an elevation of 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 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:

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*
*
*
*
*
* Goondiwindi

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

Gallery

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

See also

* Highways in Australia
* List of highways in Queensland

References

External links

{{Road infrastructure in Brisbane

Highways in Queensland
South East Queensland
Darling Downs