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-Brisbane link. It is signed as National Highway A39.[1]

Gore Highway

Queensland
Gore Highway (green and black)
General information
TypeHighway
Length197 km (122 mi)
Route number(s) National Highway A39
Former
route number		 National Highway 85
Major junctions
West end Leichhardt Highway, 19 kilometres (12 mi) north of Goondiwindi
  Toowoomba Athol Road
East end Warrego Highway, Charlton
Location(s)
Major settlementsMillmerran, Pittsworth
Highway system

History

The highway is named after two brothers, St. George Richard Gore and Ralph Thomas Gore who established the Yandilla pastoral run in the area (between Pittsworth and Milmerran), through which the road traverses.[2]

It was elevated to National Highway status in February 1993, and replaced the Cunningham Highway as the main route between Goondiwindi and Brisbane. Interstate traffic was rerouted through Toowoomba and the Warrego Highway as it presented a less steep gradient than via Warwick and Cunninghams Gap, shortening travel time especially for trucks. It was initially designated State Route 85 until February 1993 when National Highway 85 was proclaimed, splitting State Route 85 into two. In 2005 it was given the National Highway A39 designation.[3]

Southbrook, 2014

The Toowoomba Bypass was completed in September 2019. It bypasses the urban area of Toowoomba and provides a better crossing of the Great Dividing Range. Gore Highway (A39) was rerouted via the bypass between Athol (in the south) and the Warrego Highway (A2) interchange at Charlton. The original section of Gore Highway to Toowoomba was renamed Toowoomba Athol Road (A139).[4]

Route description

The highway passes through Queensland's Darling Downs region. Typical of the scenery are grazing cattle, orchards and grain farmland. It is concurrent with State route 85 from Goondiwindi to Athol, and with State route 82 from Milmerran to Pampas.

Approximate road distances (in kilometres) of towns from Toowoomba along the highway

Speed zones

The highway has two different speed zones. From Athol to Millmerran (60 kilometres (37 mi) south west) it is 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph). Between Millmerran and Goondiwindi the maximum permitted speed is 110 kilometres per hour (68 mph).

Towns and localities

Major intersections
LGALocationkmmiDestinationsNotes
GoondiwindiGoondiwindi00.0 Leichhardt Highway (State Highway A5) north - Moonie /
south - Goondiwindi		Western end of Gore Highway. Intersection is 19 kilometres (12 mi) north of Goondiwindi CBD.
Western end of State Route 85 concurrency.
ToowoombaMilmerran12477 Milmerran-Inglewood Road (State Route 82) - InglewoodWestern end of State Route 82 concurrency.
Pampas13986 Pampas Horrane Road (State Route 82) - Cecil PlainsEastern end of State Route 82 concurrency.
Athol184114 Toowoomba Athol Road (A139) - ToowoombaEastern end of State Route 85 concurrency.
No entry to Gore Highway northbound from Toowoomba Athol Road
Charlton197122 Warrego Highway (National Route A2) west - Dalby /
north - Cranley
Toowoomba Connection Road (A21) east - Toowoomba		Eastern end of Gore Highway.
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Toowoomba Athol Road (A139)

Toowoomba Athol Road
LocationGore Highway to Toowoomba
Length17.1 km (10.6 mi)
Existed2019–present

The Toowoomba Athol Road is a 17.1 km (10.6 mi) former section of the Gore Highway that runs south-west from the city of Toowoomba in Queensland, Australia. With the opening of the Toowoomba Bypass in 2019 the Gore Highway was redirected to part of it, and the bypassed section of the highway was renamed Toowoomba Athol Road and assigned the route number A139.

A139 Route description

The road commences at an intersection with the Toowoomba Connection Road (A21) on the midpoint of the Toowoomba suburbs of Newtown and Harristown. It runs south-west through the residential suburb of Harristown and the rural suburbs of Drayton and Westbrook to the rural locality of Athol, where it ends at an intersection with the Gore Highway. It is concurrent with State Route 85. There are no major intersections on this road.

A139 History

In 1849 government surveyor James Charles Burnett prepared a design for the town of Drayton and chose a site 3–4 miles (4.8–6.4 km) to the north-east for suburban allotments of 27–40 acres (11–16 ha). Located where two swampy creeks converged as the headwaters of Gowrie Creek, this area was known as The Swamp/s or the Drayton Swamp, and later as Toowoomba. When preparing the detailed survey of Drayton in 1850, Burnett added a cemetery to the north of the village, midway between Drayton town and the Drayton Swamp suburban allotments, on slightly elevated land close to the road connecting the two settlements.[5] This road, later named Anzac Avenue, is now part of Toowoomba Athol Road.

The Toowoomba Bypass was completed in September 2019 and bypasses the urban area of Toowoomba and provides a better crossing of the Great Dividing Range. The Warrego Highway (A2) was rerouted via the bypass between Helidon Spa (in the east) and an interchange at Charlton (in the west). The Gore Highway (A39) was rerouted via the bypass between Charlton and Athol, and the original section of Gore Highway from Toowoomba to Athol was renamed Toowoomba Athol Road (A139).[4]

See also

References
  1. Queensland Government - Department of Transport and Main Roads - Maps
  2. "Gore Highway". Retrieved 23 May 2013.
  3. Hema, Maps (2007). Australia Road and 4WD Atlas (Map). Eight Mile Plains Queensland: Hema Maps. p. 9. ISBN 978-1-86500-456-3.
  4. "Toowoomba Bypass". Department of Transport and Main Roads. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  5. "Drayton and Toowoomba Cemetery (entry 602718)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
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