Capricorn Highway
The Capricorn Highway is located in Central Queensland, Australia, and links the city of Rockhampton with western Queensland.[1] The highway is 575 kilometres long, and joins the Landsborough Highway at Barcaldine.[2] Formerly National Route 66, Queensland began to convert to the alphanumeric system much of Australia had adopted in the early-2000s and is now designated as A4. The highway runs parallel with the Tropic of Capricorn, hence its name.
Capricorn Highway | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Highway |
| Length | 575 km (357 mi) |
| Route number(s) |
|
| Former route number |  National Route 66 |
| Major junctions | |
| West end |  Landsborough Highway (National Highway A2), Barcaldine |
 Gregory Highway (State Highway A7) Leichhardt Highway (State Highway A5) | |
| East end |  Bruce Highway (Queensland Highway A1), Rockhampton |
| Location(s) | |
| Major settlements | Jericho, Alpha, Emerald, Blackwater, Gogango, Westwood |
| Highway system | |
Other towns situated along the highway include (from east to west): Gracemere, Kabra, Stanwell, Westwood, Gogango, Duaringa, Dingo, Bluff, Blackwater, Comet, Emerald, Bogantungan, Alpha and Jericho.
Running virtually east/west, the highway traverses the area known as the Central Highlands, and crosses the Great Dividing Range between Alpha and Jericho.
Capricorn Highway (green on black)
Upgrades
The Northern Australia Roads Program announced in 2016 included the following project for the Capricorn Highway.
Highway duplication
The project to duplicate the section between Rockhampton and Gracemere was completed in mid 2021 at a total cost of $75 million.[3]
Northern Australian Beef Roads Upgrade
The Northern Australia Beef Roads Program announced in 2016 included the following project:
Road train access to Rockhampton (stage 2)
The project for upgrading between Gracemere saleyards and the Rockhampton abattoirs to provide access for Type 1 Road Trains was completed by early 2021 at a total cost of $30 million.[4] It involved about 29 kilometres (18 mi) of road improvements on four roads:
- Capricorn Highway - from Saleyards Road at Gracemere to the Bruce Highway roundabout at Rochhampton (7.7 kilometres (4.8 mi)).
- Bruce Highway - from the Capricorn Highway roundabout to the Yaamba Road intersection (8.3 kilometres (5.2 mi)).
- Rockhampton-Yeppoon Road - from the Bruce Highway intersection south-west to the Emu Park Road intersection (2.4 kilometres (1.5 mi).
- Rockhampton-Emu Park Road - from the Rockhampton-Yeppoon Road intersection to St Christophers Chapel Road at Nerimbera (10.2 kilometres (6.3 mi)).
Major intersections
| LGA | Location | km | mi | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barcaldine | Barcaldine | 0 | 0.0 | Landsborough Highway (National Route A2) west - Longreach / south - Blackall | Western end of Capricorn Highway |
| Central Highlands | Emerald | 309 | 192 | Gregory Highway (State Route A7) north - Clermont | Western concurrency terminus with Gregory Highway |
| 311 | 193 | Gregory Highway (State Route A7) south - Springsure | Eastern concurrency terminus with Gregory Highway | ||
| Dingo | 432 | 268 |  Fitzroy Developmental Road (State Route 67) north - Middlemount | ||
| Rockhampton | Westwood | 522.9 | 324.9 | Leichhardt Highway (State Route A5) south - Banana and Biloela | |
| Rockhampton | 574.6 | 357.0 | Bruce Highway (Queensland Highway A1) north - Rockhampton / south - Mount Larcom | Eastern end of Capricorn Highway. Intersection is approximately 4.1 km from Rockhampton CBD | |
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
| |||||
References
- Queensland Government - Department of Transport and Main Roads - Maps
- Hema, Maps (2007). Australia Road and 4WD Atlas (Map). Eight Mile Plains Queensland: Hema Maps. pp. 10–11. ISBN 978-1-86500-456-3.
- "Capricorn Highway (Rockhampton - Duaringa) Rockhampton to Gracemere Duplication". Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications. 18 June 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
- "Rockhampton Road Network - Road Train Access". Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development andg Communications. 8 April 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2022.