Historic highway servo overhaul under way

The new site will be 50 per cent bigger and feature a new truck driver lounge and bathrooms, new dining spaces, a larger kitchen and new fuel infrastructure.

UNDERWAY: Work has commenced on a rebuild of the Caltex Blacksoil store on the Warrego Highway.

WORK is well under way on the redevelopment of a service station "institution" on the Warrego Highway, which was built 65 years ago.

The Caltex Blacksoil servo is being rebuilt; the new site will be 50 per cent bigger and feature a new truck driver lounge and bathrooms, new dining spaces, a larger kitchen, new parking spaces for both cars and trucks and new fuel infrastructure.

All previous buildings have been demolished and fuel tanks and other infrastructure removed with the project expected to be completed in March.

Caltex chief development officer David Bridger said the overhauled site will include nine truck parking bays, 20 car parks and brand new underground fuel storage tanks and lines.

A three bay diesel canopy and an eight bay car canopy will also be constructed.

"The site has a storied history and we have had a friendly group of regular customers who have frequented the site for many years," he said.

"Our plans for the site are designed to meet the needs of all our customers - a diner style kitchen cooking home style meals, new bathroom and rest facilities, better parking facilities and a bigger and more modern forecourt and retail space.

"We thank our customers for their patience as we deliver this project, with our alternate stores at Plainland and Riverview remaining open to continue to service their needs."

The Blue Star was built in 1954 by the Doorman family and traded as a Mobil.

Mr Bridger said the site was an "Ipswich institution" in the 1970s for people travelling home from Marburg dances and the Tivoli Drive-In and has more recently become known for its friendly staff and home style cooking.

The Blue Star was built in 1954 by the Doorman family and traded as a Mobil.

The family operated the site until 1978, when it was sold and rebranded to Golden Fleece.

Caltex constructed the Bremer Star Service Station next door in the late 1970s and the Golden Fleece was purchased by the brand in 1981.

After the 1995 Caltex and Ampol merger, the Bremer Star closed and was later demolished, while the Blue Star was rebranded as a Caltex servo and has since been operated by Caltex.

Caltex purchased the site in December 2016 to carry out a rebuild.

The site previously operated in the original 1954 building.

That building now houses the kitchen. Further building extensions and the installation of a car canopy occurred over the next 40 years.