Toowoomba Second Range Crossing both scenic, but flawed

THE western section of the Toowoomba Second Range Crossing that opened last weekend has been described by motorists as both scenic and flawed.

Officials drive in the first convoy of vehicles after the opening of a western section of the Toowoomba Second Range Crossing, Saturday, December 8, 2018. Picture: Kevin Farmer

THE western section of the Toowoomba Second Range Crossing that opened last weekend has been described by motorists as both scenic and flawed.

Reddit user Telimoxo said they drove between the Charlton interchange and Mort St shortly after it opened.

"(It's) motorway Standard," Telimoxo said.

"The section between Charlton and Mort Street (and all the way down to Helidon Spa) is full motorway standard.

"This means that there are no level intersections, no traffic lights or roundabouts, decent on and off ramps and overall, a decent quality road."

Telimoxi said there were several flaws with the road.

"Sure, there is decent access to (Wellcamp Airport) from (Toowoomba Cecil Plains Road) but considering the new highway runs adjacent to it, it would make sense to build an interchange there for vehicles to easily access the airport," they said.

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"But, who knows, they might build an off-ramp here in the future."

They said having traffic lights on sections of the crossing, especially at the turnoff for Dalby, could lead to longer queues and traffic issues.

"Despite these flaws, I am still very grateful that Toowoomba has this vital piece of infrastructure and it's certainly a step in the right direction," they said.

"It will be better for everyone when it's fully open and I think that's all that matters at this point in time."

User Mjamesqld said they had driven on the road at night and there were a few problems with the road.

"There is no lighting on the new motorway overpasses but surrounding roads next to them are brightly lit," they said.

"It's very disconcerting to see that the major road you're on disappears in the glare of the surrounding road network.

"The surface of the two-lane section is also not as nice as the four-lane section."

In a poll of 345 people on The Chronicle's Instagram account, 22 per cent of respondents said they had driven on the newly opened western section of the TSRC. 

Originally published as Toowoomba Second Range Crossing both scenic, but flawed