New Highfields road will bypass Toowoomba, connect to Charlton

Residents of Highfields, one of our region’s fastest growing towns, say they are in desperate need of new infrastructure and have been calling for a second road from Toowoomba for years. Now the state has provided an update on the $2.4 million project.

In worrying news for Highfields commuters, the Transport and Main Roads boss has poured cold water on any hope of a new major thoroughfare connecting the township with Toowoomba.

Instead, the Queensland Government will spend $2.422 million investigating a route to bypass the city and connect instead with Charlton.

Toowoomba North MP Trevor Watts asked TMR Director General Neil Scales about the proposed route during an Estimates Hearing on Tuesday.

It was suggested that the second road was needed to connect the Highfields western flank with Toowoomba to relieve congestion on the New England Highway and to accommodate the growing residential sprawl to the north of the Toowoomba Bypass.

Highfields is a key growth area in the Toowoomba local government area, with its population increasing by about 25 per cent in the past 15 years, according to census data.

More than 8550 people call the area home.

The original proposal would pass over Gowrie Creek and connect with Boundary Street.

Mr Scales responded that the Queensland Government had allocated about $2.422 million to investigate a major new north-south transport corridor to address growing traffic problems.

However, the proposed road will not connect to Boundary Street.

“It will provide an alternative route for the New England Highway around Toowoomba City and connect into the Toowoomba Bypass at the Ipswich link at Charlton,” he said.

“Corridor planning will maximise the economic opportunities for the community and industry while providing a transport network that facilitates heavy vehicle movement and supports community integration by better connecting new growth areas to the city and employment activity.”

Mr Scales added that the project was geared for freight.

“Extensive planning and analysis is on the way to identify a preferred corridor,” he said.

Mr Watts said he welcomed the funding but was disappointed that traffic would be directed to Charlton and not Boundary Street.

“No busy parent or worker in the Highfields community is going to travel through Charlton to get to the CBD,” he said.